THE federal Government will compensate thousands of volunteer firefighters who lost income as they battled the NSW bushfires over Christmas.

Acting Prime Minister John Anderson is to announce the ex gratia payments today when he addresses the firefighters at a ticker-tape parade being held in Sydney in their honour.

The payments will be made available through Centrelink. Income lost by volunteer firefighters has been estimated at more than $10million.

Mr Anderson said the volunteer firefighters had inspired a great sense of pride and community around the country.

“More than 26,000 people from across the country were involved in fighting the fires and providing support each day,” he said. “They have our gratitude and respect; their dedication is a sterling example of the Australian spirit.”

NSW Premier Bob Carr praised the Government’s action. “These volunteer firefighters did not hesitate to answer the call,” Mr Carr said. “Many left their families on Christmas Day and gave up their holidays.”

The one-off payments will be made to volunteer firefighters who are members of recognised firefighting organisations and who lost income fighting fires during the declared emergency period from Christmas Eve until January 16.

A spokesman for the Rural Fire Service welcomed the payments. “They will benefit a lot of people who basically left their employment to help with the fires,” he said.

“We will be contacting our members and providing them with all the information we can.

“Morale is very high among our 70,000 volunteers across NSW, but no doubt this one-off official recognition will help boost people’s spirits.”