The NSW government denies a union claim it is axing more than 200 National Parks and Wildlife firefighting jobs, insisting it only plans to shed 30 administrative positions.
Voluntary redundancy letters were reportedly sent to 10 per cent of the workforce - including frontline field officers and rangers - even as the state faces the most dangerous bushfire season in years.
Among those handed packages are fire management officers who work on strategies for combating bushfires, oversee hazard reduction burns and help to physically fight large blazes, The Daily Telegraph reported.
But Climate Change and Environment Minister John Robertson said he had no knowledge of any frontline staff in National Parks receiving a voluntary redundancy letter, maintaining only senior managers and administrative staff numbers were to be cut back.
"My message is if you've got one and you are on the frontline, throw it in the bin," he told reporters on Sunday.
Mr Robertson added the government had committed $30 million over three years to boost fire preparedness in national parks.
"We're committed to maintaining our firefighting capacity in our national parks ... particularly in the southeast where we know there is a greater risk."
Sally Barnes, deputy director general at National Parks and Wildlife, estimated 30 out of 2000 administrative positions would go, saving the government around $2.5 million.
"That means we can concentrate those resources into frontline, on-the-ground people," she said.
An officer from National Parks and Wildlife, who was on Saturday morning fighting a fire at Wollemi National Park, west of Sydney, told a different story.
"Right beside me is a technical officer who is a firefighter who has been offered a voluntary redundancy," the officer, who did not want to be named, told AAP.
He claimed about 20 senior rangers, who do both pest species work and fight fires, had been offered a redundancy package.
"They are pretty upset," he said.
"They do outstanding work in respect of managing fires and managing pest species.
"They go around killing feral animals.
"When there's firefighting to be done, they get involved in that, too."
Public Service Association spokesman Steve Turner said about 150 frontline National Parks and Wildlife workers had been offered a redundancy package, including senior rangers, national parks technicians, "and worst of all, regional operation coordinators".
"Those operation coordinators are directly responsible for fire prevention and coordinating firefighting when it breaks out," he told reporters.
If the redundancy letters were received in error, "it was a pretty massive error for the government to send (letters to) workers who they don't want to go," Mr Turner said.
"If (the government) retracts the letters and supports these workers and continues to employ them, that would be a good move by the premier."
The opposition maintained the government was covering up "an ill-conceived policy to get rid of frontline staff".
"It doesn't cut the mustard. You don't send redundancies to frontline staff by mistake, you do it because that's what the policy was," Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell told reporters on Saturday.
"They've been caught out and they deserve condemnation.
"My own electorate is bounded by two national parks. Communities in Ku-ring-gai and across the state understand the importance of having National Parks and Wildlife Service staff available during bushfire season, particularly given the temperatures we're currently experiencing."
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