❓ The Minister for Emergency Services explains the decision to discontinue funding the Gascoyne pastoral community emergency service manager position, citing the local governments' unwillingness to contribute financially despite receiving significant government grants. DFES will find another person employed in that region through DFES to step in and fill the gap.
AnsweredQoN 768Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
GASCOYNE
PASTORAL COMMUNITY EMERGENCY SERVICE MANAGER
768. Mr I.C. BLAYNEY to the
Minister for Emergency Services:
What are the reasons behind the
plans to cease the current funding of the Gascoyne pastoral community emergency
service manager position by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services?
PASTORAL COMMUNITY EMERGENCY SERVICE MANAGER
768. Mr I.C. BLAYNEY to the
Minister for Emergency Services:
What are the reasons behind the
plans to cease the current funding of the Gascoyne pastoral community emergency
service manager position by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services?
AnswerView source ↗
I will start by acknowledging Mr Charles Bellow and members
of the Local Chambers business network in the gallery this afternoon.
I thank the member for Geraldton for the question. I note
that both he and the member for North West Central have a strong interest in
this particular issue. Both of them wrote to me a number of weeks ago
expressing their views on this particular appointment. I thought it was
worthwhile that the house notes why the Department of Fire and Emergency
Services is looking to discontinue funding this position. I am sure that the
Minister for Local Government will be very interested also.
In 2009, the then Fire and Emergency Services Authority, now
DFES, funded the first community emergency services manager in that area under
a two-year contract starting in 2009, until 2011. Across regional Western
Australia, there are 23 community emergency service managers, partly funded by
the Department of Fire and Emergency Services in agreement with a local
government or local governments. In this particular case, it cost a bit over
$100 000 for the CESM's wages and car in the Gascoyne. Normally, the
position is half funded by the department and half funded by local government.
This position has been continually funded for five years by the Department of
Fire and Emergency Services because the local governments in that area will not
make their contribution and enter into a particular agreement. Of course, the
job of a CESM is part serving the local government that pays half their wages
and part serving the Department of Fire and Emergency Services. Their uniforms
stand out; they are generally in a DFES uniform but their rank insignia is for
the local government, which contributes to their wages. They kind of serve two
masters, but they do a very important job mixing that ground between the
Department of Fire and Emergency Services and the core responsibilities of the
local governments.
When I looked at the local governments in that particular
area, I wondered why they could not afford to make a small contribution of
about $15 000 each to the wages bill for that community emergency service
manager. The Shire of Murchison, for example, has 114 ratepayers and a total
revenue of $5.5 million, of which $4.27 million is from government grants. One
has to wonder why it cannot afford $15 000. The Shire of Sandstone has 113 ratepayers
and a total revenue of $3.75 million, $2.1 million of which is made up of
government grants. The Shire of Yalgoo has 405 ratepayers and the Shire of
Wiluna has 284 ratepayers. The point is that the total rate base for those four
regional councils is made up of 916 individual ratepayers. The total revenue is
$22 million, of which over $14 million comes from government grants. If ever
there is a case of unsustainable local government in regional Western Australia,
this is it. The problem now is that the state government and the Department of
Fire and Emergency Services —
Mr D.A. Templeman interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Mandurah, sorry to disturb you; I call you to order for the first
time. Can the minister come back to the point and wind this up, please.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS :
The point is that the state government, through the Department of Fire and
Emergency Services, will find another person employed in that region through
DFES to step in and fill the gap because the four local governments in the
Gascoyne cannot carry out their core responsibility to look after their
emergency services and management. The government is not going to continue to
pick up the tab.
Mr D.A. Templeman interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member
for Mandurah, I call you to order for the second time. Minister, have you
finished?
Mr J.M. FRANCIS :
It is not right for the state government and the Department of Fire and
Emergency Services to pick up the tab for local governments that are not sustainable
and will not carry out their core responsibilities. At this stage, that
contract will end in November this year.
of the Local Chambers business network in the gallery this afternoon.
I thank the member for Geraldton for the question. I note
that both he and the member for North West Central have a strong interest in
this particular issue. Both of them wrote to me a number of weeks ago
expressing their views on this particular appointment. I thought it was
worthwhile that the house notes why the Department of Fire and Emergency
Services is looking to discontinue funding this position. I am sure that the
Minister for Local Government will be very interested also.
In 2009, the then Fire and Emergency Services Authority, now
DFES, funded the first community emergency services manager in that area under
a two-year contract starting in 2009, until 2011. Across regional Western
Australia, there are 23 community emergency service managers, partly funded by
the Department of Fire and Emergency Services in agreement with a local
government or local governments. In this particular case, it cost a bit over
$100 000 for the CESM's wages and car in the Gascoyne. Normally, the
position is half funded by the department and half funded by local government.
This position has been continually funded for five years by the Department of
Fire and Emergency Services because the local governments in that area will not
make their contribution and enter into a particular agreement. Of course, the
job of a CESM is part serving the local government that pays half their wages
and part serving the Department of Fire and Emergency Services. Their uniforms
stand out; they are generally in a DFES uniform but their rank insignia is for
the local government, which contributes to their wages. They kind of serve two
masters, but they do a very important job mixing that ground between the
Department of Fire and Emergency Services and the core responsibilities of the
local governments.
When I looked at the local governments in that particular
area, I wondered why they could not afford to make a small contribution of
about $15 000 each to the wages bill for that community emergency service
manager. The Shire of Murchison, for example, has 114 ratepayers and a total
revenue of $5.5 million, of which $4.27 million is from government grants. One
has to wonder why it cannot afford $15 000. The Shire of Sandstone has 113 ratepayers
and a total revenue of $3.75 million, $2.1 million of which is made up of
government grants. The Shire of Yalgoo has 405 ratepayers and the Shire of
Wiluna has 284 ratepayers. The point is that the total rate base for those four
regional councils is made up of 916 individual ratepayers. The total revenue is
$22 million, of which over $14 million comes from government grants. If ever
there is a case of unsustainable local government in regional Western Australia,
this is it. The problem now is that the state government and the Department of
Fire and Emergency Services —
Mr D.A. Templeman interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Mandurah, sorry to disturb you; I call you to order for the first
time. Can the minister come back to the point and wind this up, please.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS :
The point is that the state government, through the Department of Fire and
Emergency Services, will find another person employed in that region through
DFES to step in and fill the gap because the four local governments in the
Gascoyne cannot carry out their core responsibility to look after their
emergency services and management. The government is not going to continue to
pick up the tab.
Mr D.A. Templeman interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member
for Mandurah, I call you to order for the second time. Minister, have you
finished?
Mr J.M. FRANCIS :
It is not right for the state government and the Department of Fire and
Emergency Services to pick up the tab for local governments that are not sustainable
and will not carry out their core responsibilities. At this stage, that
contract will end in November this year.
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