Mr. Bowler questions the Minister about recognising RFDS volunteers, particularly Tony Crook, in relation to Rio Tinto's royalties. The Minister acknowledges the oversight and highlights community fundraising efforts for a new RFDS jet.

AnsweredQoN 802Legislative Assembly
Asked
14 October 2009
Portfolio
Regional Development

QuestionView source ↗

ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR SERVICE — VOLUNTEER SUPPORT
I have a supplementary question. Several members interjected. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : The minister talked about Rio Tinto and royalties for regions. What about the volunteers and the likes of Tony Crook, who has been involved with the flying doctor for the past 14 years? Mr B.J. GRYLLS

AnswerView source ↗

I was remiss in not mentioning that. One of the great stories about today is that in Albany a family got together and used donations to build a house. The family auctioned the house and put, I think, around $400 000 into fundraising efforts to allow the fit-out of that new jet. Although Rio Tinto and government are helping to underwrite this jet, the RFDS is still reliant on the goodwill and community spirit of Western Australians to make sure those most valuable services occur. We all know that Western Australians are very generous when it comes to the RFDS, and this is yet another example of that. As the member for Kalgoorlie points out, the board of the RFDS, including Tony Crook as the chairman and Tim Shackleton as the chief executive officer, has undertaken an enormous program to upgrade the Royal Flying Doctor Service and it should be congratulated for that.
Several members interjected. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : The minister talked about Rio Tinto and royalties for regions. What about the volunteers and the likes of Tony Crook, who has been involved with the flying doctor for the past 14 years? Mr B.J. GRYLLS replied: I was remiss in not mentioning that. One of the great stories about today is that in Albany a family got together and used donations to build a house. The family auctioned the house and put, I think, around $400 000 into fundraising efforts to allow the fit-out of that new jet. Although Rio Tinto and government are helping to underwrite this jet, the RFDS is still reliant on the goodwill and community spirit of Western Australians to make sure those most valuable services occur. We all know that Western Australians are very generous when it comes to the RFDS, and this is yet another example of that. As the member for Kalgoorlie points out, the board of the RFDS, including Tony Crook as the chairman and Tim Shackleton as the chief executive officer, has undertaken an enormous program to upgrade the Royal Flying Doctor Service and it should be congratulated for that.
Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : The minister talked about Rio Tinto and royalties for regions. What about the volunteers and the likes of Tony Crook, who has been involved with the flying doctor for the past 14 years? Mr B.J. GRYLLS replied: I was remiss in not mentioning that. One of the great stories about today is that in Albany a family got together and used donations to build a house. The family auctioned the house and put, I think, around $400 000 into fundraising efforts to allow the fit-out of that new jet. Although Rio Tinto and government are helping to underwrite this jet, the RFDS is still reliant on the goodwill and community spirit of Western Australians to make sure those most valuable services occur. We all know that Western Australians are very generous when it comes to the RFDS, and this is yet another example of that. As the member for Kalgoorlie points out, the board of the RFDS, including Tony Crook as the chairman and Tim Shackleton as the chief executive officer, has undertaken an enormous program to upgrade the Royal Flying Doctor Service and it should be congratulated for that.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS replied: I was remiss in not mentioning that. One of the great stories about today is that in Albany a family got together and used donations to build a house. The family auctioned the house and put, I think, around $400 000 into fundraising efforts to allow the fit-out of that new jet. Although Rio Tinto and government are helping to underwrite this jet, the RFDS is still reliant on the goodwill and community spirit of Western Australians to make sure those most valuable services occur. We all know that Western Australians are very generous when it comes to the RFDS, and this is yet another example of that. As the member for Kalgoorlie points out, the board of the RFDS, including Tony Crook as the chairman and Tim Shackleton as the chief executive officer, has undertaken an enormous program to upgrade the Royal Flying Doctor Service and it should be congratulated for that.
I was remiss in not mentioning that. One of the great stories about today is that in Albany a family got together and used donations to build a house. The family auctioned the house and put, I think, around $400 000 into fundraising efforts to allow the fit-out of that new jet. Although Rio Tinto and government are helping to underwrite this jet, the RFDS is still reliant on the goodwill and community spirit of Western Australians to make sure those most valuable services occur. We all know that Western Australians are very generous when it comes to the RFDS, and this is yet another example of that. As the member for Kalgoorlie points out, the board of the RFDS, including Tony Crook as the chairman and Tim Shackleton as the chief executive officer, has undertaken an enormous program to upgrade the Royal Flying Doctor Service and it should be congratulated for that.

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