❓ Mrs. Clarke inquires about the Volunteer Hub and its support for emergency services volunteers, highlighting the government's commitment. The Minister details the Hub's features and improved volunteer support, contrasting it with the previous government's approach.
AnsweredQoN 1113Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
EMERGENCY SERVICES —
VOLUNTEER HUB
1113. Mrs R.M.J. CLARKE to the Minister for Emergency Services:
Before I ask my question, I just
want to thank the 80-plus vollies and personnel who were out fighting a major
bushfire in my electorate of Murray–Wellington last night. It is now
under control, so that is great news.
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to supporting our emergency services
volunteers, especially ahead of the upcoming bushfire season. Can the minister
update the house on how the Department of Fire and Emergency Services'
new Volunteer Hub will support our vollies in the important work that they do
to keep our community safe, and can the minister also advise how this builds on
the government's record of providing improved resources for our
emergency services workers?
VOLUNTEER HUB
1113. Mrs R.M.J. CLARKE to the Minister for Emergency Services:
Before I ask my question, I just
want to thank the 80-plus vollies and personnel who were out fighting a major
bushfire in my electorate of Murray–Wellington last night. It is now
under control, so that is great news.
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to supporting our emergency services
volunteers, especially ahead of the upcoming bushfire season. Can the minister
update the house on how the Department of Fire and Emergency Services'
new Volunteer Hub will support our vollies in the important work that they do
to keep our community safe, and can the minister also advise how this builds on
the government's record of providing improved resources for our
emergency services workers?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for her question
and for her very strong support for the volunteers not only in her own
electorate but also across Western Australia. As members know, I have spoken a number
of times about the commitment of the McGowan government, the commissioner and
myself to rebuilding a close and collegiate relationship with volunteers across
Western Australia. If members remember, under the previous Liberal–National
government, the relationship between the government, and particularly its
ministers, and volunteers, and particularly volunteer associations, was toxic.
The government has had to turn that around and show willingness to encourage
people to become volunteers in the first place, and to ensure that they are looked
after once they become volunteers as well. We have done a very, very good job.
One of the latest things we have
done, as the member for Murray–Wellington just indicated, is the
Volunteer Hub, which is a website that went live on 31 October. The website is
the work of personnel of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services who have
skills in creating websites, and who received input from over 400 volunteers to
determine what that website should look like and the type of information that
should be held on it. The volunteers walked me through the website the other
day. I must admit that it is absolutely fantastic. It really is a great tool.
It is far more sophisticated than I thought
it would be. I thought it would be just a platform to enable the exchange of information between volunteer brigades and
units and the department, but it contains a huge amount of information ,
and particularly operational information that the vollies want when they are
going out to a fire ground, to sea or to a rescue. The mapping systems on the
Volunteer Hub are absolutely first class. That comes on top of the other work
we have done with the volunteers, such as putting on volunteer liaison and
relationship officers so that we take some of the administrative workload off
volunteers around WA. It is also about the support we have given them when they
had been ignored for so long. I will give one example: volunteer marine rescue
services. For some reason, they were not funded by the previous Liberal–National
government—they were overlooked when it came to emergency services levy
funding. We have turned that around. New boats are now being floated out across
Western Australia. Those groups are unbelievably happy with our government.
They are unbelievably happy with the great relationship that has formed between
our government and the people who go out there every summer and put their lives
on the line to keep our community safe.
and for her very strong support for the volunteers not only in her own
electorate but also across Western Australia. As members know, I have spoken a number
of times about the commitment of the McGowan government, the commissioner and
myself to rebuilding a close and collegiate relationship with volunteers across
Western Australia. If members remember, under the previous Liberal–National
government, the relationship between the government, and particularly its
ministers, and volunteers, and particularly volunteer associations, was toxic.
The government has had to turn that around and show willingness to encourage
people to become volunteers in the first place, and to ensure that they are looked
after once they become volunteers as well. We have done a very, very good job.
One of the latest things we have
done, as the member for Murray–Wellington just indicated, is the
Volunteer Hub, which is a website that went live on 31 October. The website is
the work of personnel of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services who have
skills in creating websites, and who received input from over 400 volunteers to
determine what that website should look like and the type of information that
should be held on it. The volunteers walked me through the website the other
day. I must admit that it is absolutely fantastic. It really is a great tool.
It is far more sophisticated than I thought
it would be. I thought it would be just a platform to enable the exchange of information between volunteer brigades and
units and the department, but it contains a huge amount of information ,
and particularly operational information that the vollies want when they are
going out to a fire ground, to sea or to a rescue. The mapping systems on the
Volunteer Hub are absolutely first class. That comes on top of the other work
we have done with the volunteers, such as putting on volunteer liaison and
relationship officers so that we take some of the administrative workload off
volunteers around WA. It is also about the support we have given them when they
had been ignored for so long. I will give one example: volunteer marine rescue
services. For some reason, they were not funded by the previous Liberal–National
government—they were overlooked when it came to emergency services levy
funding. We have turned that around. New boats are now being floated out across
Western Australia. Those groups are unbelievably happy with our government.
They are unbelievably happy with the great relationship that has formed between
our government and the people who go out there every summer and put their lives
on the line to keep our community safe.
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