❓ Ms. Quirk questions the Minister for Emergency Services about cancelled SES volunteer training and consultation. The Minister acknowledges the importance of volunteer training and explains the cancellations are to ensure consistent, interoperable training standards across emergency services.
AnsweredQoN 185Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
STATE
EMERGENCY SERVICE — VOLUNTEER TRAINING
185. Ms M.M. QUIRK to the Minister for Emergency Services:
I refer to concerns expressed by the
SES Volunteers Association of Western Australia that several training courses
due to be delivered by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services to these
volunteers were cancelled without consultation with the association.
(1) Can the minister explain the
circumstances of the cancellation?
(2) Does he concede
that it is vital that volunteers who put themselves in harm's way to
protect the community should receive frequent and comprehensive training?
(3) Has he met
with the association yet so that he can canvass that concern and the other
concerns of its members?
EMERGENCY SERVICE — VOLUNTEER TRAINING
185. Ms M.M. QUIRK to the Minister for Emergency Services:
I refer to concerns expressed by the
SES Volunteers Association of Western Australia that several training courses
due to be delivered by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services to these
volunteers were cancelled without consultation with the association.
(1) Can the minister explain the
circumstances of the cancellation?
(2) Does he concede
that it is vital that volunteers who put themselves in harm's way to
protect the community should receive frequent and comprehensive training?
(3) Has he met
with the association yet so that he can canvass that concern and the other
concerns of its members?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3) Yes,
I have met with the association. I had a very nice and a very long and detailed
conversation with its members about a whole raft of issues that they are
facing. Yes, I do accept that people who volunteer to serve the community in
dangerous causes, such as volunteer bush fire fighters, volunteer fire and
rescue crews and State Emergency Service officers, and who undertake a lot of
difficult tasks for the people of Western Australia, such as searching for lost
people, often in remote and regional Western Australia, manning roadblocks and
looking after others in a fire, do a good job. Let me make this point clear:
the government obviously has an obligation to ensure that people are safe
before they are put in harm's way. There is an argument, and I accept
this, that we need to ensure that there is an ability to work together with
other agencies. There has to be a level of interoperability so that the SES can
work alongside volunteer firefighters, volunteer fire and rescue crews and
career firefighters when necessary and that they can trust each other so that
if something goes wrong, they know they have a minimum standard of training. I
would expect all these people to have done the same course and to have the same
first aid qualifications, so that the SES, volunteer fire and rescue crews and
volunteer bush fire fighters do not have different levels of training in first
aid. That is just an example.
The department and the government are
looking at ways to ensure that all the volunteers have the same basic levels of
minimum mandatory training before they are put in harm's way. That
includes ensuring that the courses are the same. I cannot see why the course
for first aid, again as an example, for the State Emergency Service is any
different from the course for the volunteer bush fire brigade. It makes perfect
sense to ensure that the number of competencies are exactly the same for all
the different volunteer organisations, and that is what the government is
looking to do at the moment. If there is any issue with cancelling training or
training being postponed, it is to ensure that there is consistency in the
delivery of those qualifications.
I have met with the association. I had a very nice and a very long and detailed
conversation with its members about a whole raft of issues that they are
facing. Yes, I do accept that people who volunteer to serve the community in
dangerous causes, such as volunteer bush fire fighters, volunteer fire and
rescue crews and State Emergency Service officers, and who undertake a lot of
difficult tasks for the people of Western Australia, such as searching for lost
people, often in remote and regional Western Australia, manning roadblocks and
looking after others in a fire, do a good job. Let me make this point clear:
the government obviously has an obligation to ensure that people are safe
before they are put in harm's way. There is an argument, and I accept
this, that we need to ensure that there is an ability to work together with
other agencies. There has to be a level of interoperability so that the SES can
work alongside volunteer firefighters, volunteer fire and rescue crews and
career firefighters when necessary and that they can trust each other so that
if something goes wrong, they know they have a minimum standard of training. I
would expect all these people to have done the same course and to have the same
first aid qualifications, so that the SES, volunteer fire and rescue crews and
volunteer bush fire fighters do not have different levels of training in first
aid. That is just an example.
The department and the government are
looking at ways to ensure that all the volunteers have the same basic levels of
minimum mandatory training before they are put in harm's way. That
includes ensuring that the courses are the same. I cannot see why the course
for first aid, again as an example, for the State Emergency Service is any
different from the course for the volunteer bush fire brigade. It makes perfect
sense to ensure that the number of competencies are exactly the same for all
the different volunteer organisations, and that is what the government is
looking to do at the moment. If there is any issue with cancelling training or
training being postponed, it is to ensure that there is consistency in the
delivery of those qualifications.
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