❓ A WA parliamentary question seeks details on the state's rescue helicopter service's performance and operational costs for the 2022-23 financial year, as well as the delivery timeline for new helicopters. The response provides mission and flight hour data, but cites commercial confidentiality for operating costs and explains maintenance downtime is covered by backup helicopters.
AnsweredQoN 1450Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
(1) I refer to the Minister's media statement on 28 July titled "Emergency Rescue Helicopter service soars to new heights" and I ask, for each of the three rescue helicopters in WA, please identify for the 2022-23 financial year to date: (a) the number of missions undertaken; (b) the number of hours each helicopter has been in operation; (c) any periods where a rescue helicopter has been unavailable due to maintenance, repairs or other reasons (please specify); and (d) the cost of operating each helicopter? (2) what is the expected delivery timeline for the three new next-generation helicopters?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
20 June 2023
Responded by
Minister for Emergency Services
Response time
7 days
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) advises:
1) a) Total missions per Base / aircraft call sign as of 30 April 2023: i) Rescue 651 - Jandakot: 283 ii) Rescue 652-Bunbury: 212 iii) Rescue 653 - Deployment: 13 b) Total mission hours per Base / aircraft call sign as of 30 April 2023: i) Rescue 651 - Jandakot: 606.2 hours ii) Rescue 652 - Bunbuiy: 669.3 hours iii) Rescue 653 - Deployment: 63.6 hours c) Data provided under Contract reporting does not specify time periods of when aircraft is unavailable due to maintenance or other reasons as the backup Rescue Helicopter provides the redundancy for 24/7 operations and service continuity. d) Helicopter operating costs are Commercial in Confidence. 2) The first of the three new ERHS AW139 Rescue Helicopters is scheduled to arrive in Western Australia this year. All three aircraft are planned to be online by the middle of 2024.
1) a) Total missions per Base / aircraft call sign as of 30 April 2023: i) Rescue 651 - Jandakot: 283 ii) Rescue 652-Bunbury: 212 iii) Rescue 653 - Deployment: 13 b) Total mission hours per Base / aircraft call sign as of 30 April 2023: i) Rescue 651 - Jandakot: 606.2 hours ii) Rescue 652 - Bunbuiy: 669.3 hours iii) Rescue 653 - Deployment: 63.6 hours c) Data provided under Contract reporting does not specify time periods of when aircraft is unavailable due to maintenance or other reasons as the backup Rescue Helicopter provides the redundancy for 24/7 operations and service continuity. d) Helicopter operating costs are Commercial in Confidence. 2) The first of the three new ERHS AW139 Rescue Helicopters is scheduled to arrive in Western Australia this year. All three aircraft are planned to be online by the middle of 2024.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.