❓ Ms. Quirk questions the Minister for Environment regarding safety concerns with DEC firefighting vehicles, citing a WorkSafe notice and a critical departmental report. The Minister acknowledges the concerns and mentions budget increases but doesn't directly answer the specific questions.
AnsweredQoN 129Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
DEPARTMENT
OF ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION — FIREFIGHTING VEHICLES
129. Ms M.M. QUIRK to the Minister for Environment:
(1) Is the
minister aware that within the last month WorkSafe has issued a notice in
relation to the safety of firefighting vehicles used by Department of
Environment and Conservation personnel, and that this is not the first such
notice issued following the tragic consequences of the fire at Two Peoples Bay
last year?
(2) Is the
minister further aware that a recent departmental report prepared by Mr Terry
Maher was highly critical of the safety of the DEC fleet, of major structural
deficiencies and also of the inadequacy of personal protective equipment
provided to staff?
(3) When will
these serious deficiencies be fixed, what will it cost, and what assurances can
the minister give the DEC staff about their safety in the meantime?
OF ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION — FIREFIGHTING VEHICLES
129. Ms M.M. QUIRK to the Minister for Environment:
(1) Is the
minister aware that within the last month WorkSafe has issued a notice in
relation to the safety of firefighting vehicles used by Department of
Environment and Conservation personnel, and that this is not the first such
notice issued following the tragic consequences of the fire at Two Peoples Bay
last year?
(2) Is the
minister further aware that a recent departmental report prepared by Mr Terry
Maher was highly critical of the safety of the DEC fleet, of major structural
deficiencies and also of the inadequacy of personal protective equipment
provided to staff?
(3) When will
these serious deficiencies be fixed, what will it cost, and what assurances can
the minister give the DEC staff about their safety in the meantime?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for some notice of this question.
(1)–(3) Let
me first of all note that many DEC staff will be out on site today. We have had
some difficulties and we have been very up-front about that. I read a brief
ministerial statement in the house about some of the challenges we have been
facing with the window of opportunity for this autumn's prescribed
burns, but I have been informed that today conditions have opened up for us and
a range of prescribed burns are happening over the state. My thoughts are with
those DEC firefighters who are out there managing those fires at this moment.
Point of Order
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS :
The member for Girrawheen asked some quite specific questions and the minister
is just giving a general statement rather than answering those questions.
The SPEAKER :
Right! Minister for Environment.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr
P.B. Watson : It's serious stuff.
Mr
A.P. JACOB : It is very serious stuff, member for Albany, and that is why I
thought it was a good point to start with. Again, via a brief ministerial
statement, the shadow minister mentioned in her question the query about Wendy
Bearfoot and the tragedy that happened down there in the member for Albany's
electorate. My condolences again go out to Wendy's family as well as to
all those DEC staff who were injured in that incident. I am aware that a
WorkSafe investigation is being undertaken. I am happy to arrange for the
member a further briefing on the progress of that investigation.
Ms
M.M. Quirk interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member!
Mr
A.P. JACOB : I also bring to the house's attention that there have
been increases in the budget in recent years, and in the last year alone there
was a $32.9 million budget increase to the Department of Environment and
Conservation specifically for the areas that the member was asking about.
(1)–(3) Let
me first of all note that many DEC staff will be out on site today. We have had
some difficulties and we have been very up-front about that. I read a brief
ministerial statement in the house about some of the challenges we have been
facing with the window of opportunity for this autumn's prescribed
burns, but I have been informed that today conditions have opened up for us and
a range of prescribed burns are happening over the state. My thoughts are with
those DEC firefighters who are out there managing those fires at this moment.
Point of Order
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS :
The member for Girrawheen asked some quite specific questions and the minister
is just giving a general statement rather than answering those questions.
The SPEAKER :
Right! Minister for Environment.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr
P.B. Watson : It's serious stuff.
Mr
A.P. JACOB : It is very serious stuff, member for Albany, and that is why I
thought it was a good point to start with. Again, via a brief ministerial
statement, the shadow minister mentioned in her question the query about Wendy
Bearfoot and the tragedy that happened down there in the member for Albany's
electorate. My condolences again go out to Wendy's family as well as to
all those DEC staff who were injured in that incident. I am aware that a
WorkSafe investigation is being undertaken. I am happy to arrange for the
member a further briefing on the progress of that investigation.
Ms
M.M. Quirk interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member!
Mr
A.P. JACOB : I also bring to the house's attention that there have
been increases in the budget in recent years, and in the last year alone there
was a $32.9 million budget increase to the Department of Environment and
Conservation specifically for the areas that the member was asking about.
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.