❓ Dr. Buti asks the Minister for Emergency Services how reforms are improving community safety through strengthened volunteer relations. The Minister responds by highlighting initiatives like the Rural Fire Division, volunteer forums, and the rollout of defibrillators, contrasting them with the previous government's relationship with volunteers.
AnsweredQoN 1012Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
DEPARTMENT OF FIRE AND
EMERGENCY SERVICES — VOLUNTEERS
1012. Dr A.D. BUTI to the Minister for Emergency Services:
I refer to the McGowan government's
historic reforms to the state's emergency services. Can the minister
update the house how these reforms, through the strengthening of volunteer
relations and working with other key stakeholders, are leading to improvements
in community safety?
EMERGENCY SERVICES — VOLUNTEERS
1012. Dr A.D. BUTI to the Minister for Emergency Services:
I refer to the McGowan government's
historic reforms to the state's emergency services. Can the minister
update the house how these reforms, through the strengthening of volunteer
relations and working with other key stakeholders, are leading to improvements
in community safety?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Armadale for
his strong support for emergency service volunteers in WA and, in fact, his
attendance at the recent Bedfordale volunteer expo on preparing for the
forthcoming fire season. The member for Thornlie was there; he cycled all the
way up there. Well done, member for Thornlie.
As
members know, on 13 April last year we announced reforms to fire and emergency
services in WA, which created the Rural Fire Division. Since then we
have got on with historic reforms that we are delivering across the whole of Western
Australia. We promised to strengthen volunteer relations as part of the rural
fire division strategy and we are getting on and doing that. Under the previous
government, the tensions between government—particularly ministers—and
volunteers were paramount. They knew it and the member for Warren–Blackwood
knows this. All he has to do is go around and ask the volunteer groups what the
relationship was like with the previous government. It was horrendous. We have
turned that completely around.
As I have said in this house
before, the Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner and I have travelled the
length and breadth of Western Australia and spoken to 230 volunteer brigades,
units and associations across the whole state, from Kununurra to Esperance and
all the way through the wheatbelt.
As part of building better
relations with volunteers, I promised we would set up a ministerial volunteer
forum. The first ministerial volunteer forum was held with the associations
themselves on 6 June this year. We went through a series of discussions about
how we can grow the volunteer base in Western Australia. Attracting volunteers
is a critical issue that is facing Western Australia. As members would have
noticed this morning when I read a brief ministerial statement about the
advertising campaign on getting behind the frontline, this was one of the
initiatives that came out of the ministerial volunteer advisory forum. We held
a bigger forum on 6 September when volunteers from across the whole of Western Australia
came to Perth. A series of workshops were held that have created a number of
initiatives the state government and I, as minister, are working on to enhance
the capabilities and experience of being a volunteer.
One of the initiatives volunteers
raised with me at the forums was the need for automatic external defibrillators—AED
devices. I can announce that, funded by the emergency services levy for the
first time, from 2020, we will roll out 780
automatic external defibrillator units so that each of the fire and emergency
services trucks, whether they are volunteer or career fire and rescue
service trucks, will have a defibrillator in them, which is a fantastic
initiative.
Mrs M.H. Roberts : That is a great
initiative.
Mr F.M. LOGAN : That idea
came from the volunteers themselves and we have taken it up and have the
contract in place for the supply of them.
Mrs M.H. Roberts : They can
save someone's life.
Mr F.M. LOGAN : That is
right, Minister for Police. We have taken up that initiative and are buying the
defibrillators and training the volunteers in their use and they will be put
into all those trucks across the whole of Western Australia. Just imagine what
that will do for the safety of people in rural and regional Western Australia.
What was that from the National
Party: ''Thanks very much, minister, for rolling out defibrillators
across regional Western Australia, which will help save the lives of regional Western
Australians. Thanks very much. We wish, minister, that we had thought of that
when we were in government. But instead, we spent our money on talking toilets
and painted wooden cows.''
Mr D.J. Kelly interjected.
The SPEAKER : Minister for
Water, you are on three.
his strong support for emergency service volunteers in WA and, in fact, his
attendance at the recent Bedfordale volunteer expo on preparing for the
forthcoming fire season. The member for Thornlie was there; he cycled all the
way up there. Well done, member for Thornlie.
As
members know, on 13 April last year we announced reforms to fire and emergency
services in WA, which created the Rural Fire Division. Since then we
have got on with historic reforms that we are delivering across the whole of Western
Australia. We promised to strengthen volunteer relations as part of the rural
fire division strategy and we are getting on and doing that. Under the previous
government, the tensions between government—particularly ministers—and
volunteers were paramount. They knew it and the member for Warren–Blackwood
knows this. All he has to do is go around and ask the volunteer groups what the
relationship was like with the previous government. It was horrendous. We have
turned that completely around.
As I have said in this house
before, the Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner and I have travelled the
length and breadth of Western Australia and spoken to 230 volunteer brigades,
units and associations across the whole state, from Kununurra to Esperance and
all the way through the wheatbelt.
As part of building better
relations with volunteers, I promised we would set up a ministerial volunteer
forum. The first ministerial volunteer forum was held with the associations
themselves on 6 June this year. We went through a series of discussions about
how we can grow the volunteer base in Western Australia. Attracting volunteers
is a critical issue that is facing Western Australia. As members would have
noticed this morning when I read a brief ministerial statement about the
advertising campaign on getting behind the frontline, this was one of the
initiatives that came out of the ministerial volunteer advisory forum. We held
a bigger forum on 6 September when volunteers from across the whole of Western Australia
came to Perth. A series of workshops were held that have created a number of
initiatives the state government and I, as minister, are working on to enhance
the capabilities and experience of being a volunteer.
One of the initiatives volunteers
raised with me at the forums was the need for automatic external defibrillators—AED
devices. I can announce that, funded by the emergency services levy for the
first time, from 2020, we will roll out 780
automatic external defibrillator units so that each of the fire and emergency
services trucks, whether they are volunteer or career fire and rescue
service trucks, will have a defibrillator in them, which is a fantastic
initiative.
Mrs M.H. Roberts : That is a great
initiative.
Mr F.M. LOGAN : That idea
came from the volunteers themselves and we have taken it up and have the
contract in place for the supply of them.
Mrs M.H. Roberts : They can
save someone's life.
Mr F.M. LOGAN : That is
right, Minister for Police. We have taken up that initiative and are buying the
defibrillators and training the volunteers in their use and they will be put
into all those trucks across the whole of Western Australia. Just imagine what
that will do for the safety of people in rural and regional Western Australia.
What was that from the National
Party: ''Thanks very much, minister, for rolling out defibrillators
across regional Western Australia, which will help save the lives of regional Western
Australians. Thanks very much. We wish, minister, that we had thought of that
when we were in government. But instead, we spent our money on talking toilets
and painted wooden cows.''
Mr D.J. Kelly interjected.
The SPEAKER : Minister for
Water, you are on three.
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