❓ Mr. Castrilli asks about the benefits of the new south west emergency rescue helicopter based at Bunbury Airport. The Minister details the helicopter's capabilities, coverage area, and its importance for critical care and rescue missions, particularly road accidents.
AnsweredQoN 500Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
EMERGENCY
SERVICES — SOUTH WEST RESCUE HELICOPTER
500. Mr G.M. CASTRILLI to the
Minister for Emergency Services:
It was a pleasure to join the minister last week as he
announced that the new south west emergency rescue helicopter will be based at
Bunbury Airport. Could the minister explain how this vital resource will
benefit communities in the region?
SERVICES — SOUTH WEST RESCUE HELICOPTER
500. Mr G.M. CASTRILLI to the
Minister for Emergency Services:
It was a pleasure to join the minister last week as he
announced that the new south west emergency rescue helicopter will be based at
Bunbury Airport. Could the minister explain how this vital resource will
benefit communities in the region?
AnswerView source ↗
Thank you, member for Bunbury, for the question. I can tell
the member that it was an absolute pleasure to go to Bunbury and announce that
the second rescue helicopter, as we committed to in the 2013 election would be
based in Bunbury —
Ms R. Saffioti interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for West Swan.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS :
It was a pleasure to be there, as finally the member for Bunbury will get off
my case on this. He has been like a dog with a bone, and he has been like a
union boss in Labor caucus, fighting to get this helicopter based down in
Bunbury and he has finally won. This is an important issue.
Ms R. Saffioti interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for West Swan, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS :
At the moment we have one rescue helicopter based in my electorate of Jandakot.
It is a wonderful facility.
Mr D.J. Kelly interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Bassendean, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS :
It flies around 600 rescue missions a year at the moment. It is very busy, and
it has a flying range of 500 kilometres and a radius of 250 kilometres without
refuelling. As we would all know, and as the Minister for Health knows,
commonsense dictates that the time it takes to get critical care to an
emergency situation in which someone has been seriously injured is absolutely
vital to that person's chances of survival. We have one rescue
helicopter at the moment. As I said, we committed to a second one, and last
week we announced that the second rescue helicopter will be based in Bunbury to
cover the south west and north to the southern part of Perth. This is a $29.95 million
to $30 million investment in trying to save lives in the south west, and trying
to find people when they are lost. But predominantly much of what these
helicopters do is to provide critical care and evacuation for people who have
been seriously injured. In fact, 80 per cent of the call-outs are for bad
situations of road crash, and in particular road crash rescue assistance.
The good news is that along with the current rescue
helicopter, there will be a large area that the service will overlap.
Therefore, anywhere from the southern parts of Perth to north of Bunbury, there
will be two helicopters available, because at some time or other we will find
that one helicopter will already be pre-tasked and parts of the state will go
without. It does mean that now 90 per cent of the state's population
will be under the coverage area of a rescue helicopter, and this is something
that we are very proud of.
The other good news, as I said, is that some parts of the
state, in particular the south metropolitan region, will be covered by two
rescue helicopters, which is very good news for the member for Willagee and
very good news indeed for the member for Armadale—so we can now rescue
them from the Labor Party caucus and the factual infighting that obviously goes
on in there! Just yell out when you need a hand, guys, and you are more than
welcome to come over to our side; you are more than welcome to come over here!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for West Swan!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Right. There is shouting going on from both sides here.
the member that it was an absolute pleasure to go to Bunbury and announce that
the second rescue helicopter, as we committed to in the 2013 election would be
based in Bunbury —
Ms R. Saffioti interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for West Swan.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS :
It was a pleasure to be there, as finally the member for Bunbury will get off
my case on this. He has been like a dog with a bone, and he has been like a
union boss in Labor caucus, fighting to get this helicopter based down in
Bunbury and he has finally won. This is an important issue.
Ms R. Saffioti interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for West Swan, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS :
At the moment we have one rescue helicopter based in my electorate of Jandakot.
It is a wonderful facility.
Mr D.J. Kelly interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Bassendean, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS :
It flies around 600 rescue missions a year at the moment. It is very busy, and
it has a flying range of 500 kilometres and a radius of 250 kilometres without
refuelling. As we would all know, and as the Minister for Health knows,
commonsense dictates that the time it takes to get critical care to an
emergency situation in which someone has been seriously injured is absolutely
vital to that person's chances of survival. We have one rescue
helicopter at the moment. As I said, we committed to a second one, and last
week we announced that the second rescue helicopter will be based in Bunbury to
cover the south west and north to the southern part of Perth. This is a $29.95 million
to $30 million investment in trying to save lives in the south west, and trying
to find people when they are lost. But predominantly much of what these
helicopters do is to provide critical care and evacuation for people who have
been seriously injured. In fact, 80 per cent of the call-outs are for bad
situations of road crash, and in particular road crash rescue assistance.
The good news is that along with the current rescue
helicopter, there will be a large area that the service will overlap.
Therefore, anywhere from the southern parts of Perth to north of Bunbury, there
will be two helicopters available, because at some time or other we will find
that one helicopter will already be pre-tasked and parts of the state will go
without. It does mean that now 90 per cent of the state's population
will be under the coverage area of a rescue helicopter, and this is something
that we are very proud of.
The other good news, as I said, is that some parts of the
state, in particular the south metropolitan region, will be covered by two
rescue helicopters, which is very good news for the member for Willagee and
very good news indeed for the member for Armadale—so we can now rescue
them from the Labor Party caucus and the factual infighting that obviously goes
on in there! Just yell out when you need a hand, guys, and you are more than
welcome to come over to our side; you are more than welcome to come over here!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for West Swan!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Right. There is shouting going on from both sides here.
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