❓ Hon. Colin de Grussa raises concerns about communication failures during emergencies in regional WA. The Minister acknowledges the issue and outlines measures DFES takes to mitigate risks, requesting specific incident details for further investigation.
AnsweredQoN 29Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
DEPARTMENT OF FIRE AND
EMERGENCY SERVICES — COMMUNICATIONS
29. Hon COLIN de GRUSSA to the minister representing the
Minister for Emergency Services:
I refer to recent reports of
regional emergency services volunteers and community members being unable to
communicate during emergencies due to certain factors, including
telecommunication outages, a poor mobile signal and a poor Western Australian
emergency radio network signal.
(1) Have any of
these incidents been raised with the Department of Fire and Emergency Services
or the minister's office?
(2) If yes to (1), will the minister
please provide the details of those incidents?
(3) What is the
government doing to ensure that our regional emergency service volunteers and
community members remain connected in emergency situations?
EMERGENCY SERVICES — COMMUNICATIONS
29. Hon COLIN de GRUSSA to the minister representing the
Minister for Emergency Services:
I refer to recent reports of
regional emergency services volunteers and community members being unable to
communicate during emergencies due to certain factors, including
telecommunication outages, a poor mobile signal and a poor Western Australian
emergency radio network signal.
(1) Have any of
these incidents been raised with the Department of Fire and Emergency Services
or the minister's office?
(2) If yes to (1), will the minister
please provide the details of those incidents?
(3) What is the
government doing to ensure that our regional emergency service volunteers and
community members remain connected in emergency situations?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1)–(3) Effective telecommunications are critical for
efficient emergency response and the safety of responders. The Department of
Fire and Emergency Services relies on service providers for the provision of a range
of voice and data transmission networks, such as 3G and 4G and satellite, and
together with other emergency service providers, such as St John Ambulance WA,
the WA Police Force and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and
Attractions, the provision of radio networks. DFES maintains over 180 radio
repeaters providing WAERN radio coverage to urban and regional centres and
large parts of the coast and rural areas.
Continuity of services will always be
an ongoing concern for emergency services and for community members alike,
which is why, for example, the ABC has urged the public to maintain a battery-powered
radio to ensure that they continue to receive emergency information should the
mobile phone networks fail. It is not considered safe to rely on a single
source of information during an emergency incident.
Many
factors cause communications issues, including peak demand causing network
congestion, blackspots in telecommunication coverage and power failures
that in turn cause communications systems to fail.
Similar
to communications providers and other government agencies, DFES maintains a small
fleet of mobile telecommunications equipment, such as mobile radio repeaters
and satellite communications equipment, that can be mobilised onto a major
incident ground should the equipment be damaged or a power disruption cause the
equipment to fail, provided the equipment can be located safely and be
supported. This equipment can also be used when incidents occur in areas
without WAERN coverage. Our major 3G and 4G network providers and the national
broadband network also maintain a small fleet of mobile communications cells
that are mobilised for community use should extended communication cell outages
be experienced.
DFES also has the option to utilise
the Australian Defence Force through the Defence Force Assistance to the Civil
Community request process to enhance radio communications. This was enacted
during the Norseman Complex bushfires in January 2020.
DFES is reliant on reliable
telecommunications and has in place a range of measures to mitigate risk
including the provision of equipment, appropriate training, reviewing and
identifying blackspots with its telecommunications providers and ensuring radio
communication plans and workarounds are current.
If the honourable member has a specific
question relating to an incident or area, the minister requests that he be more
specific.
some notice of the question.
(1)–(3) Effective telecommunications are critical for
efficient emergency response and the safety of responders. The Department of
Fire and Emergency Services relies on service providers for the provision of a range
of voice and data transmission networks, such as 3G and 4G and satellite, and
together with other emergency service providers, such as St John Ambulance WA,
the WA Police Force and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and
Attractions, the provision of radio networks. DFES maintains over 180 radio
repeaters providing WAERN radio coverage to urban and regional centres and
large parts of the coast and rural areas.
Continuity of services will always be
an ongoing concern for emergency services and for community members alike,
which is why, for example, the ABC has urged the public to maintain a battery-powered
radio to ensure that they continue to receive emergency information should the
mobile phone networks fail. It is not considered safe to rely on a single
source of information during an emergency incident.
Many
factors cause communications issues, including peak demand causing network
congestion, blackspots in telecommunication coverage and power failures
that in turn cause communications systems to fail.
Similar
to communications providers and other government agencies, DFES maintains a small
fleet of mobile telecommunications equipment, such as mobile radio repeaters
and satellite communications equipment, that can be mobilised onto a major
incident ground should the equipment be damaged or a power disruption cause the
equipment to fail, provided the equipment can be located safely and be
supported. This equipment can also be used when incidents occur in areas
without WAERN coverage. Our major 3G and 4G network providers and the national
broadband network also maintain a small fleet of mobile communications cells
that are mobilised for community use should extended communication cell outages
be experienced.
DFES also has the option to utilise
the Australian Defence Force through the Defence Force Assistance to the Civil
Community request process to enhance radio communications. This was enacted
during the Norseman Complex bushfires in January 2020.
DFES is reliant on reliable
telecommunications and has in place a range of measures to mitigate risk
including the provision of equipment, appropriate training, reviewing and
identifying blackspots with its telecommunications providers and ensuring radio
communication plans and workarounds are current.
If the honourable member has a specific
question relating to an incident or area, the minister requests that he be more
specific.
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