❓ A WA parliamentary question regarding a multi-agency emergency exercise in the Graham Farmer Tunnel. The Minister's response highlights the exercise's success in improving coordination between emergency services and volunteers, while also identifying areas for improvement.
AnsweredQoN 265Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
GRAHAM FARMER TUNNEL — MULTI-AGENCY EMERGENCY EXERCISE
Mr Speaker — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr J.N. HYDE : The Northbridge tunnel in my electorate is closed regularly to fix the leaks in that poorly built piece of Liberal Party infrastructure. I understand that recently the Northbridge tunnel was closed at the minister’s behest. Can the minister inform the house of the results and benefits of that decision? Mr J.C. KOBELKE
Mr Speaker — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr J.N. HYDE : The Northbridge tunnel in my electorate is closed regularly to fix the leaks in that poorly built piece of Liberal Party infrastructure. I understand that recently the Northbridge tunnel was closed at the minister’s behest. Can the minister inform the house of the results and benefits of that decision? Mr J.C. KOBELKE
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for his question. The member has quite rightly alluded to the fact that on Sunday, 4 May, the tunnel on Graham Farmer Freeway was closed to enable a major multi-agency exercise to be undertaken. The debriefing of that exercise has now been conveyed to me. It is clear from that debriefing that that exercise has proved to be very successful in making sure that a range of services and agencies will be able to respond if an emergency does occur in that tunnel. Of course we have in mind the accident and fire in the Burnley Tunnel in Melbourne in 2003, which resulted in the loss of three lives. The exercise that took place two weekends ago involved WA Police, the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia, Main Roads, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, the Department of Health, St John Ambulance, local government and a large number of volunteers. The report-back on the exercise revealed a number of issues that need to be improved upon. However, overall, the exercise was a great success in helping to make sure that all these agencies are able to coordinate in the event of an accident in the tunnel and potentially a fire. The exercise was certainly very worthwhile. Some valuable lessons have been learnt in that exercise about how to access and get people out of tunnel. I was very pleased to see how the exercise was run and the huge number of people involved. I want to give special thanks to the cadets from the Western Australian Police Academy, who acted as the patients and had to wait in the cars until they could be evacuated and moved to the ambulances. I also want to thank all the volunteers who helped. Of course, we know that in all the emergencies situations that occur in Western Australia, the volunteers turn up and do a fantastic job. I also want to give very special thanks to the people from Salvation Army emergency operations—Derryle and Peter Barker, and Lyn and Mal Bradstreet. They turned out to support the emergency services people at the fire in Middle Swan on the Saturday night of that weekend. They then went straight from there to Perth Airport because of the potential bomb scare, and they remained there throughout the night, servicing the many hundreds of people involved, and also the people who were evacuated. They then went from there to the tunnel exercise and made themselves available to provide drinks and food for the people involved in that operation, and they were still working at midday on the Sunday. The support from the Salvation Army was a fantastic effort, as it is on so many occasions. The tunnel exercise was a great success in making sure that we are able to coordinate the agencies and the volunteers, and the lessons that were learnt from that exercise will stand us in good stead if ever a major emergency does occur.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr J.N. HYDE : The Northbridge tunnel in my electorate is closed regularly to fix the leaks in that poorly built piece of Liberal Party infrastructure. I understand that recently the Northbridge tunnel was closed at the minister’s behest. Can the minister inform the house of the results and benefits of that decision? Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: I thank the member for his question. The member has quite rightly alluded to the fact that on Sunday, 4 May, the tunnel on Graham Farmer Freeway was closed to enable a major multi-agency exercise to be undertaken. The debriefing of that exercise has now been conveyed to me. It is clear from that debriefing that that exercise has proved to be very successful in making sure that a range of services and agencies will be able to respond if an emergency does occur in that tunnel. Of course we have in mind the accident and fire in the Burnley Tunnel in Melbourne in 2003, which resulted in the loss of three lives. The exercise that took place two weekends ago involved WA Police, the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia, Main Roads, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, the Department of Health, St John Ambulance, local government and a large number of volunteers. The report-back on the exercise revealed a number of issues that need to be improved upon. However, overall, the exercise was a great success in helping to make sure that all these agencies are able to coordinate in the event of an accident in the tunnel and potentially a fire. The exercise was certainly very worthwhile. Some valuable lessons have been learnt in that exercise about how to access and get people out of tunnel. I was very pleased to see how the exercise was run and the huge number of people involved. I want to give special thanks to the cadets from the Western Australian Police Academy, who acted as the patients and had to wait in the cars until they could be evacuated and moved to the ambulances. I also want to thank all the volunteers who helped. Of course, we know that in all the emergencies situations that occur in Western Australia, the volunteers turn up and do a fantastic job. I also want to give very special thanks to the people from Salvation Army emergency operations—Derryle and Peter Barker, and Lyn and Mal Bradstreet. They turned out to support the emergency services people at the fire in Middle Swan on the Saturday night of that weekend. They then went straight from there to Perth Airport because of the potential bomb scare, and they remained there throughout the night, servicing the many hundreds of people involved, and also the people who were evacuated. They then went from there to the tunnel exercise and made themselves available to provide drinks and food for the people involved in that operation, and they were still working at midday on the Sunday. The support from the Salvation Army was a fantastic effort, as it is on so many occasions. The tunnel exercise was a great success in making sure that we are able to coordinate the agencies and the volunteers, and the lessons that were learnt from that exercise will stand us in good stead if ever a major emergency does occur.
The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr J.N. HYDE : The Northbridge tunnel in my electorate is closed regularly to fix the leaks in that poorly built piece of Liberal Party infrastructure. I understand that recently the Northbridge tunnel was closed at the minister’s behest. Can the minister inform the house of the results and benefits of that decision? Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: I thank the member for his question. The member has quite rightly alluded to the fact that on Sunday, 4 May, the tunnel on Graham Farmer Freeway was closed to enable a major multi-agency exercise to be undertaken. The debriefing of that exercise has now been conveyed to me. It is clear from that debriefing that that exercise has proved to be very successful in making sure that a range of services and agencies will be able to respond if an emergency does occur in that tunnel. Of course we have in mind the accident and fire in the Burnley Tunnel in Melbourne in 2003, which resulted in the loss of three lives. The exercise that took place two weekends ago involved WA Police, the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia, Main Roads, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, the Department of Health, St John Ambulance, local government and a large number of volunteers. The report-back on the exercise revealed a number of issues that need to be improved upon. However, overall, the exercise was a great success in helping to make sure that all these agencies are able to coordinate in the event of an accident in the tunnel and potentially a fire. The exercise was certainly very worthwhile. Some valuable lessons have been learnt in that exercise about how to access and get people out of tunnel. I was very pleased to see how the exercise was run and the huge number of people involved. I want to give special thanks to the cadets from the Western Australian Police Academy, who acted as the patients and had to wait in the cars until they could be evacuated and moved to the ambulances. I also want to thank all the volunteers who helped. Of course, we know that in all the emergencies situations that occur in Western Australia, the volunteers turn up and do a fantastic job. I also want to give very special thanks to the people from Salvation Army emergency operations—Derryle and Peter Barker, and Lyn and Mal Bradstreet. They turned out to support the emergency services people at the fire in Middle Swan on the Saturday night of that weekend. They then went straight from there to Perth Airport because of the potential bomb scare, and they remained there throughout the night, servicing the many hundreds of people involved, and also the people who were evacuated. They then went from there to the tunnel exercise and made themselves available to provide drinks and food for the people involved in that operation, and they were still working at midday on the Sunday. The support from the Salvation Army was a fantastic effort, as it is on so many occasions. The tunnel exercise was a great success in making sure that we are able to coordinate the agencies and the volunteers, and the lessons that were learnt from that exercise will stand us in good stead if ever a major emergency does occur.
Mr J.N. HYDE : The Northbridge tunnel in my electorate is closed regularly to fix the leaks in that poorly built piece of Liberal Party infrastructure. I understand that recently the Northbridge tunnel was closed at the minister’s behest. Can the minister inform the house of the results and benefits of that decision? Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: I thank the member for his question. The member has quite rightly alluded to the fact that on Sunday, 4 May, the tunnel on Graham Farmer Freeway was closed to enable a major multi-agency exercise to be undertaken. The debriefing of that exercise has now been conveyed to me. It is clear from that debriefing that that exercise has proved to be very successful in making sure that a range of services and agencies will be able to respond if an emergency does occur in that tunnel. Of course we have in mind the accident and fire in the Burnley Tunnel in Melbourne in 2003, which resulted in the loss of three lives. The exercise that took place two weekends ago involved WA Police, the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia, Main Roads, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, the Department of Health, St John Ambulance, local government and a large number of volunteers. The report-back on the exercise revealed a number of issues that need to be improved upon. However, overall, the exercise was a great success in helping to make sure that all these agencies are able to coordinate in the event of an accident in the tunnel and potentially a fire. The exercise was certainly very worthwhile. Some valuable lessons have been learnt in that exercise about how to access and get people out of tunnel. I was very pleased to see how the exercise was run and the huge number of people involved. I want to give special thanks to the cadets from the Western Australian Police Academy, who acted as the patients and had to wait in the cars until they could be evacuated and moved to the ambulances. I also want to thank all the volunteers who helped. Of course, we know that in all the emergencies situations that occur in Western Australia, the volunteers turn up and do a fantastic job. I also want to give very special thanks to the people from Salvation Army emergency operations—Derryle and Peter Barker, and Lyn and Mal Bradstreet. They turned out to support the emergency services people at the fire in Middle Swan on the Saturday night of that weekend. They then went straight from there to Perth Airport because of the potential bomb scare, and they remained there throughout the night, servicing the many hundreds of people involved, and also the people who were evacuated. They then went from there to the tunnel exercise and made themselves available to provide drinks and food for the people involved in that operation, and they were still working at midday on the Sunday. The support from the Salvation Army was a fantastic effort, as it is on so many occasions. The tunnel exercise was a great success in making sure that we are able to coordinate the agencies and the volunteers, and the lessons that were learnt from that exercise will stand us in good stead if ever a major emergency does occur.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: I thank the member for his question. The member has quite rightly alluded to the fact that on Sunday, 4 May, the tunnel on Graham Farmer Freeway was closed to enable a major multi-agency exercise to be undertaken. The debriefing of that exercise has now been conveyed to me. It is clear from that debriefing that that exercise has proved to be very successful in making sure that a range of services and agencies will be able to respond if an emergency does occur in that tunnel. Of course we have in mind the accident and fire in the Burnley Tunnel in Melbourne in 2003, which resulted in the loss of three lives. The exercise that took place two weekends ago involved WA Police, the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia, Main Roads, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, the Department of Health, St John Ambulance, local government and a large number of volunteers. The report-back on the exercise revealed a number of issues that need to be improved upon. However, overall, the exercise was a great success in helping to make sure that all these agencies are able to coordinate in the event of an accident in the tunnel and potentially a fire. The exercise was certainly very worthwhile. Some valuable lessons have been learnt in that exercise about how to access and get people out of tunnel. I was very pleased to see how the exercise was run and the huge number of people involved. I want to give special thanks to the cadets from the Western Australian Police Academy, who acted as the patients and had to wait in the cars until they could be evacuated and moved to the ambulances. I also want to thank all the volunteers who helped. Of course, we know that in all the emergencies situations that occur in Western Australia, the volunteers turn up and do a fantastic job. I also want to give very special thanks to the people from Salvation Army emergency operations—Derryle and Peter Barker, and Lyn and Mal Bradstreet. They turned out to support the emergency services people at the fire in Middle Swan on the Saturday night of that weekend. They then went straight from there to Perth Airport because of the potential bomb scare, and they remained there throughout the night, servicing the many hundreds of people involved, and also the people who were evacuated. They then went from there to the tunnel exercise and made themselves available to provide drinks and food for the people involved in that operation, and they were still working at midday on the Sunday. The support from the Salvation Army was a fantastic effort, as it is on so many occasions. The tunnel exercise was a great success in making sure that we are able to coordinate the agencies and the volunteers, and the lessons that were learnt from that exercise will stand us in good stead if ever a major emergency does occur.
I thank the member for his question. The member has quite rightly alluded to the fact that on Sunday, 4 May, the tunnel on Graham Farmer Freeway was closed to enable a major multi-agency exercise to be undertaken. The debriefing of that exercise has now been conveyed to me. It is clear from that debriefing that that exercise has proved to be very successful in making sure that a range of services and agencies will be able to respond if an emergency does occur in that tunnel. Of course we have in mind the accident and fire in the Burnley Tunnel in Melbourne in 2003, which resulted in the loss of three lives. The exercise that took place two weekends ago involved WA Police, the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia, Main Roads, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, the Department of Health, St John Ambulance, local government and a large number of volunteers. The report-back on the exercise revealed a number of issues that need to be improved upon. However, overall, the exercise was a great success in helping to make sure that all these agencies are able to coordinate in the event of an accident in the tunnel and potentially a fire. The exercise was certainly very worthwhile. Some valuable lessons have been learnt in that exercise about how to access and get people out of tunnel. I was very pleased to see how the exercise was run and the huge number of people involved. I want to give special thanks to the cadets from the Western Australian Police Academy, who acted as the patients and had to wait in the cars until they could be evacuated and moved to the ambulances. I also want to thank all the volunteers who helped. Of course, we know that in all the emergencies situations that occur in Western Australia, the volunteers turn up and do a fantastic job. I also want to give very special thanks to the people from Salvation Army emergency operations—Derryle and Peter Barker, and Lyn and Mal Bradstreet. They turned out to support the emergency services people at the fire in Middle Swan on the Saturday night of that weekend. They then went straight from there to Perth Airport because of the potential bomb scare, and they remained there throughout the night, servicing the many hundreds of people involved, and also the people who were evacuated. They then went from there to the tunnel exercise and made themselves available to provide drinks and food for the people involved in that operation, and they were still working at midday on the Sunday. The support from the Salvation Army was a fantastic effort, as it is on so many occasions. The tunnel exercise was a great success in making sure that we are able to coordinate the agencies and the volunteers, and the lessons that were learnt from that exercise will stand us in good stead if ever a major emergency does occur.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr J.N. HYDE : The Northbridge tunnel in my electorate is closed regularly to fix the leaks in that poorly built piece of Liberal Party infrastructure. I understand that recently the Northbridge tunnel was closed at the minister’s behest. Can the minister inform the house of the results and benefits of that decision? Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: I thank the member for his question. The member has quite rightly alluded to the fact that on Sunday, 4 May, the tunnel on Graham Farmer Freeway was closed to enable a major multi-agency exercise to be undertaken. The debriefing of that exercise has now been conveyed to me. It is clear from that debriefing that that exercise has proved to be very successful in making sure that a range of services and agencies will be able to respond if an emergency does occur in that tunnel. Of course we have in mind the accident and fire in the Burnley Tunnel in Melbourne in 2003, which resulted in the loss of three lives. The exercise that took place two weekends ago involved WA Police, the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia, Main Roads, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, the Department of Health, St John Ambulance, local government and a large number of volunteers. The report-back on the exercise revealed a number of issues that need to be improved upon. However, overall, the exercise was a great success in helping to make sure that all these agencies are able to coordinate in the event of an accident in the tunnel and potentially a fire. The exercise was certainly very worthwhile. Some valuable lessons have been learnt in that exercise about how to access and get people out of tunnel. I was very pleased to see how the exercise was run and the huge number of people involved. I want to give special thanks to the cadets from the Western Australian Police Academy, who acted as the patients and had to wait in the cars until they could be evacuated and moved to the ambulances. I also want to thank all the volunteers who helped. Of course, we know that in all the emergencies situations that occur in Western Australia, the volunteers turn up and do a fantastic job. I also want to give very special thanks to the people from Salvation Army emergency operations—Derryle and Peter Barker, and Lyn and Mal Bradstreet. They turned out to support the emergency services people at the fire in Middle Swan on the Saturday night of that weekend. They then went straight from there to Perth Airport because of the potential bomb scare, and they remained there throughout the night, servicing the many hundreds of people involved, and also the people who were evacuated. They then went from there to the tunnel exercise and made themselves available to provide drinks and food for the people involved in that operation, and they were still working at midday on the Sunday. The support from the Salvation Army was a fantastic effort, as it is on so many occasions. The tunnel exercise was a great success in making sure that we are able to coordinate the agencies and the volunteers, and the lessons that were learnt from that exercise will stand us in good stead if ever a major emergency does occur.
The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr J.N. HYDE : The Northbridge tunnel in my electorate is closed regularly to fix the leaks in that poorly built piece of Liberal Party infrastructure. I understand that recently the Northbridge tunnel was closed at the minister’s behest. Can the minister inform the house of the results and benefits of that decision? Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: I thank the member for his question. The member has quite rightly alluded to the fact that on Sunday, 4 May, the tunnel on Graham Farmer Freeway was closed to enable a major multi-agency exercise to be undertaken. The debriefing of that exercise has now been conveyed to me. It is clear from that debriefing that that exercise has proved to be very successful in making sure that a range of services and agencies will be able to respond if an emergency does occur in that tunnel. Of course we have in mind the accident and fire in the Burnley Tunnel in Melbourne in 2003, which resulted in the loss of three lives. The exercise that took place two weekends ago involved WA Police, the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia, Main Roads, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, the Department of Health, St John Ambulance, local government and a large number of volunteers. The report-back on the exercise revealed a number of issues that need to be improved upon. However, overall, the exercise was a great success in helping to make sure that all these agencies are able to coordinate in the event of an accident in the tunnel and potentially a fire. The exercise was certainly very worthwhile. Some valuable lessons have been learnt in that exercise about how to access and get people out of tunnel. I was very pleased to see how the exercise was run and the huge number of people involved. I want to give special thanks to the cadets from the Western Australian Police Academy, who acted as the patients and had to wait in the cars until they could be evacuated and moved to the ambulances. I also want to thank all the volunteers who helped. Of course, we know that in all the emergencies situations that occur in Western Australia, the volunteers turn up and do a fantastic job. I also want to give very special thanks to the people from Salvation Army emergency operations—Derryle and Peter Barker, and Lyn and Mal Bradstreet. They turned out to support the emergency services people at the fire in Middle Swan on the Saturday night of that weekend. They then went straight from there to Perth Airport because of the potential bomb scare, and they remained there throughout the night, servicing the many hundreds of people involved, and also the people who were evacuated. They then went from there to the tunnel exercise and made themselves available to provide drinks and food for the people involved in that operation, and they were still working at midday on the Sunday. The support from the Salvation Army was a fantastic effort, as it is on so many occasions. The tunnel exercise was a great success in making sure that we are able to coordinate the agencies and the volunteers, and the lessons that were learnt from that exercise will stand us in good stead if ever a major emergency does occur.
Mr J.N. HYDE : The Northbridge tunnel in my electorate is closed regularly to fix the leaks in that poorly built piece of Liberal Party infrastructure. I understand that recently the Northbridge tunnel was closed at the minister’s behest. Can the minister inform the house of the results and benefits of that decision? Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: I thank the member for his question. The member has quite rightly alluded to the fact that on Sunday, 4 May, the tunnel on Graham Farmer Freeway was closed to enable a major multi-agency exercise to be undertaken. The debriefing of that exercise has now been conveyed to me. It is clear from that debriefing that that exercise has proved to be very successful in making sure that a range of services and agencies will be able to respond if an emergency does occur in that tunnel. Of course we have in mind the accident and fire in the Burnley Tunnel in Melbourne in 2003, which resulted in the loss of three lives. The exercise that took place two weekends ago involved WA Police, the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia, Main Roads, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, the Department of Health, St John Ambulance, local government and a large number of volunteers. The report-back on the exercise revealed a number of issues that need to be improved upon. However, overall, the exercise was a great success in helping to make sure that all these agencies are able to coordinate in the event of an accident in the tunnel and potentially a fire. The exercise was certainly very worthwhile. Some valuable lessons have been learnt in that exercise about how to access and get people out of tunnel. I was very pleased to see how the exercise was run and the huge number of people involved. I want to give special thanks to the cadets from the Western Australian Police Academy, who acted as the patients and had to wait in the cars until they could be evacuated and moved to the ambulances. I also want to thank all the volunteers who helped. Of course, we know that in all the emergencies situations that occur in Western Australia, the volunteers turn up and do a fantastic job. I also want to give very special thanks to the people from Salvation Army emergency operations—Derryle and Peter Barker, and Lyn and Mal Bradstreet. They turned out to support the emergency services people at the fire in Middle Swan on the Saturday night of that weekend. They then went straight from there to Perth Airport because of the potential bomb scare, and they remained there throughout the night, servicing the many hundreds of people involved, and also the people who were evacuated. They then went from there to the tunnel exercise and made themselves available to provide drinks and food for the people involved in that operation, and they were still working at midday on the Sunday. The support from the Salvation Army was a fantastic effort, as it is on so many occasions. The tunnel exercise was a great success in making sure that we are able to coordinate the agencies and the volunteers, and the lessons that were learnt from that exercise will stand us in good stead if ever a major emergency does occur.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: I thank the member for his question. The member has quite rightly alluded to the fact that on Sunday, 4 May, the tunnel on Graham Farmer Freeway was closed to enable a major multi-agency exercise to be undertaken. The debriefing of that exercise has now been conveyed to me. It is clear from that debriefing that that exercise has proved to be very successful in making sure that a range of services and agencies will be able to respond if an emergency does occur in that tunnel. Of course we have in mind the accident and fire in the Burnley Tunnel in Melbourne in 2003, which resulted in the loss of three lives. The exercise that took place two weekends ago involved WA Police, the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia, Main Roads, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, the Department of Health, St John Ambulance, local government and a large number of volunteers. The report-back on the exercise revealed a number of issues that need to be improved upon. However, overall, the exercise was a great success in helping to make sure that all these agencies are able to coordinate in the event of an accident in the tunnel and potentially a fire. The exercise was certainly very worthwhile. Some valuable lessons have been learnt in that exercise about how to access and get people out of tunnel. I was very pleased to see how the exercise was run and the huge number of people involved. I want to give special thanks to the cadets from the Western Australian Police Academy, who acted as the patients and had to wait in the cars until they could be evacuated and moved to the ambulances. I also want to thank all the volunteers who helped. Of course, we know that in all the emergencies situations that occur in Western Australia, the volunteers turn up and do a fantastic job. I also want to give very special thanks to the people from Salvation Army emergency operations—Derryle and Peter Barker, and Lyn and Mal Bradstreet. They turned out to support the emergency services people at the fire in Middle Swan on the Saturday night of that weekend. They then went straight from there to Perth Airport because of the potential bomb scare, and they remained there throughout the night, servicing the many hundreds of people involved, and also the people who were evacuated. They then went from there to the tunnel exercise and made themselves available to provide drinks and food for the people involved in that operation, and they were still working at midday on the Sunday. The support from the Salvation Army was a fantastic effort, as it is on so many occasions. The tunnel exercise was a great success in making sure that we are able to coordinate the agencies and the volunteers, and the lessons that were learnt from that exercise will stand us in good stead if ever a major emergency does occur.
I thank the member for his question. The member has quite rightly alluded to the fact that on Sunday, 4 May, the tunnel on Graham Farmer Freeway was closed to enable a major multi-agency exercise to be undertaken. The debriefing of that exercise has now been conveyed to me. It is clear from that debriefing that that exercise has proved to be very successful in making sure that a range of services and agencies will be able to respond if an emergency does occur in that tunnel. Of course we have in mind the accident and fire in the Burnley Tunnel in Melbourne in 2003, which resulted in the loss of three lives. The exercise that took place two weekends ago involved WA Police, the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia, Main Roads, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, the Department of Health, St John Ambulance, local government and a large number of volunteers. The report-back on the exercise revealed a number of issues that need to be improved upon. However, overall, the exercise was a great success in helping to make sure that all these agencies are able to coordinate in the event of an accident in the tunnel and potentially a fire. The exercise was certainly very worthwhile. Some valuable lessons have been learnt in that exercise about how to access and get people out of tunnel. I was very pleased to see how the exercise was run and the huge number of people involved. I want to give special thanks to the cadets from the Western Australian Police Academy, who acted as the patients and had to wait in the cars until they could be evacuated and moved to the ambulances. I also want to thank all the volunteers who helped. Of course, we know that in all the emergencies situations that occur in Western Australia, the volunteers turn up and do a fantastic job. I also want to give very special thanks to the people from Salvation Army emergency operations—Derryle and Peter Barker, and Lyn and Mal Bradstreet. They turned out to support the emergency services people at the fire in Middle Swan on the Saturday night of that weekend. They then went straight from there to Perth Airport because of the potential bomb scare, and they remained there throughout the night, servicing the many hundreds of people involved, and also the people who were evacuated. They then went from there to the tunnel exercise and made themselves available to provide drinks and food for the people involved in that operation, and they were still working at midday on the Sunday. The support from the Salvation Army was a fantastic effort, as it is on so many occasions. The tunnel exercise was a great success in making sure that we are able to coordinate the agencies and the volunteers, and the lessons that were learnt from that exercise will stand us in good stead if ever a major emergency does occur.
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