❓ Premier responds to questions regarding the government's $75 million package to bolster emergency services, highlighting investments in career firefighters, volunteer services, facility upgrades, and bushfire management capabilities.
AnsweredQoN 227Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
EMERGENCY SERVICES — FUNDING
227. Mr H.T. JONES to the Premier:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
commitment to keeping the Western Australian community safe.
(1) Can the
Premier outline to the house how this government's $74.5 million
package to bolster emergency services will further protect Western Australians
from the threat of fire?
(2) Can the
Premier advise how this package will deliver the biggest expansion of career
firefighters in Western Australia in more than 50 years?
227. Mr H.T. JONES to the Premier:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
commitment to keeping the Western Australian community safe.
(1) Can the
Premier outline to the house how this government's $74.5 million
package to bolster emergency services will further protect Western Australians
from the threat of fire?
(2) Can the
Premier advise how this package will deliver the biggest expansion of career
firefighters in Western Australia in more than 50 years?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for the question. It is a very important one. He goes to the
heart of the issues in his electorate, one of those electorates that backs up
against a lot of bushland in our peri-urban areas, and the fact we are now experiencing one of the driest
stretches since rainfall data was first recorded 150 years ago . It is
very pertinent to the member for Darling Range's community. Since
September, we have received just 30 millimetres
of rain. We all feel it. We all see our gardens and our communities, and the
trees in our areas suffering. No-one
is more on edge about the situation than our firefighters, both career and
volunteer . Whenever there is a hot day, whenever there is an easterly
wind, whenever lightning is forecast, they are on high alert, and the time they
have spent on high alert has been longer in recent years. They are battling
some of the longest and most severe bushfire seasons in Western Australian
history, and crews have responded to more than 4 300 bushfires since October
2023.
We thank them. They do an incredible
job saving property, saving lives and saving livelihoods. Equally, we must make sure that they have the resources
they need to do their jobs safely and effectively. Yesterday , I was
joined by the Minister for Emergency Services, Hon Stephen Dawson; Department
of Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm; and the local member
for Forrestfield, Stephen Price, at the DFES academy. We saw their skills on
display as the firies battled simulated emergencies. We also confirmed a $75 million
allocation in the forthcoming budget to boost fire and emergency services in
the state. It is an investment in our crews and an investment in community
safety. The $75 million package includes the biggest expansion of our career
firefighting teams in more than 50 years. Madam Speaker, $23 million will help
employ more than 60 career firefighters, increasing the total firefighters
since 2021 by 132. The emergency services
package also includes $8.6 million for volunteer emergency services, which are vitally important in a state as big as ours; $7.7 million to upgrade
facilities at career fire stations; and $5.8
million to progress replacement of Maddington and Armadale career fire
stations. Lastly, there is more than $30 million to bolster parks and
wildlife service bushfire capabilities. That will fund 34 additional bushfire management staff and new firefighting
equipment across the south west, great southern and Perth hills through
the parks and wildlife service. This funding shows my government's
commitment to always doing what is right for our frontline personnel. It is a recognition
of the crucial work we do to keep all Western
Australians safe. This comes on top of the significant investment that we made
previously as a government, expanding our aerial firefighting fleet,
creating a rural fire division, developing the Bushfire Centre of Excellence
and, of course, creating the Koolinup Emergency Services Centre in Collie. This
is part of our Collie transition package, which is seeing people transitioning
to manufacturing and equipping our firefighting facilities, making sure that we
continue to create and transition new industries into Collie.
We know that the Liberal Party shares
our passion for bringing new things to Collie. In fact, we heard from Peter
Dutton this morning on behalf of the Liberal Party, stating that it would be
bringing nuclear power to Collie. I am not sure what the member for Collie's
constituents think of that, but they will have bright, sunny, glowing things
for Collie in the future, including a new nuclear power facility. We know that
the people of Collie will perhaps be concerned about that, particularly since
the nearest opportunity for nuclear power to be developed in Australia is about
two decades away. We want to transition out of coal much earlier than that. We
know that the Liberal Party, being climate change deniers, do not share our
sense of urgency around that.
We will continue to invest in our
bushfire volunteer and career firefighting teams, making sure they have the
resources and colleagues, and making sure that we can continue to drive great
excellence in bushfire and structure fire mitigation and control. We know that
the Liberal Party does not share these concerns. It took a Labor government to
create these investments. Its only future for Collie is one around nuclear
power, not around a just transition.
thank the member for the question. It is a very important one. He goes to the
heart of the issues in his electorate, one of those electorates that backs up
against a lot of bushland in our peri-urban areas, and the fact we are now experiencing one of the driest
stretches since rainfall data was first recorded 150 years ago . It is
very pertinent to the member for Darling Range's community. Since
September, we have received just 30 millimetres
of rain. We all feel it. We all see our gardens and our communities, and the
trees in our areas suffering. No-one
is more on edge about the situation than our firefighters, both career and
volunteer . Whenever there is a hot day, whenever there is an easterly
wind, whenever lightning is forecast, they are on high alert, and the time they
have spent on high alert has been longer in recent years. They are battling
some of the longest and most severe bushfire seasons in Western Australian
history, and crews have responded to more than 4 300 bushfires since October
2023.
We thank them. They do an incredible
job saving property, saving lives and saving livelihoods. Equally, we must make sure that they have the resources
they need to do their jobs safely and effectively. Yesterday , I was
joined by the Minister for Emergency Services, Hon Stephen Dawson; Department
of Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm; and the local member
for Forrestfield, Stephen Price, at the DFES academy. We saw their skills on
display as the firies battled simulated emergencies. We also confirmed a $75 million
allocation in the forthcoming budget to boost fire and emergency services in
the state. It is an investment in our crews and an investment in community
safety. The $75 million package includes the biggest expansion of our career
firefighting teams in more than 50 years. Madam Speaker, $23 million will help
employ more than 60 career firefighters, increasing the total firefighters
since 2021 by 132. The emergency services
package also includes $8.6 million for volunteer emergency services, which are vitally important in a state as big as ours; $7.7 million to upgrade
facilities at career fire stations; and $5.8
million to progress replacement of Maddington and Armadale career fire
stations. Lastly, there is more than $30 million to bolster parks and
wildlife service bushfire capabilities. That will fund 34 additional bushfire management staff and new firefighting
equipment across the south west, great southern and Perth hills through
the parks and wildlife service. This funding shows my government's
commitment to always doing what is right for our frontline personnel. It is a recognition
of the crucial work we do to keep all Western
Australians safe. This comes on top of the significant investment that we made
previously as a government, expanding our aerial firefighting fleet,
creating a rural fire division, developing the Bushfire Centre of Excellence
and, of course, creating the Koolinup Emergency Services Centre in Collie. This
is part of our Collie transition package, which is seeing people transitioning
to manufacturing and equipping our firefighting facilities, making sure that we
continue to create and transition new industries into Collie.
We know that the Liberal Party shares
our passion for bringing new things to Collie. In fact, we heard from Peter
Dutton this morning on behalf of the Liberal Party, stating that it would be
bringing nuclear power to Collie. I am not sure what the member for Collie's
constituents think of that, but they will have bright, sunny, glowing things
for Collie in the future, including a new nuclear power facility. We know that
the people of Collie will perhaps be concerned about that, particularly since
the nearest opportunity for nuclear power to be developed in Australia is about
two decades away. We want to transition out of coal much earlier than that. We
know that the Liberal Party, being climate change deniers, do not share our
sense of urgency around that.
We will continue to invest in our
bushfire volunteer and career firefighting teams, making sure they have the
resources and colleagues, and making sure that we can continue to drive great
excellence in bushfire and structure fire mitigation and control. We know that
the Liberal Party does not share these concerns. It took a Labor government to
create these investments. Its only future for Collie is one around nuclear
power, not around a just transition.
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