DEPARTMENT OF FIRE AND
EMERGENCY SERVICES — MULTIPURPOSE FACILITY — COLLIE
344. Hon COLIN de GRUSSA to the minister representing the
Minister for Emergency Services:
I refer to the government's
recent announcement of the construction of an $8 million multipurpose bushfire
facility in Collie.
(1) What process
did the government undertake to determine the location of this facility and
what other regional communities were considered?
(2) Will the
Collie bushfire facility provide services that the recently announced $18 million
Bushfire Centre of Excellence in Nambeelup does not provide?
(3) If yes to (2), why were these
services not considered as part of the Bushfire Centre of Excellence?
(4) If no to (2),
why was it necessary to spend $8 million to create a facility that offers
duplicate services just 119 kilometres south of the Bushfire Centre of
Excellence?
(5) Why was Collie not simply chosen
as the preferred site for the Bushfire Centre of Excellence?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) The state
government is committed to increasing emergency management capability across
the state, including in the south west
region. The new multipurpose bushfire facility will provide the community with
the resources to manage complex bushfires as
well as contribute to regional prosperity and local job creation. Collie is the ideal location to operate an
emergency driver training facility, house and maintain Department of
Fire and Emergency Services' high fire season fleet and house a level 3
incident control centre.
(2) Yes.
(3) These
facilities and activities were not included in requirements for the Bushfire
Centre of Excellence as they fall out of scope of the service delivery model.
They were identified based on the needs of the area and the state more broadly.
The Shire of Collie, DFES and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and
Attractions do not currently have a suitable facility to manage large incidents
in the area. The new facility will decentralise some of DFES' fleet
maintenance and management services, providing the opportunity to deliver a regionally
based driver training facility for all emergency services. This further
enhances fire and emergency management in Western Australia.
(4) Not applicable.
(5) The location
of the multipurpose facility in Collie is unrelated to the selection process
for the Bushfire Centre of Excellence and will perform different functions.