CORONAVIRUS — ECONOMIC RECOVERY —
FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES
912. Mr Y. MUBARAKAI to the Minister for Emergency Services:
I refer to the McGowan Labor government's efforts in
keeping Western Australia safe and strong by providing significant investment in the resources and infrastructure needed to
support our emergency services personnel. Can the minister outline to
the house how this government's investment in new appliances, new
infrastructure and new resources has not only helped to improve community
safety, but also supported local businesses and created more local jobs as our
economy recovers from the impacts of COVID-19?
Point of Order
Mr Z.R.F. KIRKUP: I refer
to standing order 77 on the rules on questions. There appeared to be quite a lot
of hypotheticals and statements there by the member for Jandakot as part of
that question.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER: Do members want to end question time now?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER: What did I say
before? When there is a point of order, there is silence. If there is another
outburst like that, that will be the end of question time. That is not a point
of order.
Mr Y. MUBARAKAI: Mr Speaker,
can I ask that question again?
The SPEAKER: No!
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr F.M.
LOGAN replied:
I thank the member for Jandakot for
the terrific question that he has put to this house, and I thank him for his
ongoing support for the local Jandakot Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade and the
construction of the career fire station underway in Cockburn. That is one of
the investments to which the member referred in his question. It is a good
question because it allows us to summarise exactly what has occurred over the past
three and a half years in rebuilding fire and emergency services. We have taken
it from what was originally a response organisation that primarily dealt with fire, to a holistic emergency
services organisation, similar to others around Australia and the world,
that deals with any of the 26 hazards that are listed as threats to the
community and the people of Western Australia. A great holistic organisation
has been created over the past four years. Of course, to support that holistic
organisation, investment is needed to allow volunteers and career firefighters
to do their jobs and also to ensure their protection.
Some time ago, I laid out to the
house the record investment the government has put into Marine Rescue Western Australia.
Mr Speaker, as you would remember, Albany has been a beneficiary of this.
Before 2017, for reasons known only to the government of the day—they
were certainly not known by the then opposition—marine rescue work was not funded from the emergency services
levy. It did not receive a zack. Marine rescue groups had to visit the
local shopping centres with their hats out and run barbeques and conduct
fundraisers. Mr Speaker, you would be aware
of that occurring in Albany. The government fixed that and made sure that
marine rescue, which does a great job on behalf of the people of Western
Australia who go into the water, is funded from the ESL. The government made
available $19.5 million over four years. That has allowed many of the marine
rescue organisations across Western Australia to have new boats and new
facilities, and encouraged new investment in the boatbuilders of Western Australia
in Bibra Lake, Henderson and Dongara, all of which have benefited from the
$19.5 million the government made available.
The
government has provided $8 million to completely rebuild the regional volunteer
fire and rescue stations at Halls Creek, Northampton, Margaret River and
Gingin. As I indicated, the Cockburn Fire Station is well under construction
and should be completed by Christmas. Kensington Fire Station is well underway
and it too should be completed and opened by the Treasurer before Christmas.
The government has invested $125 million in new locally made fire appliances; our fire trucks are built here in Western Australia.
The $47 million tender for the 1.4
Tanker is out now. That will be built in Collie. There is also an investment by
Frontline Fire & Rescue Equipment, which is constructing a new
manufacturing facility in Collie. That is well underway. That will create 17
full-time jobs in Collie in the manufacturing
of the 4.4 heavy bushfire appliance and the fast attack light vehicle, which
will guarantee a significant number of jobs in Collie over many years. The
department invested $13.4 million in the Koolinup Emergency Services Centre in
Collie, which is the level 3 incident control facility. It is also where the
high season fire fleet will be based, maintained and overhauled, and where
those appliances will be applied from.
Additionally, the $33.16 million
Bushfire Centre of Excellence is being built in Nambeelup by a local contractor
using local materials. The member for Murray–Wellington is well aware
of that; she is grinning from ear to ear. It is the first of its kind in
Australia and will lead the way in learning about bushfire mitigation and fire
and science, and in providing higher level training for firefighters. The
government has allocated $2.5 million in this year's budget for the
department to begin the replacement of the fire and emergency services academy.
It is long overdue. That will be a significant
investment into the future for the training of all firefighters, both career
firefighters and other emergency services workers. It is a massive investment
in training our emergency services workers in Western Australia. It could
only come under a McGowan Labor government. We have completely overhauled
emergency services in Western Australia and we have given them the tools to do
the job.