Page 3608 - Week 11 - Thursday, 16 November 2006
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The hotel-taverns group had gross gaming machine revenue of $661,453 in 2005-06, an increase of $68,332 on the previous year. The 13 licensees of the group contributed a total of $49,363—about 7.46 per cent of their gross gaming machine revenue. Contributions in 2004-05 amounted to $34,504 or 5.82 per cent of the gross gaming machine revenue. The commission’s report contains comprehensive data on gaming machine activity in the ACT. This information is useful in any debate on future gaming machine operations. I move:
That the Assembly takes note of the paper.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Paper
Ms Gallagher presented the following paper:
Petition—out of order
Reid preschool—proposed closure—Ms Porter (440 citizens).
Emergency Services—equipping and training
Discussion of matter of public importance
MR SPEAKER: I have received letters from Mr Gentleman, Ms MacDonald, Ms Porter, Mr Pratt and Mr Smyth proposing that matters of public importance be submitted to the Assembly. In accordance with standing order 79, I have determined that the matter proposed by Mr Pratt be submitted to the Assembly, namely:
The equipping and training of our emergency services.
MR PRATT (Brindabella) (3.42): Today I rise to talk about the equipping and training of our emergency services. There are a number of issues, particularly in relation to the ambulance services and the bushfire volunteers. I want to touch on some aspects of the SES as well. I will be talking essentially around equipment and training as it affects capability and as it may affect morale. The issues I will be focusing on are issues which affect significantly the operational capability of our emergency services, issues which affect significantly the morale of volunteer and professional servicemen and servicewomen in the emergency services, and issues which also affect the retention or otherwise of our volunteers. I now want to address the ambulance service.
The minister has said both in this place and in the media that he will be introducing nine new ambulance officers—paramedics—to the services in the next couple of months, leading up to Christmas. But the rank and file are telling us that, of those nine new ambulance officers, only three have paramedical training.
There are two points. Not only is this a misrepresentation of the true capability of the ambulance services but the ambulance services are also overstretched. We have seen and heard concerns publicly expressed through the Transport Workers Union in recent times, but the TWU aside—and in fact, I put a lot more store on this—the rank and
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