Page 2757 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 12 August 2015
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Mr Smyth recognised the expertise the commissioner has, but he went on to ask how one person can hold all these various skills. I am at a loss to understand how, if the commissioner cannot hold those skills as one person, a new title, an executive officer, can hold those functions?
It is important that major policies and changes are done through extensive consultation, and that is what ESA and JACS are doing with the strategic reform agenda. If Mr Smyth took time to consult with the ESA, JACS and the key stakeholders on the state of affairs within ESA he would not be here talking down the men and women that provide that essential service to our community.
Now is not the time to undo the good work that has been done by the dedicated officers of ESA. Now is not the time to unravel the lessons learned from our past history and experience. Now, indeed, is not the time to rip apart and dismantle a very effective emergency services model for this jurisdiction.
ESA officers have worked tirelessly. We have recruited the right people to lead our services. We have established the right structures to support our services. We have invested in our emergency services capabilities to ensure our front-line staff have the necessary tools to protect the Canberra community.
This leads me to the main point of Mr Smyth’s motion—addressing the UFU concerns. I read extracts of letters to back the commissioner and the chief officers. It is very clear that the strategic reform agenda and the capacity we have built up across ESA over the past years put the ESA in a good position to support this community. I am and our government is very supportive of ESA’s strategic reform agenda, and that support is reflected in the 2015-16 budget as a strategic priority for government for maintaining community safety.
The strategic reform agenda, or the SRA, will support ESA to continue as a high performing emergency services organisation, indeed among the best in Australia, and will position it to best meet the challenges of the years ahead. It will also enable ESA to mature as a unified entity with four dedicated operational services. This SRA will pave the way for the ESA to become a leader in disaster mitigation, operational response capability, emergency management and operational training.
Through the SRA there are five key focus areas: strategy, so we have a new strategic plan for the ESA; structure, through a realigned organisation to better serve its operational functions; its people, so we have a continued investment in our volunteers and staff; a focus on performance to see continued improvements to the standards and service delivery; and accountability, to assure our community that the ESA continues to provide its services in the most efficient way.
Contrary to speculation from those opposite, the ESA will not be changing the four service chief officers. Rather, the SRA seeks to create three new areas to better support and coordinate the agency’s enabling services. These new areas include: risk and planning to help create a safe community; governance, logistics and infrastructure
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