Page 2615 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 10 August 2016

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I respect our firies, our CFUs, our Rural Fire Service and our ambos. I respect the work they do. I work with our ESA personnel and respect their morale, their work and the fact that they put themselves on the line every day of the year, day and night, to be with us at our time of most need. I take my hat off to them and I do not think that the government’s method of going about change has been a particularly helpful one.

I know that the minister is known for saying that he has a long memory and that he remembers that the UFU is not affiliated with the ALP anymore. The distinct impression that is being given on the ground is that that means that the uniformed firies and some other members of our ESA are up for being cut as a first point of call, whereas the people of Canberra would expect quite differently.

MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Attorney-General, Minister for Health, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister for the Environment and Climate Change) (12.20): I move the amendment circulated in my name to Mrs Jones’s motion:

Omit paragraph (2), substitute:

“(2) calls on the ACT Government to continue to:

(a) create a culture of confidence in the Emergency Services Agency (ESA);

(b) take action to ensure ESA employees know they are equipped to undertake their role; and

Canberra’s status as the bush capital makes us uniquely vulnerable to natural disasters such as bushfire and extreme heat events. This necessitates that our emergency arrangements remain of the highest order. The government have always recognised the importance of our emergency services and we have significantly invested in the delivery of emergency services. The Auditor-General’s report into bushfire preparedness released last year noted that the government had increased the ESA’s funding since 2004-05 from $44.8 million to over $104.3 million, or a 133 per cent increase in resourcing for our emergency services. The government will continue to invest in our emergency services capability to support our career and volunteer staff and make sure that our services are contemporary to meet the needs of our growing city.

I will turn now to the importance of the reliability of the 000 call centre and its importance in the delivery of emergency services. It is accepted that the role of the comm cen, or 000 call centre, is often a difficult one. Our call-takers deal with callers who are often very distraught. I am confident that our comm cen staff are well trained, highly skilled and supported to initiate the most appropriate response to each incident. As minister, I also have complete confidence in the procedures, processes and systems of improvement that are in place which are designed to assist our comm cen staff in continuing to provide this very high level of service to the community.

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