Page 4411 - Week 12 - Thursday, 26 October 2017
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see the achievements of the men and women of our police and emergency services on a daily basis, achievements that are not always immediately evident to the community.
I welcome this opportunity to canvass some of the commitments this government has made to support these services and our achievements in the first year of this government. To date, we have introduced the Firearms Amendment Act, through which the ACT became the first jurisdiction in Australia to re-categorise lever action shotguns to align with the COAG commitment and the revised national firearms agreement. We signed a new and enduring police arrangement and a new police purchase agreement, as well as issuing my 2017-18 ministerial direction to ACT Policing. Collectively, these documents set out improved governance arrangements and special areas of focus for ACT Policing throughout 2017-18.
We launched the new Southcare Toll rescue helicopter, fitted with the latest aviation and safety technology available to the new service provider. We completed station upgrades at Fyshwick fire station in June to deliver a more contemporary workplace for ACT Fire & Rescue officers. We also deployed 26 Canberra firefighters to Canada as part of a 100-strong Australian team to battle wildfires in British Columbia, which shows how highly valued their specialist skills are.
Canberra’s public safety CCTV system has been improved, with greater coverage areas and clearer recordings, due to a $376,000 upgrade by the ACT government. The upgraded system now features modern, high-definition cameras. These new cameras are multi-lens, allowing a single unit to cover a much greater area than previous cameras. Additionally, we successfully deployed portable CCTV technology during Floriade and at the National Arboretum, strengthening public safety at both sites.
The ACT government is committed to keeping Canberra safe. We are doing this through ongoing investment in our police and emergency services agencies, in both infrastructure and personnel. Some of the initiatives the ACT government has committed to in the 2017-18 budget include: funding for a new fit-for-purpose centre for the ACT’s water police team and $5.3 million for enhanced protective security measures for ACT Policing, including equipping front-line officers with tasers.
The government has also provided ongoing funding this financial year to increase Taskforce Nemesis by eight additional staff to bolster ACT Policing’s efforts against serious and organised crime, and in particular motorcycle gangs. The government has also invested in a firefighters’ recruitment college, to start later this year, continuing the government’s commitment to recruit more women firefighters and ensuring more firefighters are trained and ready to keep our community safe.
Ensuring the health and wellbeing of officers in emergency services is paramount. The government has allocated $1 million in the 2017-18 budget, over four years, for mental health services for emergency services personnel and health and fitness subsidies for ACT Rural Fire Service volunteers.
This represents just a handful of examples of the great work our services do and the government’s investment in those services. I am committed to working with our law
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