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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 8 Hansard (20 August) . . Page.. 2888 ..

MR PRATT (continuing):

They would do that reporting direct to the minister, circumventing JACS or any other department, as is currently the case. We propose that each agency will be streamlined to allow primacy of operational command and control, with fast and accurate decisions being made more possible. Fast and accurate and unencumbered decision-making is what is fundamental to our thinking on this whole restructure.

Further, we see JACS supporting each of these agencies, not supervising them. Finally, we guarantee interoperability amongst all agencies through a series of operational procedures, systems and training programs that will see all commanders of emergency agencies come together routinely.

It must be stressed that the opposition's model has been created after close consultations with experienced firefighters and other emergency management professionals. The model illustrated here today closely resembles the model put forward by the volunteers last week.

Mr Speaker, in order to achieve the above it is necessary to create new legislation called the Fire, Emergency Services and Ambulance Authorities Bill 2003. A technical description of the legislation is as follows. Firstly, a stand-alone act is created for the task of the re-structure of the existing Emergency Services Bureau, because the re-structure involves creating three new authorities rather than simply amending the current Emergency Services Bureau.

In a number of places in the bill, consequential amendments are being made to other legislation: firstly, the Bushfire Act 1936, to abolish the Bushfire Council and the power to appoint the chief fire control officer and make appropriate provisions for the new authority's powers and those of its new chief executive; secondly, the Emergency Management Act 1999, to replace the functions of the director of emergency services and the chief officer of the ambulance service with those of the new emergency services authority chief executive and the new ambulance service chief executive of the metropolitan fire and ambulance authority; thirdly, the Fire Brigade Act 1957 and the Fire Brigade (Administration) Act 1974, to replace the functions of the fire commissioner with those of the new fire brigade chief executive of the metropolitan fire and ambulance service authority. In addition, amendments will be made to the above acts to make reference to the new authorities and, where relevant, for the new authorities to break links with the ACT government departments that they currently report to.

Mr Speaker, let me give a little bit of detail on how these agencies would be established. I want to talk firstly about the new bushfire authority. It should be noted that for both simplicity and familiarity reasons the model proposed here for the bushfire authority is the basis for the new authorities for emergency services and the metropolitan fire and ambulance authority. Under the proposed bushfire authority a board of esteemed and experienced members of the community, of approximately five and no more than six, would be established. The minister would appoint the board. The members of the board would be salaried and would report direct to the minister, advising the minister on all aspects of bushfire threat analysis, strategic planning and performance standards.

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