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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 05 Hansard (Friday, 14 May 2004) . . Page.. 1937 ..

The authority will be subject to general policy direction from the minister, but must be given an opportunity to comment on proposed directions. Any direction given must be presented in this Assembly. The authority will have significant reporting responsibilities to the minister, if required, and through the annual reporting process. The opportunity has been taken in preparing this bill to consolidate and modernise the Emergency Management Act 1999, the Fire Brigade Act 1957, the Fire Brigade (Administration) Act 1974 and the Bushfire Act 1936, as suggested in the McLeod report.

At present, there are many levels of rules for the operation of the services—four acts, regulations, guidelines, manuals, protocols and so on. The functions performed by those documents have become confused. The bill clarifies and streamlines the regulations of the four services. It provides for the commissioner to have the power to make guidelines for the operation of the services. Naturally, those will be prepared over a period, but as quickly as practicable, and will phase out much of the existing working documentation of the services. It also provides for the chief officer of each service to prepare standards and protocols for their services and, where possible, standardise the powers of the chief officers.

The provisions for staffing the services and for the appointment and functions of service chiefs have been consolidated. While the services will retain their individual identity and ethos, which is very important, there is a clear direction to operate and manage in a cohesive environment. The bill makes provision for joint training and preparation and brings the services, structurally and culturally, closer together, which was the intent of the McLeod report. It goes beyond the McLeod report by providing for four services rather than two. This will ensure that the services retain their identity and culture, but are integrated into the new authority and operate under the new legislation.

The Bushfire and Emergency Service has been split to give greater recognition of the role of the emergency service arm. The bushfire service will now be known as the Rural Fire Service, in line with common practice throughout the nation. The bill changes the name of the emergency service, which will be known as the State Emergency Service, or SES. While it may seem strange to name a territory agency in this way, the change is being made as a public information and safety measure to avoid confusion about how it can be contacted. There have been examples of people not knowing how to contact our emergency service because it is listed under “E” rather than “S” in the phone book, where all other SES organisations are found. The name also recognises the status of our emergency service in relation to its state counterparts.

The bill provides clear recognition of the role of the Fire Brigade in rescue operations and in responding to hazardous materials events. Members of the urban fire brigade are currently employed, not under the Public Sector Management Act 1994, but under the Fire Brigade (Administration) Act 1974. The bill provides for the repeal of that act upon the signing of a certified agreement which would include those provisions of the Fire Brigade (Administration) Act that are identified in the bill for retention. Having all members of the authority employed under the Public Sector Management Act will take us a long way towards creating a unified emergency services organisation and will bring to firefighters the added advantage of great mobility.

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