Page 3327 - Week 10 - Thursday, 19 October 2006
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On top of that, we have recruited more people: 20 additional ACT Ambulance Service staff; 61 additional full-time firefighters in the ACT Fire Brigade; 110 rural firefighting volunteers in the past 12 months; 40 additional state emergency service volunteers; and four full-time staff for the ACT State Emergency Service. That is just some of the commitment we have made. I would like to go on. Twenty-eight community fire units; that is, over 750 registered volunteer members, 550 fully trained and equipped. In conjunction with the Bureau of Meteorology, we have established new fire weather warning detection systems, including an automatic weather station on Mount Ginini for more accurate weather information for mountain firefighting. We are participants in the new national aerial firefighting centre scheme, which includes support for the basing of one medium-size helicopter and one light helicopter in the territory during the fire season.
One of the real criticisms following 2003 was about the lack of coordination between ACT and New South Wales units, and so it should have been, but this government has taken the steps to address that. For example, we now have agreements with the New South Wales fire service in a range of areas, including one to have both of the national aerial firefighting centre aircraft available for a minimum of 12 weeks in the ACT. Previously, they were only here for six weeks. We have doubled the period we have those helicopter firefighting facilities available to us.
We have put in place new memoranda of understanding with the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, the New South Wales Fire Brigade and the New South Wales State Emergency Service for guaranteed cross-border cooperation. We have got new protocols in place with the ACT media so that when there is an emergency they all agree they will broadcast emergency information. That was never in place before 2003. People listening to an FM radio station or watching commercial television had no idea what was going on. It was only if you listened to the ABC that you actually got anything from the media. We have now got agreed protocols with all of those media outlets to broadcast emergency information.
Mr Speaker, we have memoranda of understanding between our ambulance service and the fire brigade and with the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service for mutual aid in the event of a fire. On top of that, we now have consistent government land access agreements with all territory land managers so that we have access to emergency trails across the territory. We have basic things such as a common key system. That is essential for firefighters. When they show up at a gate, they do not want to have to ask, “Whose bloody key is it? Is it the DUS key or is the Environment ACT key? Whose key is it? We need to get through the gate.” We have a common keying system now so that we have that access quicker.
On top of that, we have focused very strongly on issues around community education. The fire wise program is well under way. We have extended the bushfire wise program to include rural lessees. That is a very important initiative as well. (Extension of time granted.) We have provided to every household in the territory information on what they should do to prepare themselves before and during a fire. So community education has been very strongly in our minds. Were any of these things happening before 2003? The answer to that is no; they simply were not happening.
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