Page 2609 - Week 08 - Thursday, 14 August 2014
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We know that other workforces that have been predominantly male have gone through this change in our community, whether it is police services or the military. We know that it has happened in other organisations and that it is challenging, difficult and confronting at times, but it is important that we do so for Fire & Rescue as well. I am committed to working with everyone within Fire & Rescue to achieve those outcomes.
Mr Smyth makes a number of other claims about the management of particular incidents. And it is the case that in some instances the management of certain complaints has been less than satisfactory. My directorate has stepped in to ensure that those deficiencies are addressed as they should be, because complaints should be handled appropriately and in a timely manner, and that is what I expect to be done.
Mr Smyth also makes some claims about the Rural Fire Service. The government has no proposal—and I will not support any proposal, and there is no proposal—to change the existing structure of the four services as set out in the Emergencies Act. There is a Rural Fire Service today and there will be a Rural Fire Service tomorrow. But it is critical that all of our services integrate their operations to deliver the best emergency response to the community, because at the end of the day citizens of Canberra do not care whether the service is delivered by the Fire & Rescue service, the Rural Fire Service, the State Emergency Service or the Ambulance Service. They expect a capable, coordinated emergency response.
The Emergencies Act puts obligations on me and the commissioner to ensure that emergency services are delivered in an integrated and coordinated way by all the services. That is our focus and that is the commitment that we have to the community, because it is our statutory duty to ensure that emergency services are delivered in a coordinated and integrated way.
It is not about getting rid of one service or merging it into another. That is not on the agenda. What is on the agenda, as it always has been, ever since the Emergencies Act was made law, is continuing to improve coordination and integration of the response delivered by each of our emergency services with each other and to the community. That is the focus we have.
Turning to some other areas of the justice directorate, in particular I saw the criticisms from Mr Hanson where he suggested that not enough support has been given to the Director of Public Prosecutions. I would draw Mr Hanson’s attention to the significant commitments that this government has repeatedly made in terms of funding and resources to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
In 2006-07 there was half a million dollars in additional funding and indexed supplementary annual funding. In 2007-08 there was $300,000 for three additional staff as part of the sexual assault reform program. In 2009-10 there was $841,000 indexed for eight additional prosecutorial staff. In 2011-12 there was $213,000 for three additional prosecutors and paralegal staff. In 2011-12 there was $571,000 to meet the DPP’s wage outcomes, rising to $907,000, indexed from 2012-13. In 2012-13 there was $52,000 to support the Supreme Court blitz activities, and also capital funding of $250,000 for a new case management system and over half a million dollars for capital upgrades.
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