Page 3283 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 21 August 2018
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As Minister for Police and Emergency Services, I am pleased to support the 2018-19 budget, which contains a number of initiatives that will enhance emergency services capabilities for the ACT. The ACT 2018-19 budget provides funding of $8.9 million for the ACT Emergency Services Agency, the ESA. New initiatives supported include $4.6 million over four years to upgrade the ACT ambulance fleet with electric stretchers and loaders, and equipping all ACT ambulances and fire trucks with new cardiac monitors and defibrillators.
Electric stretchers have a battery-powered hydraulic system that allows for much easier and safer carrying. It is anticipated that the use of electric stretchers will reduce the likelihood of any injuries sustained with the loading of patients into ambulances. The chances of someone surviving cardiac arrest increase dramatically if there is intervention with the use of a defibrillator. The new units are designed to be operated simply and quickly, even by members of the general public who may have no formal first aid training, and will help to save lives.
There will be $2 million over two years and ongoing maintenance costs for a new aerial apparatus for ACT Fire & Rescue to support the existing Bronto appliance and respond to multistorey building incidents. The ESA is working to have the new aerial apparatus on the road in the 2019-20 financial year.
$332,000 will be allocated in 2018-19 to conduct an additional recruit college to train 18 new firefighters in 2018-19 for ACT Fire & Rescue. This follows on from the successful 2017 recruitment, which resulted in an additional 17 firefighters on duty in June 2018, the nine firefighters who commenced duty as part of a lateral recruitment in November 2017 and the 16 firefighters who joined ACT Fire & Rescue as part of the 2016 recruit college in October 2016.
$270,000 will be allocated in the 2018-19 year to provide new protective helmets to ACT firefighters. This ensures that our firefighters continue to have access to safe protective equipment and will allow them to do their job effectively and safely. There will be $1.7 million over four years to make up for the shortfall in funding from the commonwealth fire payment as a result of a revised memorandum of understanding between the commonwealth government and the territory for the provision of fire services.
The 2018-19 budget also invests $1.5 million over four years to upgrade the public safety CCTV network across the CBD, at the Kingston and Manuka shopping precincts, bus stations and major public facilities, including Manuka Oval, EPIC and GIO stadium. This helps to improve public safety for citizens at these key locations.
In addition the 2017-18 second appropriation provided $10.2 million over four years for an additional ambulance crew, as committed to by the government, to deliver 23 more paramedics to meet continued increases in demand. Demand on our ambulance service is at the highest level ever. Despite this growing demand, the ACT has continued to record the best response times in the country over the past six years, as well as the highest levels of patient satisfaction. These additional front-line resources should ensure that our response times remain the fastest in the country.
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