Tuesday, 28 May 2024

State Emergency Service funding

Chris CREWTHER (Mornington) (19:08): (675) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Emergency Services. The action I seek is for the minister to provide long-term, sustainable funding to the Victoria State Emergency Service, including our local Hastings SES and Frankston SES. VICSES currently relies on over 4800 volunteers and is critical to the provision of Victoria’s emergency services. Sadly, they have severe funding challenges and are heavily reliant on donations and fundraising for equipment, facility management, fleet replacement and more. This reliance on donations is unsustainable, is subject to great volatility and takes volunteer time away from and is additional to core tasks. Despite contributing a staggering more than 287,000 volunteer hours each year, equating to over $500 million in monetary value, VICSES has been consistently overlooked and undervalued by the state Labor government. Further, VICSES is not included in the current Victorian fire services levy despite being the control agency for 74 per cent of the costs associated with disasters by natural hazards across the state. This is unlike any other state in Australia, where there are broader emergency services levies.

Investment in VICSES is essential to ensure that our communities are kept safe and are resilient in the face of natural hazards. Locally, SES Hastings and SES Frankston tirelessly serve our community by protecting us from environmental hazards, as do other organisations with volunteers servicing the Mornington electorate like the Mornington, Mount Eliza, Moorooduc, Mount Martha and Baxter CFAs, the Mornington and Mount Martha lifesaving clubs, volunteer coast guard and so many others who dedicate their time and resources to keep us safe. In fact just the other week I had the pleasure of visiting the Mount Martha Life Saving Club’s thankyou event. Of note in the thankyous was the club going above and beyond in responding to major emergencies last season, including multiple serious injuries at The Pillars in Mount Martha, a maritime accident, a plane crash and more – as they said on the night, basically five years worth of incidents rolled into one year. We thank all emergency services and other volunteers locally and beyond who make our community, our state and our country a better place.