Wednesday, 6 March 2024

Fire services

Nick McGOWAN (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (18:38): (768) This has been a challenging fire season in many respects, and we are by no means at the end of it; I recognise that. In my district of Ringwood I have had the good fortune over the last 18 months or so to visit the Fire Rescue Victoria stations both in Nunawading and also in Ringwood, and there I have had the good fortune also to spend some time with our firefighters, men and women who dedicate themselves every day to putting themselves in the line of danger on our behalf, and I thank them for their services. Particularly at this time of year of course we sigh a half-sigh of relief. It is only half, because as we all know, fires happen right throughout the year, particularly in the metropolitan area but in any area for that matter.

It is concerning to me then of course that the United Firefighters Union has raised the very legitimate concern that some 73 frontline vehicles, and that represents some 58 per cent of the fleet, have surpassed their service date. It is imperative, and I think most Victorians would agree, that when we ask others to stand in the line of danger on our behalf we equip them appropriately. I think that is the least we can do. No-one in this place I think would differ with that either.

However, with such a large percentage of our current fleet either out of service date or well beyond their life expectancy, it is time for this government to act. The firefighters union have been advocating for this for some time. I have experienced this on a number of occasions when I have had the good pleasure, as I said before, of visiting particularly, say, Nunawading fire station only recently to learn that one of their trucks had yet again been taken off the road. It is disappointing, because at the end of the day not only is it a risk to their safety, it is a risk to the safety of the entire community.

So the action I seek from the minister in this case is to implement a thorough review of the metropolitan fire truck fleet to ensure that no vehicle operates beyond its designated service date and that the government further immediately invest in modernising all of our out-of-service-date fire trucks to prioritise community safety.