Wednesday, 19 June 2024
Production of documents
Country Fire Authority
Production of documents
Country Fire Authority
Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (10:05): I move:
That this house:
(1) notes that Ambulance Victoria has executed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Country Fire Authority (CFA) regarding the implementation of the fire medical response by CFA volunteers;
(2) requires the Leader of the Government, pursuant to standing order 10.01, to table in the Council by 18 July 2024:
(a) the MOU between Ambulance Victoria and the CFA regarding the implementation of the fire medical response by CFA volunteers; and
(b) a copy of all briefs, advice and correspondence provided to the Minister for Ambulance Services and the Minister for Emergency Services in relation to the MOU.
I am pleased to move this motion in my name, motion 459, which notes that Ambulance Victoria has executed a memorandum of understanding with the Country Fire Authority regarding the implementation of a fire medical response by CFA volunteers, and this motion calls for the release of those documents relating to that MOU. The reason I am keen to get these documents is in the interests of the Victorian community. I have had people that have contacted me who have got excellent clinical expertise, but they are also CFA volunteers. What they are worried about is, as they say, they have become suspicious about what is going on here, and they are concerned that it is simply window-dressing to cover the poor regional coverage of AV with CFA volunteers.
This goes to the point I think of what we are facing today, with the very tragic story of a young boy who could not breathe. His parents were forced to drive him to seek emergency care because there was no ambulance available, and they were told there was no ambulance within 50 kilometres. This is a very serious situation when you have got emergency response times like this not being able to be addressed. I understand that there has been comment, and I have certainly received lots of communication over the last few weeks from paramedics and others, to say, ‘There isn’t enough availability of our ambulances.’ It is less than 1 per cent, less than 2 per cent, and under their understanding that should be a code red. The government is trying to fudge that and say, ‘It’s not just about availability, it’s also clinical expertise and what’s on the ground.’ But this case of this young boy demonstrates the crisis of our ambulance system and the failure of the government to address it.
We are in winter. We know that there is an increase in demand for flu and respiratory issues. That is not unusual. That happens every year, and you plan for that. You plan for these peaks and troughs of seasonal issues, and that should have been done. I am concerned. I do not know the details obviously of this young child, but he did have breathing problems. We know that the government did not even order paediatric RSV vaccine, and we are only providing emergency vaccine to those that need it in dire situations. I do not know the ins and outs of this situation, but if that child had RSV and could have had a vaccine and the government failed to provide it as other states have done, then I think it shows again the dire situation of where we are at with the health crisis in this state.
Again regarding this story today, which talks about somebody having a heart attack in Wyndham and the nearest ambulances being in Geelong or Windsor, that is not good enough. That is seriously not good enough. The ambulance response time, which is just over 67 per cent, is well below the government’s own target of 85 per cent, so I do think there is a real issue around Ambulance Victoria, the level of MICA and paramedic expertise that we have got and what the government is failing to do. The amalgamations – I have been saying this – of rural and regional health services will only impact rural and regional Victorians further if they are needing an ambulance and ambulances are called off to take their patients to either the city or to a large regional hospital and they are ramped, which happens continuously. We see that in Bendigo where ambulances are continuously ramped. Then that leaves that area exposed, and there is not going to be any expertise within that area to cater for those regional Victorians. I know the government is very exercised about this, and the point is –
Jaclyn Symes: Your misinformation to country communities is disgraceful.
Georgie CROZIER: I have got to say, on Saturday – I am taking up the interjection from the Leader of the Government – it was a rally organised by concerned GPs. It is a pity you were not there; you are the local member. Concerned GPs and other specialist services –
Jaclyn Symes: Concerned about what?
Georgie CROZIER: About the amalgamation of the Mansfield hospitals.
Members interjecting.
Georgie CROZIER: Again, it is a pity you were not there to hear from those clinicians like Sarah Lieber and others – CEOs who came up to me and said, ‘Our funding cut is here – 33 per cent funding cuts.’ They are going back to funding pre COVID when the government has not even considered the increase in costs.
The PRESIDENT: Order, Minister!
Georgie CROZIER: I know that the Leader of the Government is very exercised. It is a big issue in regional and rural Victoria. Government has not considered the increase in wages costs, increases in product costs, and –
The PRESIDENT: Minister! Order!
Georgie CROZIER: It is a pity you were not at the Mansfield rally as the local member, Minister. But I will say again: this is a simple documents motion that the government needs to release, and I would urge the house to consider it and support it.
Sheena WATT (Northern Metropolitan) (10:11): I rise today to speak on yet another motion moved by those opposite trivialising the hard work and the entire dedication of Victoria’s frontline emergency services volunteers and everything that they do. Recently there was some really stellar news that soon in Victoria our CFA volunteers will receive training from Ambulance Victoria to complement their existing extensive skills so that they can administer medical assistance when required. The background, for those curious, is that the motion asks that the government provide the MOU that exists between Ambulance Victoria and the CFA regarding the fire medical response program.
Sheena WATT: I did hear a wide range of the contribution by Ms Crozier, and I am going to frankly speak to the motion that she moved in the house rather than to her contribution just then.
This program that we are discussing here is to complement the existing emergency medical response that is delivered by Fire Rescue Victoria as much of CFA’s responsibility in this area was transferred to FRV following the fire services reform. There are currently six volunteer CFA brigades that do deliver fire medical response services: Berwick, Cranbourne, Edithvale, Mornington and even a few in the Northern Metropolitan Region, with the Whittlesea and South Morang brigades. I know that my colleague Mr Galea is going to spend some time talking about them and their work. But I note that a couple of those brigades are co-located with FRV, who are not delivering FMR in the area that is already covered by an emergency medical response service provider. Those opposite are referencing the MOU between the CFA and Ambulance Victoria, and the government does not have a copy of the MOU – something that I am sure could have been figured out before this motion was moved. With our not having the MOU, you will be really shocked to hear that the government cannot provide it to the chamber, so there you go.
I would love to say they would have learned – those opposite – if they bothered to do some investigation into this matter that in fact we learned in a media release from the CFA on 12 July 2022 that the program will be established in strategic locations which can best complement the Ambulance Victoria response. This motion takes away from the important program that fire medical response training is. FMR is an investment into the health and wellbeing of rural and regional communities, something that those on this side care very deeply about, as volunteers receive training to deliver life-saving first aid and resuscitation when responding to 000 calls. This initiative exemplifies our emergency services collaboration as a uniting team for the benefit of all Victorians.
I draw attention to the 2024–25 budget alone, which committed $18.6 million to deliver 15 replacement urban response pumpers to the CFA. The new pumpers will provide better engine performance – something I know is incredibly important – resulting in faster firefighter response; have an additional payload – which is the amount of weight that they can carry, for those that are not familiar with that term; and have a 2500-litre water tank. This includes enhanced capabilities for road crash rescue with modern ergonomics, reducing fatigue and improving crew safety. There are 48 heavy tankers that are being rolled out and two light tankers funded as part of our $126 million CFA capability package. Can I just say that those tankers have recently been delivered in Creswick, Daylesford, Miners Rest, Wendouree and other places. They are across our state, including at Ballan. It is well known that quickly providing CPR and using a defibrillator greatly enhances a patient’s survival odds, and when the CFA is the first responder – they have vast reach, and can I just say with over 1100 volunteer firefighter stations and more than 50,000 members right across our state – it is really quite critical. The CFA makes significant contributions to our regional and rural communities, not only through being the first medical response. That is why we are committed to supporting all the dedicated volunteers across the entirety of the CFA and the opening of new stations. I could go into them, but there are another 20 CFA stations right across our state which are currently in the land search, design or construction phase. There is so much happening when it comes to our work to support our CFAs. I have got 8 seconds but about 25 minutes to go, so I will leave my remarks there. I know that there will be other contributions from members of this chamber.
Richard WELCH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (10:16): I rise to make a very brief contribution to this motion. I just want to clarify to the house that under the freedom-of-information request reference FOI/24/1289 Ambulance Victoria conducted a thorough and diligent search for documents, and one document, an MOU, relevant to the terms of the request was located. So it would appear the government has misled the house.
Michael GALEA (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (10:17): I rise to make a brief contribution and to correct the record on what has just been put forward by colleagues across the chamber. The member has just referred to Ambulance Victoria allegedly having a document and conflated that with the government having the document. My understanding is the government is not in possession of this document. As the motion explicitly states, this is a memorandum of understanding between the CFA and Ambulance Victoria. There is no minister who is a direct party to that memorandum of understanding. The government does not have that document.
However, I do note that the government will not be opposing this motion. We are happy to assist. If we are able to get a copy of that document, then we will table it, as we always would. But to suggest that there has been any misleading of the house is absolutely outrageous coming from those opposite when, as Ms Watt clearly said, the government does not have it. If Ambulance Victoria has a copy of that, then that is something that we will naturally work with them on to assist this chamber, if this motion does indeed pass today, and I note again that we will not be opposing it. But to conflate Ambulance Victoria with the government itself and with any particular ministerial office and suggest that we are misstating the facts is blatantly outrageous, particularly given that your lead speaker on this topic spent a significant portion of her contribution not actually talking about the motion but talking about theoretical, hypothetical hospital amalgamations in regional Victoria, which have not even been announced, have not even been revealed as far as we are aware and may well and truly not even happen. So for her to be alleging that members on this side of the house have been misrepresenting is absolutely outrageous, and I will not tolerate it from those who spend their time in this place opposing hypotheticals, jumping at shadows and trying to scare Victorians. Clearly they must think that the job that we are actually doing is quite decent if the best that they can do is bring up these ridiculous scare campaigns over non-existent events. It is absolutely typical, shameful and disgraceful on the part of the opposition, but it is all that they know, it is all that they do and it is all that they bring into this place.
As I say, as to the heart of this motion, we will not be opposing it. We do not have that document. If we are able to get it, we will table it. Exactly as Ms Watt said, we do not have that. These are outrageous accusations from an opposition that cannot get its act together. You certainly cannot get your nuclear policy together, that is for sure. You cannot seem to agree on anything between yourselves. I will note, though, that this is a government – and Ms Watt made the point in particular as well – that backs in our CFA volunteers, that backs in our paramedics. I note in regard specifically to the fire medical response program, which is to complement the emergency medical response program, that three of those six CFA sites in fact are in the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region, including at Edithvale, Cranbourne and Berwick. The other three are in other parts of Victoria. Some of those sites are co-located with the FRV, and they do provide an important pathway and important program for supporting each agency.
This is a government that has a proud record of supporting our CFA volunteers, and we have done so with considerable funding, with continued funding, whether it is in this year’s budget with the $18.6 million for replacement urban response pumpers for the CFA or our rollout of 48 heavy tankers, which have seen local brigades right across the state benefit from these up-to-date firefighting tools as part of our $126 million CFA capability package. We have seen these tankers rolled out in places such as Ballan, Creswick, Daylesford, Miners Rest and Wendouree as well as in Tatura, which I know Ms Symes as the local member was very excited about. One of the other local members, Ms Lovell, was apparently quite excited about this government’s investment in these new tankers as well, because she was there to greet you, Minister Symes, I understand, which was very good. They are always there for a photo, which is fantastic, and indeed always there to support and cheer on the achievements of this government and the delivery of this government when it comes to our CFA, because we know that this is one of the most important areas that we can invest in, these wonderful community volunteers that do this work, that put themselves in danger fighting fires on behalf of Victorians. A big congratulations to the Tatura CFA as well.
Motion agreed to.