Thursday, 20 June 2024

State Emergency Service volunteers

Tom McINTOSH (Eastern Victoria) (10:28): We recently had Wear Orange Wednesday, the day when we recognise and celebrate the hard work of our local SES units. Often the work our SES volunteers do is in the middle of the night or in the worst of our weather conditions. Whether it be during storms, heavy rain, hail, surging winds resulting in trees coming down or floods, in all conditions the SES are there. We know that as average temperatures increase – last year was 1.5 degrees globally above 1850 levels – and we see more moisture being trapped in our atmosphere, when our storms and those surges come they are going to be more intense and more unpredictable than what we have seen in the past. When a tree falls through someone’s roof, the SES are there. When there is a car accident, the SES are there supporting. When most of us are seeking shelter from the harshest of weather, it is our brave SES volunteers who are out keeping us all safe.

I also want to acknowledge our volunteers’ families and employers who stand alongside our volunteers, because without that support our volunteers would not be able to support all of us. Eastern Victoria is home to many of Victoria’s 150 SES units. Just to name a few, we have units in Orbost, Bairnsdale, Sale, Rosedale, Leongatha and Sorrento-Rye, and we have so many volunteers across Eastern Victoria. On behalf of all locals, thank you to our SES volunteers.