Members statements
Pauline Smith
Ms STALEY (Ripon) (09:36): Today I rise with sadness to speak about Pauline Smith, a Stawell paramedic killed in a head-on collision on the Western Highway on Friday. Pauline dedicated her life to the service of the community. A police officer for many years, in recent years Pauline retrained as a paramedic. It was while coming home from a shift that the accident occurred. Pauline also volunteered her time to Phoenix Animal Rescue Horsham and was an advocate for animal welfare. Ms Smith leaves behind her husband, Stephen, and three children. I extend my condolences to them. I want to express my solidarity with the Ararat SES, the Stawell SES, the Great Western CFA, the Stawell CFA, the Stawell ambulance service, the Ararat ambulance service, the Ararat police and the Stawell police. Attending any fatal collision is traumatic for first responders. When the victim is a colleague and friend, this trauma is amplified many times. One of those first responders called my office on Friday in distress. His message was: how many more? And I also ask: how many more fatalities must my community endure on this unsafe road? The government and the opposition are united in supporting the duplication of the Western Highway to Stawell, and once again I call on the government to act.