Tuesday, 6 February 2024

Country Fire Authority Nar Nar Goon station

Wayne FARNHAM (Narracan) (19:18): (499) Deputy Speaker, it is great to be back, and it is great to see you again. My adjournment this evening is for the Minister for Emergency Services, and the action I seek is that the minister invest in the Nar Nar Goon fire station – the CFA station – and fix it up. I have been fortunate enough to be across the CFA stations in my electorate, and Nar Nar Goon, followed a close second by Bunyip CFA, is in terrible condition. In the latest rains we had just a couple of weeks ago the Nar Nar Goon station flooded, and the members there, the volunteers, had to go out for a call-out, and they were all a foot deep in water. They cannot get their trucks out the front door because of the slope, and the trucks hit the roller door. They have one change area for all the volunteers, they only have one toilet for everyone, they have rats chewing through water pipes, they have rats living in air conditioning systems and it is just not up to speed. It is not good enough. We want our CFA stations and we need our volunteers to have the best possible facilities.

I would say I have not seen all CFA stations across the state, but definitely in my electorate this is one of the worst. I know budgets are tight, and I am not going to sit here and ask for a brand new $7 million station, which we committed to at the last election. But what I am asking is that the government seriously look at this station and look at investing in it – actually extending it, lifting the roof line and building up-to-date facilities. It is not fair that men and women are all getting changed in one area. It is not fair on our volunteers that when they go to fires they do not have a separate turnout room, and it is definitely not fair on our volunteers that they have to share toilet facilities. This station was built in the 1940s. It has had no significant investment now for quite a long time, and I think it is incumbent on the government to make sure our volunteers, who protect our communities – the CFA in Nar Nar Goon does over 400 call-outs a year – have the best possible facilities. So I ask that the minister urgently look at this station and upgrade their facilities so our volunteers can have the right facilities to protect our community.