Thursday, 20 June 2024

State Emergency Service Whittlesea unit

Lauren KATHAGE (Yan Yean) (10:06): I am so pleased to relate to the chamber my recent visit with controller Gary Doorbar and the Whittlesea SES. What a fantastic group of people that are serving the community out of the goodness of their hearts, out of the cleverness of their brains and out of the strength of their hands. I thank them so much for their contribution to our community.

While I was there – it was a freezing cold night – they were outside training and learning. It occurred to me that these volunteers spend hundreds of hours training just to help us in the worst hour of our lives. All the hard work that they do is thinking ahead to something we do not know is even coming yet. I thank them for their dedication and the work they put into making sure that they can keep us and our properties safe through some of the hardest times.

I have to reflect on the fact that the volunteers that I saw there were a reflection of our community – all ages, all genders and all cultures. That tells me that this is an inclusive and welcoming place for people to have an outlet to serve their community. Again I say a very big thankyou to controller Gary Doorbar and the fantastic crew there. We absolutely back in the SES and all that they do, and we always will, because we know that they are the backbone of our community.