Thursday, 20 November 2025

 Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (14:36): My question is to the Minister for Emergency Services.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Member for Laverton, this is your last warning.

Danny O’BRIEN: The SES annual report was tabled today. Why did Labor cut the SES budget by $10 million last year?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Frankston can leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for Frankston withdrew from chamber.

 Vicki WARD (Eltham – Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Natural Disaster Recovery, Minister for Equality) (14:37): I thank the Leader of the National Party for asking me a question about the SES – about the SES’s budget, just to be clear. But also to be clear, I completely refute the question and the premise of his question, because we have been very clear in this place that there are no cuts to our emergency services. Let us be really clear that when it comes to SES funding, when it comes to funding our emergency services – an incredible workforce, people who are always there when we need them the most –

Danny O’Brien: On a point of order, Speaker, the minister is debating the question. The annual report quite clearly states a $10 million cut, and I am happy to provide it to the house.

The SPEAKER: The minister is responding to the question.

Danny O’Brien: Can I provide it to the house?

The SPEAKER: It has already been tabled, Leader of the Nationals.

Vicki WARD: As I was making very clear, there is unprecedented investment that this government has made since coming in.

Cindy McLeish: On a similar point of order, Speaker, the minister is required to be factual. Information has been provided to the house which contradicts exactly what the minister is saying. There was a cut. Rulings from the Chair says that if evidence has been available then it needs to be taken into account. The minister needs to be called out for not telling the truth.

The SPEAKER: There is an expectation that all members on their feet at all times will be factual in this place.

Vicki WARD: It is a fact that we have doubled funding in emergency services since coming to government, that we have invested nearly $2 billion in this budget in our emergency services, that we have invested $30 million in a rolling replacement fleet for the SES, that we have invested over $14 million in a new SES unit for Footscray, that we have doubled the volunteer emergency services equipment program grants, that we have included for the first time the SES in the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund and that we are continuing to invest in our emergency services.

Let us also be clear that what the annual report refers to – this year’s annual report – is the completion of last year’s major infrastructure projects. This was an investment of $125 million that I know the member for Cranbourne’s community was very glad to see and that I know the member for South-West Coast –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Berwick can leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for Berwick withdrew from chamber.

Vicki WARD: The member for South-West Coast was extremely happy to see the completion of her SES unit at Port Fairy. We have a government that has continued to invest in our emergency services, unlike those opposite, who have a $7 billion cut on the table which would completely slash funding to the SES, which would take them out of the ESVF, which would –

Danny O’Brien: On a point of order, Speaker, on the question of relevance, the minister is talking about an imagined fantasy of cuts. These are the cuts actually in the annual report today.

The SPEAKER: There is no point of order. The minister is being relevant.

Vicki WARD: They will slash funding to the SES. They will take them out. They will not double the funding to VESEP, as we have done –

Brad Rowswell: On a point of order, Speaker, the minister is using her answer to attack the opposition.

The SPEAKER: The minister to come back to answering the question.

Vicki WARD: We have not cut funding to our emergency services, including SES.

 Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (14:42): In July this year the minister signed off on a brief allocating funding to the CFA and Fire Rescue Victoria, which saw both agencies’ budgets also cut. Why are Victorians paying an extra $3 billion under Labor’s new emergency services tax if our emergency services’ budgets are being cut?

 Vicki WARD (Eltham – Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Natural Disaster Recovery, Minister for Equality) (14:42): When there are $7 billion of cuts on the table from those opposite, I will not be lectured about cuts to emergency services, which this government is not doing.