Tuesday, 2 June 2026

 Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (15:13): My question is to the Minister for Emergency Services. Tarneit fire station is either the busiest or second-busiest fire station in Melbourne, responding to more calls for emergency medical response than any other fire station. Despite this fact, Tarneit firefighters continue to operate with one truck. When will Tarneit fire station receive another truck?

 Vicki WARD (Eltham – Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Natural Disaster Recovery, Minister for Equality) (15:14): I thank the member for his question and for the opportunity I think for all of us to share our immense distress and the breaking of our hearts over the terrible incident that we saw in Werribee two nights ago – an incredibly distressing story that is extraordinary for the family and the community around them but also for those first responders who were there fighting as hard as they could to get this fire under control. The member asks about resources for FRV, and I am sure the member is aware –

Members interjecting.

Vicki WARD: The FRV station in Tarneit.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! Can the minister have the floor without interjections?

Vicki WARD: Speaker, it would be great to be in this place and to be able to actually give an answer without constant interjections, where it is very clear that those opposite are not interested in actual answers. What we have seen is the $40 million that we invested in the last budget for a rolling replacement fleet program for FRV for new appliances.

Danny O’Brien: On a point of order, Speaker, we would actually like to get an answer. On the question of relevance, it was specifically about when Tarneit will get an extra truck, not what the FRV is getting overall but specifically about Tarneit.

Anthony Carbines: On the point of order, Speaker, the minister is being relevant to the question. She is going to the matter of not only the suburbs but also the organisation, the authority that is responsible for these matters.

The SPEAKER: I cannot direct the minister how to answer the question. She was being relevant.

Vicki WARD: As I was saying, there was $40 million in last year’s budget, there was $15 million in the budget before and there is another $10 million in this budget to continue the rollout of new appliances for FRV. New appliances going to stations is an operational decision made by FRV, and we are supporting those decisions through the increased investment that we have in new appliances for FRV, notwithstanding of course the work that we are doing with their mechanics as well, including the new mechanics workshop that we have got. We also know that that area –

Danny O’Brien: Speaker, I renew my point of order and ask the minister to come back to answering about Tarneit.

The SPEAKER: The minister was being relevant.

Vicki WARD: Recognising the constant interruptions, the member does not actually give anybody the opportunity to give a fulsome and wholesome answer to their question. When we talk about investment we have not only got the investment we are putting into FRV appliances; there is of course also the new fire station we built in Tarneit in 2019. We also saw a new CFA station for Truganina in 2023, a new CFA station for Wyndham Vale in 2026, a heavy tanker was delivered to Werribee CFA ‍–

Danny O’Brien: On a point of order, Speaker, the minister is clearly now debating the question. I ask you to bring her back to answering it.

The SPEAKER: I do not uphold the point of order.

Vicki WARD: A heavy tanker for Werribee CFA in 2024, a heavy tanker to Point Cook CFA brigade in 2022 and a pumper tanker delivered to Hoppers Crossing in 2021. Our agencies work together. They know how to work –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, I seek your guidance in relation to debating the question. This was actually a very simple and specific question about a particular site, and the minister is doing everything she can to not talk about that question. That goes to the heart, I would put to you, of debating the question.

The SPEAKER: I believe the minister has already answered the question.

Vicki WARD: I have given a fulsome and wholesome answer to the question, and I would also remind the member that it is this government that is investing over $2.4 billion in emergency services and forest fire management this year. We are not ripping $1.6 billion out of the budget like they will.

 Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (15:19): Minister, the firefighters rostered at Tarneit yesterday were not serving at that station because they had been moved to Lara because Lara’s fire truck had broken down. The firefighters at Tarneit yesterday came from Newport. With 65 per cent of the entire Fire Rescue Victoria fleet past its service date, when will the minister publicly release the outcomes of the KPMG audit into the condition of FRV’s fleet?

 Vicki WARD (Eltham – Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Natural Disaster Recovery, Minister for Equality) (15:20): The member, despite the fact he has been shadow minister for some time, clearly does not understand how our emergency services work and how they make operational decisions. FRV and CFA work closely together to deliver coordinated emergency responses across Victoria, and decisions about which service attends a complex incident are made by agencies based on safety, capability and response times. And of course FRV will release the report when they are ready to do so.