Thursday, 4 June 2026

 Tim BULL (Gippsland East) (05:27): (1691) I am pleased to be on my feet at 5:30 am. My adjournment is to the Minister for Emergency Services, and the action that I seek is for the Lakes Entrance fire station to be fully funded. Recently there was a funding announcement made for CFA station builds, planning and land acquisition, and Lakes Entrance was among those included in that media release. What I am hearing is that there is $700,000 for planning only, which would be an incredible waste. Prior to the 2022 election the Lakes Entrance community was told by this government that the station build was imminent. Here we are, heading into the 2026 election, and it appears we have an announcement for planning. Here is the situation: we know where the station is going, we know it is a 2C build, we know the land is flat and we know that it is going to cost $7.5 million. We know all that. So why are we giving $700,000 for planning? It is just simply a waste of money. The action that I seek from the minister, given that we know all this, is to just get on with the job, announce the full funding for the Lakes Entrance fire station and get it built.