Thursday, 10 March 2022

Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority

Mr DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan—Leader of the Opposition) (12:16): My question is for the Minister for Emergency Services. I refer to the government’s package which has a recruitment campaign which the government says is already underway to fill new positions. I direct the minister to the ESTA website, which currently has only 14 jobs listed, and I ask: if these new call taker jobs are already subject to a recruitment campaign, why are they not advertised on the ESTA website?

Ms SYMES (Northern Victoria—Leader of the Government, Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:16): Mr Davis, the recruitment campaign is aimed at encouraging people to consider working for ESTA at any juncture of their life. We have a really close relationship with universities, in particular tapping into the rich resource of paramedic students, who are supplementing the workforce as we speak. We want to attract people that are new to the field and therefore would require intensive training, so ‘Come and have a look and see if you would like to be trained’. But indeed, if you are a nurse, if you are a retired paramedic, if you are wanting to come from a hospital setting, please come and have a look at ESTA. We do recognise prior training.

The recruitment campaign is aimed at attracting anybody and anyone who is interested, including if you have experience in health. Obviously with the issues that have come to light it is our ambulance section that we are really wanting to bolster, and I would really encourage anybody to have a look at the recruitment campaigns that are available and come and chat to ESTA about the opportunities that are there. Indeed if anybody comes through my office I can surely connect them to someone who can give them some information about a fantastic, rewarding career at ESTA.

Mr DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan—Leader of the Opposition) (12:18): I refer to the report being prepared by Graham Ashton into the disasters and mismanagement of the ESTA 000 call-taking system, including its staffing, and I ask: when will the report be completed, and will it be made public in full?

Ms SYMES (Northern Victoria—Leader of the Government, Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:18): Mr Davis, you have incorrectly constructed the purpose of Mr Ashton’s inquiries. He is conducting a review on predominantly the performance and structural considerations of ESTA, which is a welcome review that he is undertaking. That review is due to me in the next few weeks. In relation to, again, whether I would make a report public that I have not seen yet, that is not a commitment that I would be prepared to give. Again, I give my commitment to be as transparent and accountable as possible. This is a report that would be considered by cabinet, and we would then consider an implementation plan for his recommendations. I will certainly be updating the house as we work through the recommendations in his report.