Thursday, 7 April 2022

Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority

Mr DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan—Leader of the Opposition) (12:23): My question is also for the Minister for Emergency Services. Minister, I refer to the IT upgrade of 000’s computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system, the dispatch system that is used to get ambulance, fire, police and others to the spot where they are needed. Originally announced in 2017 at a cost of $2.88 million, this upgrade was completed two years late and at a total delivery cost of $17.48 million—a cost blowout of 500 per cent, or almost $15 million. That money could have hired 162 new frontline call takers. Minister, I ask you: what went wrong?

Ms SYMES (Northern Victoria—Leader of the Government, Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:24): Thank you, Mr Davis, for explaining the importance of the CAD system to underpinning the important work that our ESTA call takers and dispatchers rely on. Mr Davis, this is not to be characterised as a cost blowout. This is an investment that we make year on year, again and again. In relation to the figures that you referred to, that was an initial scoping activity for improvements in the CAD system, and it was re-scoped to increase the cost to $18 million. In fact we would probably spend about $10 million a year on this system because it is so important. I am not quite sure what you think the ESTA call takers are going to do if we do not invest in this system, because the 162 call takers that you think it is going to employ will be sitting there passing post-it notes and faxing people to get ambulances to where they need to go. This question shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how complex this workplace is. It relies on up-to-date IT systems. I will not make apologies for spending money on the resources that will support the hard work of these call takers.

Mr DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan—Leader of the Opposition) (12:26): I am sorry, Minister, but I do not know what planet you are on. The project began at $2.88 million and ended up at $17.48 million. Either you scoped it wrongly in the first place or it blew out, or both—most likely both. Minister, this is not the only example of a botched IT upgrade at ESTA. A human resources recruitment and goal-setting information technology project was delivered more than six months late at a cost of $2.34 million, a 52 per cent blowout on the original budget. Victorians are dying on hold to 000 and waiting for urgent medical assistance that never arrives, as we have just heard, yet you, Minister, continue to botch critical 000 upgrades. Isn’t it a fact that the dispatch benchmarks are not being met because the dispatch system is in chaos?

Ms SYMES (Northern Victoria—Leader of the Government, Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:26): You do not understand how the system works, and the answer to your question is no.