Questions without notice and ministers statements
Country Fire Authority Wangaratta brigades
Ms LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (13:14): My question is to the Minister for Emergency Services. Last week’s state budget was particularly disappointing to CFA brigades in district 23 as it contained no funding to refurbish the incident control centre at the Ely Street district headquarters or to provide a dedicated home for a headquarters for the Wangaratta group. The CFA are pushing ahead with the refurbishment of the control centre through their own limited funds, but this will effectively displace the Wangaratta group from the Ely Street headquarters, leaving them homeless. I ask the Minister for Emergency Services: given that I raised this issue with you in question time on 8 March, what have you done since that date to secure a suitable headquarters for the Wangaratta group?
Ms SYMES (Northern Victoria—Leader of the Government, Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (13:14): I thank Ms Lovell for her question in relation to funding for the CFA and in particular the issues that we have at Wangaratta. I would also put on record that the member for Ovens Valley, Tim McCurdy, has also written to me, as well as Tania Maxwell also as a member for Northern Victoria. It is good to see that there is bipartisan support for CFA, because we are all talking to the Wangaratta brigades in relation to the issues—the Wangaratta volunteers and career firefighters in Wangaratta.
In relation to the specific issue that you raise, Ms Lovell, I have had several conversations with CFA. My office have continued to have meetings in relation to this matter, and following the issues being raised with me by several members of Parliament and indeed in my direct conversations with members in Wangaratta at the opening of the SES, this is a matter that I am well across and I have asked CFA to facilitate conversations to seek solutions to this issue.
Where conversations have got to is an exploration of joint use of the brand new multimillion-dollar SES facility in Wangaratta that, if you have not seen, I would encourage you to go and visit. It is a fantastic, modern, fit-for-purpose facility that really provides a great venue to respond to emergencies not only in Wangaratta but across the north-east region.
I understand that there may be some members who are looking for a different outcome or a long-term solution. At this point in time I want to make sure that there are suitable facilities right now. Exploration of and continued conversations about a joint-use arrangement at that facility, which has adequate space to accommodate many emergency services—whether it is our CFA, whether it is our SES or indeed others—are an opportunity, so I would encourage people to stay at the table and continue to have those conversations. In terms of long-term premises, that is also a conversation that has not resulted in a final outcome. Those conversations continue to be ongoing, and I am keeping abreast of all of those conversations.
Ms LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (13:17): Thank you, Minister. Given that previous proposals for a memorandum of understanding between the CFA and SES required the CFA to actually get permission from the SES every time they entered that facility, will you guarantee that any shared arrangement or memorandum of understanding between the CFA and SES to house the Wangaratta group in the SES facility will result in the CFA having dedicated space on that floor plan and not being reliant on permission from the SES to access the facility?
Ms SYMES (Northern Victoria—Leader of the Government, Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (13:17): I thank Ms Lovell for her question. We are getting into the specifics of an MOU that are appropriately the topic of a conversation between the SES and the CFA, and it is not my role to sit down at the table and intervene in those conversations. What I want to achieve is a mutually acceptable outcome, of course. In relation to the conversations, they are overwhelmingly positive. SES have approved the use of facilities temporarily and have also offered land on site for an option for a long-term location if that is something that people would like to pursue. So there are lots of conversations; they are ongoing. SES have revised their position to accommodate CFA requests in relation to use and the steps that need to be taken so everyone knows who is there, what is there and what part of the facility they are using. As I said, it is a massive facility. There are room dividers; there are lots and lots of options. If people sit down and have the conversation, I am more than confident that mutually acceptable terms could be agreed.