Fire services
Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:29): (61) My question is for the Minister for Emergency Services. The Productivity Commission’s 2023 Report on Government Services has revealed that Victoria has the most expenditure on fire services per capita of any state, with Fire Rescue Victoria reporting a $132.5 million deficit, while at the same time FRV and the CFA have failed to meet their own benchmarks on (1) time taken to reach roadside incidents, (2) percentage of structure fires contained and (3) education programs delivered to the community. Can the minister explain what impact the Fire Rescue Victoria–CFA merger has had in contributing to these poor outcomes?
Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:30): I thank Ms Hermans for her question. There is a fair bit in that. You start with expenditure on fire services and identify that in Victoria we spend more on fire services than any other state, and that is something that I think we should be proud of. Unfortunately we live in an environment that is an extremely high-fire-risk part of the world. We are renowned across the world for not only our fire risk but our fire services and the world-class service that we provide through both the FRV model and also the CFA model. In relation to response times data, I think that was another question that you had – there were about five questions in your question, so picking and choosing where I respond –
Georgie Crozier interjected.
Jaclyn SYMES: I am not sure which question you would like me to answer, because you asked the question but Ms Crozier is deciding which parts of the question you would like me to answer.
Members interjecting.
The PRESIDENT: Order! Minister, interjections are unruly. I would ask you to ignore them and continue with your answer.
Jaclyn SYMES: Thank you, President. I think I can reflect on my previous answer. I am extremely proud of the firefighters’ efforts in our state. We have had a very fortunate period this last fire season where we have had less fires than usual, but there are still, day in, day out, people responding, whether they are paid firefighters, whether they are volunteer firefighters, and I think as Victorians we should be very proud of the service that is provided from every corner of our state. This is a government that will continue to support all of our firefighting efforts, whether they are paid employees or our hardworking, dedicated volunteers.
Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:32): Given that Victoria is spending the most on our fire services per capita of any state while at the same time not meeting basic benchmarks, what is the minister doing to ensure that Fire Rescue Victoria meets critical benchmarks while achieving a budget surplus?
The PRESIDENT: On whether that was supplementary to the substantive question, the substantive question was about the effect of the merger, and that is a completely –
Georgie Crozier: On a point of order, President, in the substantive question Mrs Hermans did refer to Fire Rescue Victoria reporting a $132.5 million deficit, so it is directly related in terms of what the outcomes are, the money expenditure and how this is not meeting benchmarks. It is directly related.
The PRESIDENT: I am happy for the minister to answer the question.
Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:33): Thank you, President. There is a lot of commentary in relation to your question, but I think I would at the outset question the tone that you are bringing to this. Victoria has some of the fastest response times in our country compared to other jurisdictions, so to actually start your question with ‘We have a failed system’ is wrong. It makes it difficult for me to respond to your questions when you have a false narrative that attacks our firefighters, because it is unhelpful to the information that you are trying to obtain from us.
It is fair to say that we expect all of our government agencies to act in a financially responsible manner. I continually work with FRV in relation to their budget, in relation to their needs and in relation to what they need to respond to the community. What we know is that they do a fantastic job in protecting the community. In terms of the organisation and its governance arrangements, they are continual conversations that I have on a weekly basis.