State Emergency Service funding
Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (16:51): (200) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Emergency Services, and it is in relation to adequate funding for the SES. As others have said and have made note of the importance of this week, it is National Volunteer Week this week, and I would like to place on record my thanks to all those men and women who provide their time and effort to the SES right across the state in terms of undertaking such significant work. Whether it is in times of emergency or times post emergency, they really do a remarkable job and are invaluable. There is no amount of money that the government could provide for so many volunteers across our state who do so much work in various areas, but the SES is one organisation that I am well aware of, and they have done, as I said, an extraordinary amount of work over the last few years. I have a number of SES services in my region of Southern Metropolitan, as do all members in this house. I am sure that they are well aware of those that provide services and of the work they undertake and that they know many of those volunteers – in fact many of us do have family members that do work as volunteers for a number of emergency services, including the CFA and SES – so it is important that we keep these services running and that they are funded adequately. The vital support that they provide to the Victorian community, as I said, is immeasurable. So the action I seek is for the minister to guarantee that there will be no budget cuts to the SES in the upcoming budget and that they are all funded adequately so that they can undertake the work that they need to do right across the state in times of emergency.