Ministers statements: Country Fire Authority
Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:08): Last Thursday I was in Burwood with the Plenty CFA brigade to officially announce the $138 million upgrade of all handheld vehicle- and station-based radios for the CFA. A total of 18,000 new radios will be rolled out across all of Victoria, giving Victorian emergency services the latest tech to respond to emergencies more safely. They are fitted with updated and more accessible functions, including GPS capability, so that firefighters can more easily locate and communicate with their crews on the ground, ensuring their safety. The new multiband capabilities of the radios will ensure firefighters have direct communication access with all other emergency services agencies, not just CFA volunteers. The function will be particularly valuable during mass fire events, like the ones we saw over summer, where more than one emergency responder is needed, such as VICSES, FFMVic or FRV in conjunction with CFA vols. The radios will also give CFA crews direct links to New South Wales and South Australian counterparts, ensuring better communication with interstate firies when we have incidents that obviously do not stop at borders. The announcement follows a three-month pilot program across 15 CFA regions where the radios underwent an extensive trial, tested in hot, smoke-filled and noisy environments by volunteers who know what they need in the face of a possible disaster. I certainly thank those brigades that undertook that testing for us.
Following the last couple of weeks of extreme weather, we have seen just how important our CFA volunteers are and the incredible job they do keeping Victorians safe. Whilst we cannot thank them enough, we can make record investments in the equipment and technology that they need. Again, I am sure that everybody joins me in acknowledging and thanking volunteers for the work they do in protecting Victorians, and I look forward to seeing these new radios across Victoria as they roll out to each and every brigade.