Tuesday, 28 May 2024

Country Fire Authority funding

Richard WELCH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:15): (535) My question is for the Minister for Emergency Services. Minister, during PAEC hearings it was revealed that the CFA were selling off brand new trucks that were sitting in a warehouse for three years. Minister, why did it take three years for you to decide you could not afford to put tanks on those trucks?

Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:15): I thank Mr Welch for his question – again, a repeat of what I got at PAEC on Friday. I was pretty thorough in my answer there, but obviously for the benefit of the house, to clarify, we are not talking about fire trucks – we are not talking about red trucks – we are talking about vehicles that were purchased by the CFA at a discounted price, to buy vehicles that they had hoped to be able to fit out for their purposes. They had engaged with another state in relation to being able to retrofit all of those vehicles for the joint benefit of the states. That other state pulled out or reassessed their circumstances, which led to it being uneconomical for the CFA to retrofit the vehicles that they purchased. So they have then onsold them to ensure that they can get best value for money.

Richard WELCH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:16): Thank you, Minister, for the answer. The fire sales of new Mercedes-Benz trucks at Manheim Auctions this month will cost the CFA budget around $750,000. Will the government reimburse the CFA so that our long-suffering CFA volunteers will not miss out on their promised new trucks?

Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:16): President, I would just draw your attention to the standing orders, because Mr Welch has stated facts that are frankly untrue. So to put to me that his calculations are what they are, all I can say is that that is false and I find his question therefore very difficult to answer.