Thursday, 30 May 2024

Northern Metropolitan Region

Samantha RATNAM (Northern Metropolitan) (12:52): (907) My constituency question is for the Minister for Emergency Services. I ask that she sustainably fund the Victorian State Emergency Service Fawkner unit so their volunteers can continue to provide our community with their vital emergency response services. VICSES has over 4800 volunteers across the state who sacrifice their time to help their communities. Unfortunately, the VICSES has not been sustainably funded for years. These volunteers often find themselves at sausage sizzles or on the street asking passers-by for money so they can fund their units appropriately. Fifty-one per cent of the VICSES fleet is due to reach the end of its life by 2028, necessitating a capital investment of over $150 million. Without recurrent capital investment and ongoing decreases to funding, volunteers will need to keep spending more time fundraising so they can work safely. But this comes at a cost to their own personal lives when it really should be the state funding this essential service, including at the Fawkner unit. Minister, will you sustainably fund the VICSES Fawkner unit?