Thursday, 6 March 2025

Western Victoria Region

Joe McCRACKEN (Western Victoria) (12:43): (1440) My constituency question is for the Minister for Emergency Services. The critical Lismore SES unit has been left dangerously understaffed after losing six volunteers because of bullying and mistreatment. One member has even been pushed to the verge of suicide. Two members have resigned, two have taken indefinite leave and two others have become non-operational. This leaves only two members left to respond to incidents. As a road crash rescue unit, Lismore is the lead response service for serious crashes in the area. Given the staff losses, this has effectively rendered the unit defunct as an RCR unit. Lismore is located on the critical south-west road crash rescue network. Minister, what are you going to do to fix the problem in VICSES to ensure communities like mine are safe?