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The Hon. CHRISTINE ROBERTSON [6.02 p.m.]: In early February I had the honour of celebrating the launch of the new rescue vehicle acquired by the Walcha State Emergency Service. Walcha is a very strong community of about 3,500 people, with an industrial base that includes forestry and sawmilling, fine wool growing and cattle. Walcha is located in pretty rugged country, with gorges, mineshafts and waterfalls. It has a fairly extensive tourism industry, and prospectors and dinosaur egg collectors add to the problems of Walcha State Emergency Service. The service also deals with emergencies in local mainstream industries, particularly the sawmilling industry. The volunteers are well equipped and well trained, and I can attest that the Walcha State Emergency Service team really knows its job.
The Walcha State Emergency Service is also important because major roads traverse the Walcha shire. The Oxley Highway moves freight and people from the west and from the Armidale-Tamworth region to Port Macquarie, which is a major coastal contact for these areas. Thunderbolts Way to the Forster, Gloucester and Taree area, which is a major commercial partner for the New England-North West region, also cuts through the Walcha shire. Both roads have incredibly high regional traffic movements. In order to meet existing need and because of its high level of expertise and training, the unit is accredited for general land and vertical rescue and road crash rescue. The team performs quite a few mountain rescues in rugged terrain.
In the past 12 months the Walcha State Emergency Service has put in 348 volunteer hours dealing with actual incidents. That is absolutely amazing. The local controller, Mr Peter McNeill, is a fine man. He is a full-time farmer who also manages to spend many hours planning and organising the unit and ensuring that it is ready to react when accidents occur. The local population raised $30,000 towards the acquisition of the vehicle—that is a lot of money considering the community comprises only 3,500 people—the Walcha Council provided $30,000, and the State Government also provided $30,000 for the vehicle.
The body of the vehicle was designed by team members, who drew on their many years of emergency services experience. The unit also carries some of the specialist rescue equipment of other emergency services, such as the local fire brigade and the Ambulance Service—I think honourable members understand that different emergency services are designated as the rescue services for different areas. The Walcha State Emergency Service enjoys the full support of the Walcha shire and the Walcha community. The vehicle was built by Capital Body Works in Tamworth, and it is exciting to know that the necessary skills were available locally. The State Government has supplied $18,352 in support equipment over the past two years, but that is a small amount compared with the unit's contribution. It raised the necessary money and designed and organised the building of one of the best State Emergency Service headquarters and training sheds that I have ever seen. The shed houses the team's four-wheel drive and tandem trailer and the new rescue vehicle. The training area has an amazing pulley system on which team members train for mountain rescues. The facility also has special meeting areas. The Walcha State Emergency Service deserves our accolades, and I was honoured to attend the function with its members.