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- 14 September 2005
Singleton Firefighting Vehicle
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Page: 17760
Mr GEORGE SOURIS (Upper Hunter) [5.15 p.m.]: I support the Singleton firefighters, the Singleton Fire Brigade and the Singleton community in their concern about the decision that was conveyed to the firefighters, without consultation, to remove the second fire appliance from Singleton—a community of 22,000 people that has had a second support vehicle since 1980—to Kurri Kurri. Singleton forms part of the electorate of the honourable member for Cessnock, Minister Kerry Hickey. The Minister was approached, but declined to assist and told a group of firefighters on 9 September that he was unable to support them; he could not get involved in a stand between two towns. He would rather the New South Wales Fire Brigades and the New South Wales Fire Brigades Employees Union work it out. His response is an abrogation of a member's primary responsibility to support his community.
On 9 September when he made those remarks a third party was involved—the whole of the Singleton community, led very well by its Mayor, Fred Harvison, and the Singleton Shire Council, who have already fired off a letter to the Minister for Emergency Services, Tony Kelly. Earlier today in another place my colleague the Hon. Duncan Gay asked Minister Tony Kelly to guarantee that the second fire truck would not be taken from Singleton. I was flabbergasted when I heard the Minister for Emergency Services, Tony Kelly, say that the loss of the second fire truck in Singleton would result in no loss of fire protection for the community. All I can say is that the entire Singleton community must be wondering what he could possibly have meant and what possible justification there could be for drawing such an erroneous conclusion about the removal of the second fire truck. I believe that Labor is short-changing the Singleton community.
When the Singleton community heard the news in recent days, there was a very quick response. The fire brigade received more than 950 letters from schools, businesses and all types of organisations in the Singleton community. I have had the benefit of frequent communication through email and by telephone with the brigade commander in Singleton, Greg Butler, who is fighting this decision on behalf of his crew and the community. I assure the Minister for Local Government and honourable member for Cessnock, whose electorate includes Singleton, and the Minister for Emergency Services that if they take away the fire truck the Singleton community will respond in significant numbers. As far as I am concerned, the fire brigade building should be staked out and the fire station should be locked so that people such as the honourable member for Cessnock and the Minister for Emergency Services can be kept out of the township and community of Singleton. The honourable member for Cessnock should either support the Singleton community in its hour of need or never show his face there again.
I believe that the Australian Labor Party has already stopped representing Singleton because of the electoral boundaries that will apply at the 2007 election. That may have been the political reason the honourable member for Cessnock had in his mind when he rebuffed the local community and local firefighters and told them he was unwilling to be involved in their struggle. What kind of world is the honourable member for Cessnock trying to create—a dog-eat-dog world that pits town against town? He should accept responsibility. There is a very easy solution to this problem.
Mr Kerry Hickey: The gloves are off.
Mr GEORGE SOURIS: Shortly the Minister will have the opportunity to respond to what I am saying. No case has been made out that justifies the removal of the fire truck from Singleton other than that it is convenient and expedient to remove it to a nearby community and provide a second fire truck for Kurri Kurri. I do not know the cost of fire appliances, but in the context of a $40 billion budget that the Premier boasted of today, the Government should be able to afford to buy one measly fire truck. The Government should purchase one and allocate it to Singleton, thereby reducing the apprehension and fear that exists in Singleton. Lately Singleton has copped a fair bit of hardship. Its second ambulance and rescue vehicle was under the threat of being removed but later was saved by community support. Land at the hospital had been earmarked for sale. Now the Government wants to take away Singleton's second fire appliance. It is no wonder the Minister for Local Government, who is also the honourable member for Cessnock, is on the nose. [Time expired.]
Mr KERRY HICKEY (Cessnock—Minister for Local Government) [5.20 p.m.]: What the honourable member for Upper Hunter has not said is that the fire engine, or tanker, that is being removed from Singleton is needed at Kurri Kurri. The honourable member for Upper Hunter said that I should be looking after my electorate, but I point out that both communities are in my electorate. The Kurri Kurri community has had over 700 call-outs, whereas the Singleton community has had over 200 call-outs.
Mr ACTING-SPEAKER (Mr Paul Lynch): Order! The honourable member for Upper Hunter will come to order.
Mr KERRY HICKEY: Removal of the fires truck is not something that the people of Kurri Kurri or the people of Singleton really want, and it is not something that the local member of Parliament wants. I would love to have a new tanker at Singleton and at Kurri Kurri, but a staffing issue is involved at Singleton, which the honourable member for Upper Hunter neglected to mention. The fire brigade cannot provide staff for both Singleton tankers. The honourable member for Upper Hunter neglected to mention that in his speech.
The honourable member for Upper Hunter failed to tell the whole story. This is yet another example of his telling half-truths. Quite frankly, the big issue is that the fire brigade believes that the fire truck would be better utilised at Kurri Kurri and would protect more people there than at Singleton because of the higher incidence of call-outs at Kurri Kurri. The honourable member for Upper Hunter accuses me of not sticking up for the people of Singleton. I have already made representations to the Minister for Emergency Services to arrange the provision of a tanker for Singleton and a tanker for Kurri Kurri.
The fire truck referred to by the honourable member for Upper Hunter has not yet been transferred. The unions and the brigades are working on the problem to achieve an outcome that will benefit everyone involved. The process began in my office under my guidance. Another meeting has been set down for Friday 16 September to examine the issues closely to see whether they can be resolved. Quite frankly, the honourable member for Upper Hunter has been playing politics with an issue that he does not understand. He has not even asked me what the issues are. He is a very poor parliamentarian.
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