Emergency Services

Mrs JUDY HOPWOOD (Hornsby) [1.10 p.m.]: I move:

That this House:

(1) notes the extreme weather of the weekend of 9 and 10 June 2007 in the Hornsby area and adjoining districts;

(2) congratulates the emergency services personnel involved in assisting those impacted by water damage including the Rural Fire Service, Police, Ambulance, Fire Brigade and Hornsby Shire Council.; and

(3) particularly congratulates the Hornsby State Emergency Services and its tireless local efforts as well as its ongoing work in the Central Coast and Hunter regions.

I gave notice of this motion exactly one year ago today. It is an appalling reflection on the speed with which private members' business is dealt with in this House that I am speaking on this motion one year after I gave notice that I would move it. The Hornsby State Emergency Service is the main focus of the motion, but I will also refer to other services. The Hornsby State Emergency Service has celebrated its fiftieth anniversary since I gave notice of this motion, and I congratulate its members on achieving that milestone. I was hoping to move and debate this motion in the presence of students and staff from the Pacific Hills Christian School, which is participating in the school leadership program, but unfortunately time has moved on and they are no longer in the public gallery.

Members of the Hornsby State Emergency Service were awarded medals in recognition of the work they did on the Central Coast and in the Hunter last June. I was invited to present the medals, but the service was instructed that only government members of Parliament were permitted to do so. The director general finally presented them. I was disappointed not to be able to participate in the presentation ceremony.

Mr Anthony Roberts: Disgraceful!

Mrs JUDY HOPWOOD: The shadow Minister for Emergency Services is correct; it is a disgrace. Emergency services do wonderful work not only in the Hornsby area but also throughout the State. My electorate is 50 per cent bushland and it also has waterways and so on. It is not uncommon for wildfires to start either within the area, or elsewhere and travel into it, causing a great deal of angst and hard work for local emergency services. Storm and tempest also cause flooding problems from time to time. Hornsby Shire Council oversees fire management in the area and is assisted in that role by a number of agencies, including the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, the New South Wales Fire Brigades and the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Hazard-reduction works, including prescription burning and fuel-break development, are carried out on a strategic basis to protect life, property and the environment in accordance with risk management plans, fire management plans and associated legislation.

Bushfires are caused by a wide variety of factors. They can be caused by lightning strikes, accidents—for example, sparks from farm machinery, incinerators, powerlines, vehicle crashes, burning off and camp fires—and they most often occur in the bushfire danger period. My electorate has experienced a number of very serious fires over the years, and certainly since I have been the local member. In 2002, 50 per cent of my electorate was devastated by a bushfire. A couple of properties were burnt or were damaged by water, but fortunately no lives were lost, and I pay tribute to the emergency services for that. This motion congratulates the Hornsby State Emergency Service, but I also congratulate the combined efforts of the Rural Fire Service, the New South Wales Fire Brigades, the New South Wales Police Force, the Ambulance Service of New South Wales and other volunteers who do such wonderful work in the face of disasters or potential disasters. A very serious fire started not far from where I live in the Mount Ku-ring-gai and Mount Colah area last October. I visited the scene one evening when Mount Ku-ring-gai was surrounded by flames to congratulate all concerned in fighting it. I toured the area later when time permitted and officers were able to indicate the extent of the fire. It was wonderful to see that response.

My electorate has two local area police commands: the Ku-ring-gai Local Area Command, under the leadership of Superintendent Craig Rae, and the Eastwood Local Area Command, under the leadership of Superintendent Peter Marcon. I have a very good working relationship with both officers and regularly attend Police and Community Team meetings. The New South Wales Police Force is Australia's oldest and largest police service and one of the biggest in the English-speaking world, with 17,000 employees—more than 13,300 of whom are police officers—serving a population of seven million. They certainly play a major role when emergencies occur. The local ambulance service in Hornsby is very responsive, although frustrated about the blocks that occur at local hospitals. Ambulance officers play a valuable role when emergencies arise. During the Mount Ku-ring-gai fire last year, the ambulance service set up in the middle of Mount Ku-ring-gai oval to deal with victims of trauma. The service, which is one of the largest ambulance services in the world, is dynamic and an integral part of the New South Wales health system.

New South Wales Fire Brigades is charged with enhancing community safety, quality of life and confidence by minimising the impact of hazards and emergency incidents on the people, the environment and the economy of New South Wales. It is also one of the world's largest urban fire and rescue services. It manages fires and emergencies in major cities and towns in this State. It certainly works extremely well with other services in the Hornsby electorate. It is also responsible for ChemWise, community fire units and the smoke alarm and battery replacement service offered to the elderly, known as SABRE. I once again commend the activities of the State Emergency Service. The Hornsby State Emergency Service and the Rural Fire Service regularly participate in the Relay for Life, which is fantastic. Volunteers who give up their time and energy to protect us predominantly staff the services. They are always ready and properly trained to deal with any tragedy that might occur in the local area.

The Government does not appear to support these volunteers as much as it could in particular the State Emergency Service, which has raised with me on many occasions the difficulties it has with funding. I note that in this year's budget there is catch-up funding but the service has difficulty purchasing vehicles when it has to have the money upfront and is sometimes not reimbursed until three years after the purchase. It has to organise its own fundraising. The Government tends to forget that these people are volunteers and they are out and about dealing not only with fires but also storm and tempest. They have to raise funds too. I congratulate all emergency services, in particular the Hornsby State Emergency Service, which is 50 years old.

Mr KERRY HICKEY (Cessnock) [1.20 p.m.]: Today I too pay tribute to the dedicated and hardworking volunteers who make up the State Emergency Service [SES] around New South Wales. As a community, we are fortunate indeed to be able to rely on this force of volunteers to turn out—around the clock, in the most appalling conditions—to help and protect us in times of natural disasters and other emergencies. The SES motto is "The worst in nature, the best in us." We have seen both over what has been one of the busiest years on record for the volunteers, who have put in an effort that is second to none to protect the community from the ravages of storms, floods and other emergencies. Far from gaining a well-earned rest following the disaster in June last year in the Hunter and the Central Coast and across the State, the State Emergency Service spent the next nine months in constant statewide operations responding to storms as severe weather struck many areas of the State, resulting in floods, severe storms and even a tornado in the Northern Rivers region.

The Iemma Government has a proud record of supporting our emergency volunteers with record funding to ensure they receive the training, equipment and resources they need for their vital work. The Government has recognised the enormous contribution the State Emergency Service makes to the safety and wellbeing of our community with record funding for the service of $57.6 million in the forthcoming financial year. This is a well-deserved increase of $6.1 million—or 12 per cent—on last year's funding. It will enable upgrading of the fleet of emergency response vehicles and provide for accommodation, development and recruitment. I particularly welcome the introduction of a State Emergency Service cadets program to encourage a new generation of volunteers to join the service, ensuring it can maintain its emergency capability in the years ahead.

The record 2008-09 budget also includes $1.6 million for rescue equipment, including motorised hydraulic cutters for road crash rescue units; $1.5 million for enhanced communications and paging systems; $1 million to local SES units towards their day-to-day expenses; $700,000 to purchase up to 25 flood boats for local units and $600,000 for protective clothing including, boots, jackets and gloves. The events of the June long weekend last year were an enormous test for the emergency services and, as always, they faced whatever nature threw at them with the professionalism and efficiency they display in any natural disaster. This was a natural disaster of enormous magnitude, causing damage and hardship for many thousands of residents and businesspeople. Some no doubt are still picking up the pieces.

Tragically, nine people lost their lives and of course our thoughts and condolences are with their families and friends. The SES received almost 20,000 requests for assistance in an operation lasting more than three weeks, making this the second-largest response operation in the service's history after the 1999 Sydney hailstorm. The event resulted in about 90,000 insurance claims for damage totalling more than $1.4 billion, making it one of the most costly disasters in the history of New South Wales. This makes the event three times larger in insurance losses than Cyclone Larry in Queensland, which sparked 27,000 claims totalling $520 million.

Of course, the weather does not recognise our geographic boundaries, so the tempest and damage was not limited to the Hunter and Central Coast. Wild weather was experienced along the coastline south to the Illawarra and beyond, with SES units in many areas turning out to help people suffering storm and water damage. The Hornsby unit was among those. With the assistance of the other local emergency services, including the Rural Fire Service, New South Wales Fire Brigades, the Police Force and the Ambulance Service, the SES dropped everything to give all assistance possible to local residents in real trouble. I know first hand, being the local member, what the volunteers did for Cessnock. The Hornsby SES responded to 469 requests for assistance in its local area, many of which involved tree damage caused by the immense winds—not surprising in such a heavily wooded area of our city.

The Hornsby SES is a large unit, with around 100 volunteers, and is constantly building its capacity under local controller, Bob Corbett, with control, operations, planning and logistics capability. The members are well-trained and equipped, with three response trucks, two four-wheel drives and a storm trailer, along with a flood rescue boat. Not only are they willing to help their own local community; they are happy to travel out of their area to assist in major response operations in other districts of the State, such as the Hunter and the Central Coast. Around 66 members of the Hornsby unit headed up the F3 to help their colleagues in the operation. Special commemorative State medallions have been struck to thank all those who took part in the response.

This emergency showed yet again the value of emergency services to our community, the great work the volunteers do in natural disasters, and the skill, commitment and cooperation of the members. Whether they are paid or volunteers is irrelevant; they are totally dedicated. It is humbling to remember that many volunteers carry out their duties with no reward except the thanks from those they help. We should all remember that all they look for is a quick thankyou on the way, and they work in such horrible inclement weather.

Mr ANTHONY ROBERTS (Lane Cove) [1.27 p.m.]: I commend my colleague the member for Hornsby for introducing this motion.

Mr Matt Brown: And the member for Cessnock.

Mr ANTHONY ROBERTS: I will come to the member for Cessnock and commend him for the spirit in which he has joined in this debate. I acknowledge again the local member, Judy Hopwood, as a major supporter of the State Emergency Service. She is popular locally and works very hard in her electorate. Both members look after their emergency services personnel very well. A recent issue of The Volunteer, the official journal of the New South Wales State Emergency Service Volunteer Association, referred to the wonderful work of the Hornsby SES. The Hornsby unit was formed on 3 April 1958, an Act of Parliament created just three years after the State Emergency Service in 1955. It was originally housed in a small shed in Hunter Lane, Hornsby, as part of the Hornsby council depot. The magazine states that by 1973 the unit had about 20 active members and two response vehicles, an ex-army International truck—the member for Wagga Wagga will know, with his expertise, the old International trucks—and a bushfire brigade twin-cab four-wheel-drive utility.

As the shadow Minister for Emergency Services I pay tribute to the six local controllers who have served the people of Hornsby since the inception of the Hornsby unit. They are L. Williamson, who was local controller from April 1958 to February 1972; Colin Gale, from February 1973 to December 1973; Bob Leske, from December 1973 to May 1982; Laurence Jones, from June 1982 to August 1983; Colin Hammer, from October 1983 to August 2002; and, finally, that wonderful individual and great leader, Bob Corbett, from August 2002 until now.

I pay tribute to our volunteers from the Rural Fire Service, the community fire units, the local fire brigades and the Royal Coastal Volunteer Patrol. As the member for Hornsby has stated time and again, a significant factor that defines a civilised democracy is the level of selflessness voluntarily given by individual members of the community for the benefit of others. What greater reflection of that is the wonderful work our volunteer services do, particularly those in emergency services.

As the member for Hornsby stated as a great supporter of the Rural Fire Service and State Emergency Service, we need to be there as a parliament and as a government providing adequate services and necessary equipment to these volunteer organisations. These people put their lives on the line every time they go out in a storm, or to a flood or to fight a fire. These selfless individuals leave their families worried at home, not sure whether they are going to return. Quite often they leave their families and their homes in danger. State Emergency Service personnel go out on Christmas Day and even if their own roofs have been damaged or blown off, they still go out as part of the well-disciplined combat agency to serve and protect. On occasions they have left their own homes to help others in the community. Members of the Rural Fire Service have been out fighting fires and have returned to find that their own home has been burned down.

One of the major problems facing emergency services in particular is funding. For example, 33 per cent of emergency services vehicles are more than 10 years old, including a troop carrier in Baradine that is 29 years old, a primary accident rescue vehicle at White Cliffs that is 32 years old and a 25-year-old emergency response vehicle in Wilcannia. Our volunteers do their work under hazardous conditions and deserve modern rescue vehicles.

Pursuant to sessional orders debate interrupted and set down as an order of the day for a future day.

[The Acting-Speaking (Mr Matthew Morris) left the chair at 1.32 p.m. The House resumed at 2.15 p.m.]