EMERGENCY SERVICES FUNDING

Mr BIGNELL (Mawson) (14:41): My question is to the Minister for Emergency Services. Can the minister inform the house about any new investments to support our emergency services, our volunteers and to enhance community safety?

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Police.

Ms Chapman: You should have a volunteer bus service.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright—Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:41): I hope the leader enjoyed her three-minute trip on the bus from Paradise to Klemzig the other day. Three minutes, all told.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: I have been on it lots of time.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Point of order, Madam Speaker. It would be nice if the minister got somewhere near the question with her answer.

The SPEAKER: Thank you; sit down. Minister, can you get back to the substance of the question? Thank you.

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: Thank you, Madam Speaker. It would be nice—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I can't hear the minister. Order!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: It would be nice to be able to have some silence to answer a question. I thank the member for Mawson for the question. With an electorate made up of both urban and rural areas, he has done a great job in keeping his constituents informed about the risks faced in what is a very beautiful yet potentially hazardous part of South Australia.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Members on my left will behave. Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: I was pleased to join the Treasurer this morning to announce an additional $8.3 million over four years for our emergency services. This includes the provision of two new inland rescue boats and a new sea rescue boat for the SES; $1.5 million for new breathing apparatus for the CFS volunteers; $2.6 million for extra training to assist both our SES and CFS volunteers; $1.7 million towards our commitment to upgrade to the national mobile emergency alert warning system; and $2 million extra for MFS capital projects. This takes next year's financial budget to $227 million compared with just $104 million when the Liberals were last in office. I am sure the member—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: I am sure that the member for MacKillop will be delighted that one of the three new SES vessels will be based in Kingston. The existing craft is more than 25 years old and has reached the end of its operational life. Two other new inland boats will be used for search and rescue operations, assist boats in distress and tow broken-down vessels back to safety on our river.

The government is indebted to the work of our emergency services volunteers and will recruit six extra frontline training staff to provide both the CFS and SES with vital training so that they are better placed to respond to emergencies. The funding comes on top of the current training budget across the sector, which I am advised is around $10 million each financial year. Our CFS brigades will also receive funding to replace around 1,200 sets of breathing apparatus. These new sets will help our volunteers save lives and property under hazardous conditions. They will also be lighter and will hold a larger capacity to provide air over longer periods.

The MFS will receive an extra $2 million on capital upgrades. It will take its capital budget to $7.4 million next financial year and be used to upgrade equipment—

The Hon. I.F. Evans interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Davenport, order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: —and stations. Across the entire emergency services sector $26.8 million will be spent on capital projects. The 2012-13 state budget also includes $1.7 million for South Australia—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: —I announced it today—to access the National Emergency Alert location-based solution system. This allows an emergency warning message to be sent to mobile phones based on a phone's physical location. Whilst this system has proven invaluable to warn of bushfires, floods and other emergencies, it was limited to only being able to send mobile phone warnings based on a customer's registered billing address. It meant that, in an emergency, someone could be out of a danger area and unnecessarily be warned, whereas others could have travelled into the zone and not—

Mr PISONI: Madam Speaker—

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr PISONI: —I have got four minutes and 30 seconds so far.

The SPEAKER: No; there are two seconds left on the clock here.

Mr PISONI: Okay, well sit down, Jennifer.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: —receive any notification through their mobile. The extra $8.3 million reflects our commitment to ensure that we bolster our commitment—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: —to a safer South Australia.

The SPEAKER: Thank you, minister. The member for Unley.