FIRE DANGER SEASON

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart) (15:02): My question is to the Minister for Emergency Services. With the fire danger season approaching, has the minister finalised a memorandum of understanding with local government regarding the availability of heavy machinery to assist in firefighting activities, and will council staff who are not members of CFS or SES be covered for accident or injury while undertaking these duties?

At present, any local government employee other than a registered CFS or SES volunteer who attends an emergency situation is legally deemed to be working under the care and control of council while actually under the direction of the emergency service incident controller. This leaves local government employers exposed to workplace responsibilities without the ability to control them, yet the use of local government employees and equipment is commonly relied upon in many emergency situations, particularly fires.

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) (15:03): I thank the member for Stuart for his question. I have had numerous letters from the Local Government Association seeking clarification on the status of council workers operating equipment during an emergency. I have sought crown law advice. I have conveyed that crown law advice to the Local Government Association, I think, on two occasions now, and that is that those people working under direction of the regional commander are covered, as are other volunteers.