Tea Tree Gully State Emergency Service

The Hon. T.R. KENYON (Newland) (14:31): My question is to the Minister for Emergency Services. Can the minister advise the house about the Tea Tree Gully State Emergency Service unit's recent participation in the National Disaster Rescue Challenge in Canberra?

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light—Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:31): I would like to thank the honourable member for his question and also acknowledge his close association with the unit; and, also, the association of the member for Florey, who supports the unit as well.

In June, I advised this house about the many achievements of the Tea Tree Gully State Emergency Service unit, noting the support that they provided at Sampson Flat in January this year. I also advised the house about the SES State Rescue Challenge, which is held every two years. The challenge involves rescue scenarios where SES teams are assessed on their response capabilities and compete against each other to promote learning and development of skills, validate operational capabilities and celebrate excellence.

Not only did the Tea Tree Gully unit win the state challenge in May this year, they have now also won 12 consecutive events. The unit subsequently qualified to participate in the National Disaster Rescue Challenge in Canberra which was held early this year at the beginning of September. The South Australian team, from the Tea Tree Gully unit, competed against the best SES teams from across Australia. I am pleased to note that the team finished a very respectable second. The team from Kiama SES unit in New South Wales won the event. However, I note that the Tea Tree Gully unit has won this national event several times, most recently in 2011.

I recently attended the unit to congratulate the volunteers, with the member for Newland. The member for Florey was an apology on the night because of illness, but her gift was well received by the unit members. The member for Newland is a strong supporter of the unit, as well as other emergency services in his electorate.

I was extremely pleased to provide 10-year service certificates to two volunteers, Mr Phillip Hosking and Mr Ian Brittin. It was also an honour to acknowledge 25 years of service recently attained by volunteers Mr Andrew Buckle and Ms Megan Peel. Notwithstanding these outstanding achievements, all of the volunteers, led very well by Mr Phil Tann, are extremely professional and dedicated, and are great ambassadors for their community, the SES and, indeed, our state of South Australia. We can all be rightly proud that men and women of such calibre dedicate so much of themselves to keeping our state safe. I would once again like to congratulate the unit and thank them for their ongoing support to the community.

Finally, back in May this year, the SES Chief Officer, Mr Chris Beattie, and I officially launched a new book about the history of the SES called In times of need. If any members would like a copy, please drop by my parliamentary office, where I can give them a copy if they wish. It is a fantastic book about a fantastic organisation.