Government Radio Network

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:52): Does the minister think that it is acceptable that the government radio network, one of the largest public safety networks in the world, failed to deliver important messages when our volunteers needed it most?

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light—Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:52): It is quite clear that no government of any persuasion would want to put any of its employees or volunteers or anybody who is in an actual emergency at risk; that is quite clear. What I can say is that we are trying to get to the bottom of what actually did happen, the scope of it, so that we can actually address it.

Mr Knoll interjecting:

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: The member for Schubert says, 'It's a new problem.' Well, in the last discussions I had with Andrew Allchurch he was talking about an issue regarding Gilbert Valley. This other issue wasn't raised with me at all. Clearly, we need to understand how this fire was different and how the response to this fire was different.

Mr Marshall: The previous fires had the same problem.

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: No, that's not correct. That is not correct.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: I did read the reports.

The SPEAKER: The deputy leader is on thin ice.

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: First of all, every fire is different, every response is different, and we need to understand what is different about this one and how we need to improve the system overall.