Government Radio Network

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (14:54): Supplementary to the Minister for Emergency Services: isn't it true that the government has known since 2003 about the GRN deficiencies in the Gilbert Valley and the South-East?

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light—Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:54): I thank the honourable member for his question. As I just indicated, the GRN network is part of, if you like, the jigsaw. There are other ways of actually communicating as well and we do rely on those. That has been since the government radio network was actually introduced, and the reality is that no single one network will provide that coverage. What you have to do is to ensure that you put measures in place that complement the government radio network and we need to address any deficiencies in the system.

Having said that, the advice to me is that our network does cover the overwhelming majority of the state quite well, and in those pockets, because of either geography or atmospherics on a particular day, a whole range of different factors, the network may not be as efficient as it should be, and that is why we need to ensure that other measures are in place to make sure that information gets out and that we protect our emergency services workers.