Country Fire Service Volunteers

Mr TRELOAR (Flinders) (14:40): My question is to the Minister for Emergency Services. Minister, why have dedicated and long-serving Eyre Peninsula CFS volunteers had their grant applications for on-farm firefighting units denied?

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light—Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:40): This time last year I announced the fire farm unit scheme. It is the first time any government has introduced such a scheme, so I am quite proud of the scheme. Also, we put up $2 million over four years to invest because we recognise the important role that fire farm units play. We had a scheme. The scheme was oversubscribed. We had over 1,000 applications. It was interesting that at the time I announced the scheme it was actually derided by some members opposite that nobody would be interested and nobody would apply. It was actually—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: Your suggestion? Yes, right. Yes, okay.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Newland is warned and the Treasurer is warned for the second and final time.

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: I am more than happy to explain to the house how the idea came about. In fact, it was actually some CFS volunteers. I spoke to them about the Bundaleer fires, before I became minister, and they spoke to me about the important role of fire farm units. There were between 50 and 70 and I spoke to them. The other factor—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Stuart is warned.

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: The other factor that was very important was, unfortunately, the loss of a firefighter, a CFS firefighter, who was a farmer around the Balaklava area. That really brought home the importance of having safe conditions for fire farm units. So, part of that scheme is actually about safety for fire farm units. The fact that some people weren't successful this time—I would encourage them to apply. We are committed to this scheme. I think it is a great scheme and the fact that over 1,000 applications were received shows how much support this scheme had. Unfortunately, with priorities, some people missed out.

Having said that, a lot of grants were made, which were recommended to me by an independent committee. I accepted in full their recommendations, which included the volunteer association, in terms of who should get the grants and who shouldn't. They targeted those areas of high risk, including places around Mount Remarkable, etc. We looked at both what is available on the ground and what the risk is. We just didn't have the resources to cover the program one year, but I am committed to it and I think it is a good scheme.