Public Works Committee: Rescue Retrieval and Aviation Service Base

Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (11:38): I move:

That the 540^th report of the committee, entitled Rescue Retrieval and Aviation Service Base, be noted.

The SA Ambulance Service and MedSTAR are operating out of leased facilities located at Adelaide Airport. These facilities are not located in close proximity to the rotary-winged emergency response aircraft area. In addition, staff are currently accommodated across two buildings which are not purpose-built, with the training facilities housed in temporary buildings. This setup is not conducive to operational efficiencies and response times can be as long as 15 minutes due to staff needing to travel around the airport on public roads to access the aircraft. This can be potentially longer during peak periods. Given that the international standard for this type of response is five minutes, there is an urgent need to address this issue.

Adelaide Airport Limited, in addition, is not keen to renew the lease for these facilities at their current location. This provides a great opportunity to construct new purpose-built state-of-the-art facilities with access directly to the apron located adjacent to the rotary-winged leasehold area behind Harbour Town on Sir Reginal Ansett Drive. This will reduce response times to around two minutes—a big variation. It will also be adjacent to the new Royal Flying Doctor Service facility.

Adelaide Airport Limited is very supportive of the project. This project is in line with the Adelaide Airport Limited master plan which supports the co-location of these facilities and services. The new facility will be a two-storey purpose-built rescue retrieval and aviation base incorporating administrative office space and specialised training facilities to support skills development, crew amenity and rest facilities, undercover ambulance rescue and retrieval vehicle parking, as well as command centre vehicle parking. The car parking for staff and visitors to the facility will also be taken into account.

The storage facilities are to be located adjacent to the apron as well as the vehicle bays to allow for direct access to the apron for loading equipment and supplies, and fast evacuation of patients. The cost of the project is $12 million (GST exclusive). The aim is to start construction of the new building in June 2016, but this is subject to the internal planning approval of Adelaide Airport Limited. The project should take around 12 months. Given this, and pursuant to section 12C of the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991, the Public Works Committee reports to parliament that it recommends the proposed public works.

Mr PENGILLY (Finniss) (11:41): Clearly the opposition was most supportive of this project. As someone who uses the airport as much as anybody in this place, I have a fair bit of time to look out the window and see what is going on there, and incorporating these projects together behind Harbour Town will be a much superior product to what is there at the moment. It is necessary to upgrade those facilities and to have quick access for the services that use it.

I know country members in this place are cognisant of the rescue helicopters, the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the rest of it that comes into our electorates on a regular basis, so this will be helpful to everybody. It will make it much easier for the staff involved in the various enterprises to have better facilities; it is going to be pretty much state-of-the-art. It seems as though we dealt with this about six months ago quite frankly in the Public Works Committee, it has taken that long to get here. It will be good and it will put us out in front as far as those services that are required in South Australia for some foreseeable time.

Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (11:43): Thanks to the member for Finniss and other members of the Public Works Committee. This is indeed an exciting project. I think the proposal of the efficiencies to be gained for these services from this project are enormous, particularly the response time going from 15 minutes to two minutes which is exemplary. I recommend the report to the house.

Motion carried.