State Emergency Services

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:01): My question is to the Minister for Emergency Services and Correctional Services. Will the minister inform the council about the Enfield SES and Prospect SES units' 60^th anniversaries?

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (Minister for Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Autism, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (15:01): Recently, I had the pleasure of attending the celebrations for two SES units that were both celebrating their 60^th anniversaries, Enfield and Prospect. Enfield unit is a busy metropolitan unit with 45 members. In the last 12 months, I am told, Enfield received 293 requests for assistance, with trees down, severe weather, flood damage, general rescue, and building impacts accounting for the highest number of callouts.

Enfield SES has strong ties to the local community, providing a presence that is valued by the community throughout the year, including the Bay to Birdwood, Port Adelaide Christmas Pageant, the Adelaide 500, WOMAD, the Royal Adelaide Show and many more other community events. SES community engagement volunteers play an important part in educating their local community members and conduct presentations at Neighbourhood Watch events and various community safety forums.

The Prospect SES unit started as a civil defence unit back in 1965 during the Cold War when it was thought that one of the greatest risks to Australia, and indeed South Australia, was nuclear war. The first Prospect civil defence unit was headquartered in the basement of the Prospect Town Hall in 1965, with rescue equipment stored under the grandstand at Prospect Oval.

Over the years, the unit has had a few other homes, including the Prospect council work depot and a factory in Regency Park, and a temporary move to its current location, Dudley Park, while members eagerly awaited the completion of the brand new premises at Angle Park. Since those very early times, Prospect SES unit has grown to one of the largest and busiest units in the state. It currently has 74 active members and has responded to an average of 316 requests for assistance per year over the last three years.

This increased capacity is largely due to the outstanding commitment of volunteer members, with a very special mention of Ross or Roscoe Johnston who joined the service some 50 years ago, and Bryan Kirchner, who has also been there for over 40 years of service. Roscoe has seen the Prospect unit evolve with his own eyes. He was around when the unit went through its ice cream van era in the 1960s, where he spent hours with fellow volunteers working on a donated van to ensure it was fit for purpose. But as Roscoe recalls, he was not there when SES volunteers wore white uniforms.

There are many different reasons why people get involved in the SES, whether it is because their own homes have been flooded and they want to pay it forward by providing others the support they so generously received, or whether it is people like Amber from the Enfield SES unit, who is a young person who just recently joined the SES because she wanted to challenge herself through learning practical skills. All these volunteers can feel proud to be part of the orange uniform family. It is because of the dedication of people like Bryan, Roscoe and Amber, and their commitment to serving the community, that South Australians are able to rely on the SES to come to their aid in times of crisis.

As I have spoken about before, the SES has led the emergency response for floods in our state's Far North, but not just in South Australia. SES volunteers regularly step up and help other communities in need. We recently saw the largest single South Australian storm and flood deployment in more than a decade travel to Queensland to assist in the ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred response.

For volunteers spending time away from their families and friends, pausing their day-to-day jobs and putting the safety of others ahead of their own, we are truly grateful for your service. To all the current volunteers, and everyone who has been a member of the Enfield and Prospect units over their 60 years of existence, I extend a sincere thanks on behalf of the South Australian community and government.