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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-11-28 Daily Xml
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Fire and Emergency Services (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD (Gibson—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (15:57): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Fire and Emergency Services Act 2005 and to make a related amendment to the Emergency Management Act 2004. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD (Gibson—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (15:58): I move:

That this bill be read a second time.

It is with great pleasure that I rise to address the house on the introduction of the Fire and Emergency Services (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2018. The bill seeks to amend the Fire and Emergency Services Act 2005to incorporate long overdue legislative changes from recommendations from the 2013 review of the act and a number of subsequent internal reviews undertaken by the emergency services sector.

In addition, the bill seeks to incorporate a long awaited provision for inclusion of the Country Fire Service and the State Emergency Service volunteer charters, an issue first introduced into this place by way of a private member's bill in 2012. Since the review of the act in 2013, a number of unsuccessful attempts have been made to incorporate into the act legislative changes from the 2013 review.

In contrast, as we have seen on many occasions of late, this government is proud to have delivered the Fire and Emergency Services (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill in just eight months. Whilst it may have been some five years ago, and unfortunately inaction by those opposite leading to this government inheriting yet another overdue task on the to-do list, the report on the review of the Fire and Emergency Services Act 2005 outlined a number of important recommendations to address issues relating to the provision of emergency services in South Australia. These issues, which the bill seeks to address, include:

employment insecurity of volunteers who are absent from work to respond to an emergency;

breaches of permit conditions imposed by authorised officers;

providing CFS officers with the power to direct the cessation of harvesting or any other actions that, due to weather conditions, may cause a fire if ignited to get out of control;

we remain committed to working with stakeholders, including Grain Producers SA, to ensure that there are no unintended consequences to the grain harvesting code of practice; and

various technical issues raised by the emergency services organisations relating to apparent anomalies or ambiguities in the act.

Additionally, the existing volunteer charters are an effective policy tool that reflect the structure and function of the CFS and SES as volunteer organisations within the South Australian government. The desire to have the CFS and SES charters enshrined in the act arose from a fundamental concern of some volunteers that existing arrangements on consultation processes were insufficient to provide confidence that their views would be treated seriously.

I would like to acknowledge the hard work of the Hon. Tammy Franks from the other place in helping to drive a long-awaited change. Including the volunteer charters in the act demonstrates the South Australian government's appreciation of the importance of emergency service organisation volunteers to the safety of our community, as well as the government's strong commitment to ensuring that volunteers' views are heard and that issues of concern can be identified and acted upon through a well-established and understood process.

The key objectives of the bill are to improve the ability of the emergency services to deliver public safety outcomes at minimal cost to the government and community and to demonstrate the government's commitment and appreciation of emergency services volunteers to the safety of our community. I commend the bill to members. I seek leave to insert the explanation of clauses into Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

3—Amendment provisions

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Fire and Emergency Services Act 2005

4—Amendment of section 3—Interpretation

Definitions and interpretative provisions are inserted for the purposes of the measure.

5—Amendment of section 26—Functions and powers

This clause expands the list of examples in section 26(3) to include the recording, possession or use of moving or still images for the purposes of SAMFS operations and activities.

6—Amendment of section 37—Rectification where safeguards inadequate

This clause amends section 37 to provide for references to the new Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016.

7—Amendment of section 38—Closure orders etc

This clause clarifies powers in relation to closure of buildings by allowing orders to be issued requiring persons to leave a building and the securing of the building against further entry. In addition, all orders under the section will have an initial maximum period of 2 full business days after the day on which the order was issued (instead of 48 hours from the time of issue of the order). The provision also clarifies that the power to rescind an order under subsection (7) does not apply to an order of the Court.

8—Amendment of section 42—Powers

This clause will allow an officer of SAMFS to engage a contractor to carry out demolition or other work at the scene of a fire or emergency whether or not the officer is present at the scene of the fire or other emergency.

9—Insertion of section 58A

This clause inserts a new provision providing Parliamentary recognition of the SACFS Volunteer Charter (as defined in the provision).

10—Amendment of section 59—Functions and powers

This clause expands the list of examples in section 59(3) to include the recording, possession or use of moving or still images for the purposes of SACFS operations and activities.

11—Amendment of section 68—Establishment of SACFS

The amendment to section 68 enables an industry brigade to form part of an SACFS group.

12—Insertion of Part 4 Division 5A

Division 5A is inserted:

Division 5A—Industry Brigades

69A—Preliminary

Definitions are inserted for the purposes of the Division, including definitions of a prescribed person and a responsible person.

69B—Designated areas for industry brigades

The Chief Officer may designate an area of land (being land not within a fire district) as an area where the Chief Officer considers an industry brigade should be established.

69C—Establishment of industry brigades

The Chief Officer may give a prescribed person a written notice relating to a designated area requiring the prescribed person to establish an industry brigade, have it registered and take other steps related to establishing and maintaining an industry brigade.

An appeal against the notice is provided for. It is an offence to breach or fail to comply with the notice.

The costs incurred in complying with the notice will be borne by the responsible person (defined as the prescribed person or a person designated as the responsible person for the purposes of the definition of responsible person).

69D—Registration of industry brigades

Provision is made in relation to the registration of industry brigades.

69E—Chief Officer may give directions

The Chief Officer may give directions to the responsible person for an industry brigade relating to a range of matters (set out in the provision), which generally relate to the maintenance and operation of the industry brigade.

69F—Exclusion of certain claims

Compensation is not payable by the Crown or SACFS in relation to the Division.

13—Amendment of section 70—Command structure

This clause is a related amendment to provide that only SACFS brigades may take part in elections of group officers.

This clause provides for the making of regulations to make provision with respect to the eligibility of employees of SACFS to be elected to an office.

14—Insertion of Part 4 Division 6A

New Division 6A will provide the SACFS with equivalent powers to those of the SAMFS under Part 3 Division 5 of the Act.

15—Amendment of section 71—State Bushfire Coordination Committee

This clause requires the appointment of a presiding member of the State Bushfire Coordination Committee that is independent of the emergency services and makes a consequential increase to the quorum requirement for the Committee.

16—Amendment of section 71A—Functions of State Bushfire Coordination Committee

This clause is consequential to the repeal of Part 4 Division 7A and requires the preparation of the Rural Fire Hazard Plan.

17—Repeal of section 72

This clause repeals section 72.

18—Amendment of section 72A—Establishment of bushfire management committees

This clause replaces the requirement to establish a bushfire management committee for each bushfire management area with a requirement to do so in respect of each Emergency Management Zone.

19—Amendment of section 72B—Functions of bushfire management committees

This clause is consequential and deletes the requirement for a bushfire management committee to develop and maintain a Bushfire Management Area Plan for its area.

20—Repeal of 4 Division 7A

This clause repeals Part 4 Division 7A.

21—Amendment of section 80—Total fire ban

This clause allows information about total fire bans to be disseminated by means other than just radio broadcast.

22—Amendment of section 81—Permit to light and maintain a fire

Section 81 is proposed to be amended to require each council that is a rural council or that includes a designated urban bushfire risk area to appoint at least 1 authorised officer to issue permits under the provision (unless exempted by the Chief Officer of SACFS).

23—Amendment of section 82—Power to direct

This clause clarifies and extends the powers of direction under section 82. The existing power to direct someone to refrain from lighting a fire where weather conditions mean a fire may get out of control is extended to apply to a fire that is being maintained and is amended to make it clear that it applies even if the fire is being lit or maintained pursuant to a permit. A new power is added to allow an officer to direct a person to refrain from carrying on an activity (being an activity of a prescribed kind or any other activity that the officer is satisfied may cause a fire) during a specified period if because of weather conditions a fire caused by the activity might get out of control.

24—Amendment of section 94—Failure by a council to exercise statutory powers

This clause replaces a reference to the South Australian Bushfire Prevention Advisory Committee with a reference to the State Bushfire Coordination Committee.

25—Amendment of section 97—Powers

This clause is a related amendment that deletes certain provisions relating to the person in charge of a fire on a forest reserve.

26—Insertion of section 107A

This clause inserts a new provision providing Parliamentary recognition of the SASES Volunteer Charter (as defined in the provision).

27—Amendment of section 108—Functions and powers

This clause expands the list of examples in section 108(3) to include the recording, possession or use of moving or still images for the purposes of SASES operations and activities.

28—Amendment of section 116—SASES units

This clause amends section 116 of the principal Act to delete the requirement for a SASES unit to have a constitution and to make consequential amendments to delete all references to the constitution of a SASES unit.

29—Insertion of Part 5 Division 4A

This clause inserts a new Division dealing with the command structure of SASES. The provision largely mirrors various provisions in the current section 70 relating to the command structure of the SACFS.

30—Amendment of section 118—Powers

This clause will allow an officer of SASES to engage a contractor to carry out demolition or other work at the scene of an emergency, whether or not the officer is present at the scene of the emergency (which is equivalent to section 42(5) for the SAMFS).

31—Insertion of section 127A

Proposed section 127A provides that a person who is absent from employment on official duties as a member of an emergency services organisation, in connection with a fire or other emergency is not liable to be dismissed or prejudiced in employment by reason of that absence.

32—Amendment of section 142—Payment of costs and expenses for certain vessels and property

This clause amends section 142 to extend the capacity to recover costs and expenses to the SASES.

33—Amendment of section 143—Fees

This clause allows the regulations to prescribe late payment fees.

34—Amendment of Schedule 5—Regulations

This clause is consequential to clauses 12.

Schedule 1—Related amendments and transitional provisions

Part 1—Amendment of Emergency Management Act 2004

1—Insertion of section 5B

This amendment introduces a new requirement for Emergency Management Zone committees to report to the State Bushfire Coordination Committee and the Chief Officer of the SACFS on activities relating to bushfire.

Part 2—Transitional provisions

This Part contains transitional provisions.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Malinauskas.

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