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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
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Fire and Emergency Services (Volunteer Charters) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 19 June 2019.)

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD (Gibson—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (11:08): I rise to speak on the Fire and Emergency Services (Volunteer Charters) Amendment Bill, which has come to this place from the other place. It is a bill to amend the Fire and Emergency Services Act 2005. I am proud to rise to confirm that the government will be supporting this bill today. Put simply, the bill provides legislative recognition of the South Australian Country Fire Service and State Emergency Service volunteer charters.

The provisions within the bill before us today are identical to those which were introduced in this place by me on 28 November 2018 in the Fire and Emergency Services (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill. This bill is not a new matter for this place and it has been long foreshadowed. The smooth passage of enshrining the volunteer charters into legislation is just part of the Marshall government delivering for volunteers.

We have delivered $5 million to the CFS through Project Renew to improve facilities and assist volunteers in carrying out the functions of their work. We have increased the aerial firefighting fleet from 17 to 26 by injecting a whopping $9.2 million into that program. We are ensuring that our CFS trucks are compliant with national standards, with a $5.5 million investment. We have also unlocked $2.74 million through the Natural Disaster Resilience Program to improve disaster preparedness and keep South Australians safe. We have also injected an additional $1 million into the State Emergency Services to revitalise South Australia's SES facilities and upgrade vital equipment.

These funding boosts are illustrative of the Marshall Liberal government's ongoing support of the state's emergency service volunteers. The tireless work and countless hours donated by South Australia's emergency service volunteers can never be underestimated or undervalued. Day or night, rain or shine, our first responders are prepared to swiftly respond to emergencies right across the state.

Since coming into government, the CFS and SES volunteer associations have also been instrumental in selecting the new leadership of our emergency services, with their unanimous support and recommendation to me of Don Lane as the Chief Executive of the South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission. I highly value the opportunity to meet and consult with members of the SES and CFS volunteer associations and executive, and all volunteers right across the state. I know it is difficult for them because they are spread far and wide across South Australia, but we work hard to ensure that we meet regularly and discuss any issues in their area. I very much appreciate going out into the field and listening, as I have done on so many occasions.

The move to enshrine the volunteer charters in legislation can be traced as far back as the 2013 Holloway review, a review on which the former government failed to act. The recommendations stemmed from a concern of some volunteers at the time, some years ago now, that the existing agreements on consultation processes and consideration of the views of volunteers were not being treated seriously enough under the reforms proposed by Labor's then minister for emergency services, the member for Light.

When the member for Light was asked by the former member for Morphett on 18 November 2015 when he was going to put the SES and CFS volunteer charters into legislation and not just regulation, the member for Light answered, 'First of all, regulation is legislation.' The record shows that that remark was responded to at the time by the member for Bragg with one simple word: wrong. Unfortunately for our tireless, hardworking volunteers, those opposite for 16 years just simply did not get it. Sadly, when it comes to this important issue of enshrining CFS and SES volunteer charters in legislation, a review of Hansard from previous parliaments paints a very bleak picture for those opposite.

Numerous contributions from members now on this side of the house are forever etched in the history books. Contributions from the member for Waite, the member for Flinders and the members for Hartley, Hammond, Chaffey, Schubert and Stuart are consistent in one theme, and that is that on this side of the house we support our volunteers. We stand by them, we stand with them and we back them. In contrast, all we see in the record books from those opposite are votes to adjourn, adjourn and adjourn. Shamefully, debate was even adjourned on 24 September 2015 by the current member for Elizabeth, the now purported shadow minister for emergency services. The current member for Taylor is also listed as voting to delay the bill—

Mr ODENWALDER: Point of order, sir.

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: —during the previous parliament on the same day.

The CHAIR: Could the minister please resume his seat for one moment.

Mr ODENWALDER: I am not in fact the purported shadow minister for emergency services; I am the actual shadow minister for emergency services. I ask the minister to clarify.

The SPEAKER: Could the minister please be cautious in addressing other members. I will listen carefully. Thank you, member for Elizabeth.

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Just to be clear then, it was the current shadow minister for emergency services who voted against this on that date, 24 September 2015. The current member for Taylor is also listed as voting to delay the bill during the previous parliament on the same date. We can only assume that he was alert to what was happening at the time, although we have seen recently what he likes to spend his time doing in parliament when it comes to discussing matters relating to our emergency services. Time after time during the previous parliament those opposite delayed and adjourned the passage of the bill. They took our volunteers for granted. On this side of the house we do not. We have delivered for volunteers.

Today marks 501 days since the 2018 state election. In that time I have been fortunate enough to travel to every corner of our state, including 52 CFS visits and 21 SES visits as well as a number of other events, to celebrate our CFS and SES volunteers. The highlight of all those visits has always been the volunteers themselves. Whilst in this place you may sit in a lot of meetings and meet a lot of executives—some of whom themselves volunteer, many of whom do not—but it is the opportunity to get out and say thank you to the men and women on the ground that is the most rewarding part of the job.

As all members of this place know, we pride ourselves on being a cooperative government. I commend the Hon. Ms Tammy Franks in the other place and the member for Mount Gambier for their work, assistance and support in bringing this important legislation through both houses of parliament and finally into legislation.

I have said it before and I will say it again: the state's volunteers are the backbone of our emergency sector. They provide valuable insight into how the emergency services sector should operate, and the Marshall Liberal government is proud to ensure their knowledge and feedback will continue to help build a safer South Australia for everyone. Again, to all our volunteers out there I say thank you.

Mr ODENWALDER (Elizabeth) (11:16): I also rise to support the Fire and Emergency Services (Volunteer Charters) Amendment Bill 2018, and I want to largely agree with what the minister has had to say. I, too, believe that volunteers are the backbone of our emergency services. The emergency services sector could not perform the amazing work it does perform throughout the summer months, and of course through the wetter months as well, without volunteers giving up their time. Often they are also paid MFS or police officers, those types of people, who are committed to public service and who give up their valuable time, their family time, in order to help us all. I thank you—and I understand there are some the gallery here today.

I was not intending to make any political points but, given the potted history of this measure brought to the house by the minister—

An honourable member: The 'purported' minister.

Mr ODENWALDER: —the 'purported' Minister for Emergency Services—I want to make just a couple of remarks about the passage of this particular bill. In doing so, I want to thank the Hon. Tammy Franks from the other place for being so persistent with this bill throughout the last 14 or 15 months, and I also want to thank the member for Mount Gambier for bringing an identical bill to this place.

I will not make a string of political points, like the minister, but I will say that since a bipartisan position was reached in the last parliament, although it did not quite make it through all the stages of the passage of the bill, we did emerge into this parliament with a bipartisan, multipartisan position on this, and that is reflected in this bill that the Hon. Tammy Franks and the member for Mount Gambier have brought. It begs the question why it took so long for the government since the election, given that it was a multipartisan commitment to emerge from the election, including the government and the opposition.

From talking to the volunteers' associations and to volunteers themselves, it was very clear to me from the outset, when I came into this role, that it was important for them, in recognition of the work they do and the contribution they make, for this to be a standalone measure, for this to stand alone in the statute book as a charter that protects their rights in terms of their relationship with the government.

This government, this minister, instead chose to bring in a bill with this measure at the front and then a whole lot of things tacked onto the end, including one measure that was so ill thought-out that it has now been dropped entirely and was the subject of a select committee brought on by a member of his own government. This held back the measure for—let's be generous—six months, given that the government did, in fact, introduce it as a package.

I am glad that the government has seen fit to support this as a separate measure, to support the measure brought in by the Hon. Tammy Franks and by the member for Mount Gambier. I am happy to support it, and I am happy the government has finally supported it. I look forward to seeing what emerges from the ashes of the Fire and Emergency Services (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill later this year. With those words, I commend the bill to the house.

Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (11:19): I would like to thank all members for their contribution to the bill. I think it is also important to recognise the genesis of this. People have talked about time and, without getting into it, it is good that these things finally do pass in a legislative way. Recognition needs to be given to previous members, including the previous member for Morphett, Duncan McFetridge, as well as former MLC the Hon. Robert Brokenshire, who unsuccessfully tried to have this bill passed in a previous parliament.

Of course, moving forward to today, the Hon. Tammy Franks, who is here with us today, really does need to be commended for keeping this issue alive and finally getting it to a point where, hopefully after this, we will pass the amendment bill. It is also important to realise the intent of the charter, and I will read a little bit from it as my closing contribution on this. When you look at it, you might scratch your head and wonder why it has taken so long. The intent of the charter is to ensure:

consultation occurs with Volunteers about all matters that might reasonably be expected to affect them

consideration of their views when approving or adopting new practices or policies

consideration of their views when reviewing current practices or policies

recognition that there is a mutual obligation and practical partnership based on respect between the parties

that a fair, reasonable and non discriminatory approach is taken by all, and

the safety of the South Australian community [is paramount].

With that, I would like to commend the bill to the house as well as thank our local SES and CFS volunteers. Over the past six or seven years, I have either been campaigning or involved in politics. Simon, in Mount Gambier, who is our SES coordinator, and Bob, who is my go-to in the CFS—I do not profess to have their correct titles in front of me, so I will not mention them because they do get quite particular about it—do a marvellous job. Looking at the complex down in Mount Gambier, on Jubilee Highway, and talking about the number of call-outs and how their family and their work pretty much gets put on hold whenever there is an emergency, I think it is a true credit to all our volunteers.

Of course, when you take on a coordinator or leadership role, that work is amplified. I really want to thank Simon and Bob on behalf of my community for the work that they do. They really put themselves at the front line when, unfortunately, others are having perhaps the worst day of their life, whether that is because of a tree, an accident or something like that. Our volunteers go above and beyond. This is a small way of putting this charter into legislation, and I thank all the people who have made a contribution to this, in particular, the Hon. Tammy Franks.

Bill read a second time.

Committee Stage

Bill taken through committee without amendment.

Third Reading

Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (11:26): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.

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