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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-09-10 Daily Xml
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Emergency Services

Mr MURRAY (Davenport) (15:19): My question is directed to the Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services. Can the minister provide advice to the house about the impact the Marshall Liberal government's investment in emergency services is having on job creation?

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services) (15:19): I thank the member for Davenport for the question. He is obviously a successful businessman from way back and knows what it is like to create dozens of jobs.

An honourable member: A great Liberal.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: Indeed.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: I am delighted to have the opportunity to talk about how the Marshall Liberal government's investment in our emergency services is upgrading and modernising facilities for volunteers, and creating jobs at the same time.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: As you would know, Mr Speaker, our emergency services do a fantastic job right around South Australia, and we would be nothing without the thousands of volunteers who give up their own precious time to protect the lives and property of South Australians. Time is a most precious commodity, and these selfless South Australians are prepared to spare their time to keep our communities safe.

It is vital that we provide our volunteers with the facilities and tools they need in order to do what they sign up for which, as I said, is to protect lives and property as well. As the member for Davenport, along with other members, realises, ensuring our emergency services sector has the quality facilities it needs to keep us safe is the ultimate priority when we invest in a project.

There is an important economic benefit from projects such as the new emergency services headquarters, as well as our Project Renew programs for the CFS and other emergency services. I had the pleasure of visiting the site of the new $80 million emergency services headquarters at the World Park precinct in Keswick only a few weeks ago. Work is now underway on the headquarters which, for the first time in the state's history, will see the executive and senior management teams from the CFS, the SES, the MFS and SAFECOM all co-located in a single facility. This coordination, in addition to the facilities the purpose-built headquarters will offer—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: —will provide unprecedented command and control capabilities and also strengthen our ability to respond to crisis situations. Importantly, nearly 200 jobs are being created during the construction phase of this project, not to mention the boost to our steel and, importantly, our concrete industries as well.

As many in this house would know, the Marshall Liberal government's Project Renew programs for both the CFS and the SES have been a roaring success—I would say they have been more popular than Tony Modra in his prime—with $5 million for the CFS over two years and $1 million for the SES over the forward estimates. Projects include the new shed at the Tea Tree Gully CFS in the member for Newland's electorate and the new group meeting room at the Murray Bridge CFS station in the member for Hammond's electorate. It was great to visit that recently and pay tribute to the good people there at Murray Bridge.

Of course, there is the upgraded plumbing at the One Tree Hill CFS in the member for King's electorate, and the new air conditioning that has been installed at the CFS State Training Centre at Brukunga in the member for Kavel's electorate. Project Renew for SES units began in the 2019-20 financial year and is delivering projects right across the state to improve functionality as well as amenity at SES units. These projects make a huge difference to the capabilities of local CFS stations as well as, of course, to the morale of volunteers, and we should do everything we can to keep up the morale of our volunteers.

The benefits of these projects do not end with just the facilities themselves. Project Renew engages hundreds of suppliers and contractors to deliver the projects, from carpenters, telecommunications specialists, tradies and electricians to steel and structural engineers. Our investment in South Australia's emergency services is not only delivering upgrades and improvements for the sector itself but also creating hundreds of job opportunities for South Australians.

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