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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-11-02 Daily Xml
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Marine Rescue Fund

Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (14:47): My question is to the Minister for Emergency Services. Can the minister provide an update on my proposal for a marine rescue fund where there is no dedicated marine rescue facility, such as Port MacDonnell?

The Hon. J.K. SZAKACS (Cheltenham—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services) (14:48): I thank the member for Mount Gambier for his question and particularly his advocacy on behalf of his local community. This is an issue that the member for Mount Gambier has raised with me. We have actually met about this matter. I know that he has raised this to the whole of the Malinauskas cabinet because, in fact, unlike the former government, we have been attending country cabinets. Our first country cabinet this year was in Mount Gambier and I have met with the member for Mount Gambier—

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey!

The Hon. J.K. SZAKACS: —on a number of occasions in my travels to Mount Gambier as well.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.K. SZAKACS: This particular matter that the member advocates—

The Hon. L.W.K. Bignell interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Mawson is warned.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, please be seated. Member for Chaffey! The member for Chaffey will leave the chamber under 137A for the remainder of question time. He was on three warnings. He probably got to five.

The honourable member for Chaffey having withdrawn from the chamber:

The SPEAKER: Minister.

The Hon. J.K. SZAKACS: I am not sure if the members heard that over the interjections, but this Malinauskas government has returned country cabinets to the rightful place they should be. The member for Mount Gambier has raised this matter on behalf of his local community, particularly arising from circumstances where local fishers—

The Hon. N.F. Cook interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hurtle Vale is called to order.

The Hon. N.F. Cook interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Hurtle Vale! The minister has the call.

The Hon. J.K. SZAKACS: —responded in an emergency call to other locals in the South-East region. In doing so, there was unfortunate damage done to one of those vessels.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Frome is called to order.

The Hon. J.K. SZAKACS: The goodwill—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The minister has the call.

The Hon. J.K. SZAKACS: Was he ejected or he is just leaving?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, you will not reflect on the member for Dunstan. You have the call.

Mrs Hurn interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Schubert is called to order.

The Hon. J.K. SZAKACS: This particular scenario was a good news story and it was a good outcome—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Schubert is warned. The Minister for Health and Wellbeing knows better. The minister has the call.

The Hon. J.K. SZAKACS: I know the other side are offended, but this is what a good independent member for the regions does: they ask questions, they advocate on behalf of their region. This particular set of circumstances was a good outcome. There was a life saved—

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Morialta!

The Hon. J.K. SZAKACS: —but, unfortunately, in doing so there was damage done to this private fishing vessel. When I met with the member for Mount Gambier not too long ago, and also in a further conversation, it seems as though the insurance around this—the private insurance held by that fishing vessel—has yet to pay out. It would be easy for me to stand here and have a go at insurance companies. They certainly have done plenty to deserve that, but if I can temper my remarks and say that the very least we can expect from private insurers is that they meet their obligations.

We are seeing now, as the market is squeezed and underwriting becomes more expensive, insurers starting to cut corners. The truth is that I would expect, and I am sure that the community would expect, that if a fishing vessel responds to the aid of another vessel in an emergency and there is damage that occurs, that insurance company to whom the private owner has paid a significant premium will pay up. The member's advocacy is particularly around a fund of sorts that would compensate fishers or other vessels who do respond in times of emergency.

The truth is, member for Mount Gambier, I can't say or promise and nor can I support a fund particularly funded out of the Community Emergency Services Fund, into which the collections of the emergency services levy are paid to create this fund. There are a number of reasons, one of which is that the legal constraints around disbursement from the Community Emergency Services Fund is limited. However, I can give the member for Mount Gambier my assurance—as I can speak on behalf of other ministers who have an interest in this matter—that we will continue to work across agencies and across sectors to ensure the South-East has the best emergency response and the best community safety.

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