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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-03-06 Daily Xml
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METROPOLITAN FIRE SERVICE

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (14:28): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Emergency Services a question about the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: According to the 2006-07 annual report of the Metropolitan Fire Service, the MFS recruited 72 people in the past financial year. In the same period, 71 people separated from the agency, leaving the MFS with a net gain of one employee for the 2006-07 financial year.

I am informed that the current recruiting process will not be completed until 1 July this year, which means that no new MFS recruits will be fully trained and available for active duty until October this year. My questions are:

1. Given that the MFS only narrowly avoided a net loss in personnel last year, what action has the government taken to increase recruiting to provide a real increase in the MFS numbers?

2. Does the minister concede that, with no recruits able to complete training until October this year, even if the government were to find the money to fund recruiting for the new Beulah Park station, its mismanagement of the recruitment process means that a crew to staff that new station would not be available until several months after it opens?

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister Assisting the Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:29): As I have said on several occasions in this chamber, I think the opposition is incredibly embarrassed by its record in relation to gutting the MFS and also the low recruitment rate during the whole eight years it was in government. I have also again placed on the record that we have increased—

The Hon. P. Holloway interjecting:

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: Yes, that's right; they actually closed them. We have put an extra $25 million into the operational budget of the MFS, let alone opened new stations. As I have again placed on the record, we have provided more appliances and things like protective clothing, and also the provision of breathing apparatus comes to mind, all of which has made the MFS the envy of interstate fire services.

In relation to Beulah Park, the MFS clearly believes it has sufficient crew to staff that station. The MFS fire chief has also committed to monitoring the situation. Again, I know that the opposition is embarrassed and that it really wants to congratulate us.

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