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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-05-07 Daily Xml
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VOLUNTEER MARINE RESCUE

The Hon. C.V. SCHAEFER (15:14): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Emergency Services a question about volunteer marine rescue.

Leave granted.

The Hon. C.V. SCHAEFER: There are 12 units of the SES who are accredited to provide volunteer marine rescue services in South Australia. They are: Barmera, Blanchetown, Berri, Loxton, Renmark, Meningie, Murray Bridge, Yankalilla, Ceduna, Port Lincoln, Port Pirie and Tumby Bay. Collectively, approximately 515 members of the Volunteer Marine Rescue Association volunteer their time and are trained to work in darkness and often in dangerous situations. In addition, they provide in excess of 1,500 associate members to their associations.

Can the minister explain why the only SES volunteer on the Volunteer Marine Rescue Council of South Australia has been removed and replaced by a paid staff member who has no marine rescue qualifications?

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister Assisting the Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (15:16): Clearly, the honourable member has received correspondence from the same person as I have. Whilst I was travelling in country South Australia the week before last, I had the opportunity to catch up with him and have a coffee and explain to him why the chief officer of the SES had made the decision that he had.

We have volunteer representation on the council of the members of various squadrons. The council is chaired by the Volunteer Marine Rescue Manager and, as I said, it comprises representation from the various squadrons, at the commodore or presiding officer level, for each of the six independently incorporated VMR associations. We also have a representative from the SES, the SAPOL Water Operations Unit and the VMR Association of South Australia on that council.

The Hon. J.M.A. Lensink: They're all paid.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: No; they are not all paid. Certainly, the VMR Manager (the chair) is paid, but his role is wider than VMR itself. The representatives of the commodores are volunteers, of which there are six. From the SES, the chief officer decided that there would be a paid officer for the reason that he has responsibility for most of the state. For that reason, that decision was made purely at an administrative level. The SAPOL Water Operations Unit is represented and, of course, the VMR Association of South Australia is a volunteer organisation so, clearly, its members are not all paid.

I am aware that the person in question is dissatisfied with the decision that was made. As I said, I sat down and had a chat with him. I know that he has since written another piece of correspondence. I can say to this council that the person in question is highly valued. There was no other reason for making that decision other than that the person who is the SES representative has, as his responsibility, the majority of the state's SES units that provide sea rescue. That is the only reason that that decision was made by the chief officer of the SES.

I think we have reached a stage where, as I said, the chief officer, for operational and administrative reasons, made a decision in relation to the make-up of the council. The person in question is also a proxy, that is my understanding, of the VMR Association of South Australia on that council.

I conclude by saying that his commitment to the SES, and indeed many other sections of the community that he is involved with, is highly appreciated, and he is incredibly well respected in the community. There is not too much else that I can say, but the decision was made at the operational level.

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