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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-02-06 Daily Xml
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Emergency Services

The Hon. T.T. NGO (14:25): My question is to the Minister for Emergency Services. Can the minister inform the council about the SA volunteers and firefighters who have been deployed to assist with interstate emergencies?

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (Minister for Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Autism, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (14:26): I thank the honourable member for his question. It was a great privilege this morning to join the 20 members of our State Emergency Service (SES) to be deployed to answer the call for help in communities in Queensland. They are flying out of Adelaide to support those in Townsville who have been hard hit by the recent intense storms and flash flooding.

I am advised that this group of 20 is the first deployment of a group of 60 frontline personnel from the SES, CFS and MFS who will support Queensland communities to help with response and recovery efforts in devastated areas. This first group of SES volunteers hail from all across South Australia, from metropolitan Adelaide as well as from our regional areas, including Kangaroo Island and Port Augusta. This morning I had the great privilege of chatting with Peter who, I was surprised to find out, is 79 and still volunteers. He made his way down from Port Augusta to be sure that he could go to help out in Queensland. He is a self-described workaholic, and I can certainly see that stays strong by his characteristics.

I understand the CFS and MFS will also send two joint strike teams to Queensland to assist with the flood emergency, with more volunteers departing on Sunday 9 February and Wednesday 12 February. Each five-day rotation comprises 10 personnel of CFS volunteers and MFS firefighters, demonstrating South Australia's commitment across our emergency services to support interstate agencies.

I understand the deployment of these volunteers highlights South Australia's ability to quickly respond to requests and calls for help from our interstate communities while ensuring resources at home can respond to local needs. These deployments to Queensland come at a time when our emergency services personnel have also answered the call from our interstate neighbour to help with fires such as the Little Desert fire.

Once again, I want to thank each and every volunteer, people like Peter, and also their families, who have sacrificed having a family member with them at the dinner table for the next five days. To the people who have been affected by the floods in Queensland, our thoughts are with them, as well as the families and the communities in Victoria.

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