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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-03-04 Daily Xml
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Emergency Services Graduates

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:14): My question is for the Minister for Emergency Services and Correctional Services. Will the minister update the council about the recent emergency services graduate program graduation?

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (Minister for Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Autism, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (15:14): I thank the honourable member for his question. Having been in this role now for almost five weeks it is not lost on me how important our emergency sector is, both at a local and broader community level, from devastating bushfires, as we saw in Cudlee Creek and Kangaroo Island in 2019, to the COVID pandemic in 2020 and then the Murray River floods in 2022 and 2023 and most recently in Wilmington, where just weeks ago we saw the emergency services sector band together during the bushfires at the Mount Remarkable National Park.

I was humbled to travel to Wilmington to see firsthand the sector come together for the local community. Volunteers and personnel from across the state were working together to help a community that wasn't their own. During my Wilmington visit I popped into the local primary school, who had handwritten a beautiful thankyou letter to the emergency services that saved their town. This is a fantastic reminder that all emergency services members and agencies play a very important role and leave their mark on our community. It is events like Wilmington that are the test of the community and the sector but that also highlight additional opportunities for future responses.

The emergency management uplift project was guided by the Emergency Management Act, the State Emergency Management Plan and now the State Emergency Management Committee. The $2.2 million investment into the capabilities of the emergency services sector was jointly funded by the Malinauskas state government and the Albanese commonwealth government through the National Partnership Agreement on Disaster Risk Reduction. The project aims to contribute to a sector that is collaborative, coordinated and capable of preventing, preparing for, responding to and recovering from emergencies.

A cornerstone of the emergency management uplift project has been the graduate program managed by SAFECOM. This program shows the importance of investing in our sector and highlighting how we can work together across 14 government agencies to host graduates and invest in their growth and learning. The departments and agencies which took part in the graduate program are the Department for Energy and Mining, the Department for Environment and Water, the Department for Education, the Department for Infrastructure and Transport, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, the Department of Primary Industries and Regions of South Australia, SA Ambulance Service, SA Country Fire Service, SA Fire and Emergency Services Commission, SA Housing Authority, SA Metropolitan Fire Service, SA Police, SA State Emergency Service and SA Water.

As the program comes to an end, I am delighted to report that all six graduates have successfully transitioned into employment positions with the government in the emergency management sector. Congratulations to all six participants. This is a remarkable achievement, including their placement in both state and federal positions. The success story of these graduates is testament to the program and the potential to shape our sector.

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