The Rockliff Liberal Government has invested an additional $185 million into our TFS and SES which is supporting new jobs, new infrastructure builds and new programs to keep Tasmanians safe.
Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management, Felix Ellis, said the benefit of this investment can be seen in the 2023 Report on Government Services with continued growth in personnel and improvements in safety measures.
"Our Government doesn't mess around when it comes to our emergency services – we will always put them and their interests first," Minister Ellis said.
"We have listened to and worked with our volunteers, career members, volunteer associations and unions over the past 10 years and the results show with Tasmania punching above its weight when it comes to firefighters and SES personnel.
"Thanks to our investment in supporting our volunteers, our volunteer numbers continue to grow. Tasmania is again second in the nation when it comes to the number of firefighter volunteers at 820 per 100,000 people compared to the national average of 715.
"We have also increased SES volunteers by 25 per cent since 2013-14, with a total of 686 people now part of our organisation. This is in part thanks to our Government making it more possible for local communities to join a local SES unit – last year we established the first ever SES unit in Sorell where we have built a $12 million emergency services hub.
"Further, the number of Tasmanian career firefighters has increased by 12 per cent since 2013-14 to 327 in 2022-23.
"Since coming to Government in 2014 we have recruited 115 career firefighters, including 9 firefighters last years dedicated to our North-West Coast.
"Supporting the growth of fire and emergency service personnel in Tasmania is our dedicated Volunteer Support Unit, established with $2.4 million provided by the Rockliff Liberal Government.
"This team of six people is committed to bolstering volunteer recruitment, retention and administration of firefighter and SES volunteers in remote and regional communities, and this success is seen in the 2024 RoGS," Minister Ellis said.
With more emergency services on the ground and serving Tasmanians, we have also been able to reduce response times:
- The response to structure fires state-wide has reduced by 43 per cent, down to 4.3 minutes compared to 7.6 minutes in 2013-14 (excluding call times).
- For remote fires, we have reduced the response time by 70 per cent, down to 2.4 minutes compared to 8.5 minutes in 2013-14 (excluding call times).
"The Rockliff Liberal Government invests in our emergency services and first responders because we know community safety matters to Tasmanians.
"This investment includes $763 million into delivering the new state-of-the-art Tasmanian Government Radio Network, $10 million to upgrade TFS and SES equipment and vehicles by June 2025, $2 million into our Fire and Emergency Services Volunteer Grants Program since 2018 and $2 million to upgrade volunteers' equipment," Minister Ellis said.
