General News
20 May, 2024
Local SES unit joins state-wide plea for sustained funding to remain operational
“We work as one, we should be funded as one” is the message from Maryborough and all Victorian State Emergency Service (VICSES) units this week, launching a campaign to lobby the State Government for sustained funding with an awareness drive...
“We work as one, we should be funded as one” is the message from Maryborough and all Victorian State Emergency Service (VICSES) units this week, launching a campaign to lobby the State Government for sustained funding with an awareness drive across Melbourne’s Bolte Bridge on Monday morning.
The VICSES Volunteer Leadership Group is leading the charge, calling on the government to create a modernised Emergency Services Levy to help branches cover yearly costs.
Currently, government funding covers the operating expenses for SES units including fuel, electricity, rent and day-to-day costs, however the leadership group says local volunteers are left to fundraise to maintain equipment, facilities, and replace aging vehicles, which is unsustainable.
Maryborough SES Deputy Controller and VICSES leadership group member Emily Hooke said volunteers deserve the same reliable funding as other emergency services.
“The SES receives no recurring funding and yet a significant amount of emergency services rely on us in some shape or form. We are proud supporters of all emergency services but if we work as one, we should be funded as one,” she said.
“There are over 4800 volunteers within VICSES and from June 2022 to June 2023, there were 287,373 volunteer hours contributed, equating to an economic value of over $503 million.
“We attend a majority of natural hazards and disasters, which is significant heavy lifting where the overwhelming majority are volunteers with families, jobs and responsibilities who take the time to get up at 3 am to extract people from cars in an accident and repair roofs in the middle of the night — we turn out and we’re not really being valued for it.”
SES units turn out to a wide range of emergencies including car crashes, floods, storms, landslides and other natural disasters and hazards.
With two vehicles, Maryborough’s 15 active SES members cover a large area extending beyond the Central Goldfields Shire as far out as St Arnaud, Clunes and Laanecoorie, and have taken on extra coverage since Dunolly’s SES unit operations were paused in 2021.
Ms Hooke said the lack of funding leaves branches struggling to keep up instead of focusing on safe service delivery.
“Finding ways to cover costs risks our potential to remain operational and puts a lot of pressure on our unit management team,” she said.
“You’re also competing against other SES units for grants and funding, who are battling the same issues.
“In Maryborough we have a unit that is too small, that has asbestos in the walls, and is no longer feasible.
“Unfortunately, the State Government only funds two new units every year, and the ones that do get replaced are in far worse shape than ours — they need to almost be falling down.
“The SES vehicles we currently have are unit funded through the kind donations of the community, and some government grants.
“We need to replace our road crash rescue truck — that will have reached its end of life by January next year. That’ll be around the $170,000 to $200,000 mark.
“We’re currently trying to apply for grants, if we’re successful that’d cover about half the cost. But you’re not guaranteed to get that in which case we’d have to fund the entire purchase.”
Ms Hooke said a perfect example of the lack of resources affecting the unit came during the Bolte Bridge awareness drive yesterday.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t even spare a vehicle to participate in the rally — even though it was detrimental to represent our unit at that event, we just didn’t have the resources to send, it is too dangerous to not have every resource here in the community which shows how desperate we are. It shouldn’t be that way,” she said.
The Melbourne drive was one of the first steps taken by the VICSES leadership group to promote their solution to sustained funding —an Emergency Services Levy.
Currently, Victorian property owners pay an annual fee in their council rates towards the Fire Services Levy to support the CFA — which is also a volunteer-based service — and Fire Rescue Victoria.
While the levy varies depending on concessions, fixed charges for residential properties in 2024-2025 are $132, and non-residential $267.
According to VICSES, creating a modernised Emergency Services Levy to include the SES and increasing the levy by $30 per property would work out to less than 60 cents per week for rate payers, but would provide approximately an extra $99.99 million annually.
The modernised levy would reduce the annual funding burden on the State Budget, create sustained funding for units and reduce the burden of fundraising on volunteers, allowing them to focus on core operational tasks and training.
“This is not about taking money away from the CFA, because they are so vital,” Ms Hooke said.
“But the SES provide a crucial service this community needs.”
