Review into state’s volunteer marine rescue services to commence next week

A wide-ranging review into Queensland’s volunteer marine rescue services will start on Monday (September 24), Fire and Emergency Services Minister Craig Crawford said today (Thursday).

Mr Crawford said the review by Retired Royal Australian Navy Commodore Campbell Darby DSC AM would “include a comprehensive assessment of existing marine rescue arrangements in Queensland and around Australia”.

“The first stage of Campbell Darby’s review will identify key policies impacting service delivery and volunteer based maritime search and rescue capability,” Mr Crawford said.

“Importantly, his review will involve regional stakeholder visits to help Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) better understand what is happening at a local, tactical level.

“I want to reiterate how much this government values the services provided by our marine rescue volunteers,” he said.

In July, Mr Crawford and QFES Commissioner Katarina Carroll announced the review into services provided by the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association (AVCGA) and Volunteer Marine Rescue Association Queensland (VMRAQ).

There are 21 Coastguard, and 26 VMR locations across Queensland and QFES supports the marine rescue organisations through service level agreements, which are due to expire on June 30, 2019.

Under these agreements, QFES annually provides AVCGA with $1.5 million and VMRAQ with $1.7 million.

Mr Crawford asked for the review after “visiting marine rescue bases up and down the coast where volunteers raised some complex issues affecting service delivery in these locations”.

“The Queensland Volunteer Marine Rescue Committee also recently identified the potential need for a review of marine rescue in Queensland,” he said.

“The initial stages of the review will be completed prior to negotiations for the new service agreements (June next year.”

Ms Carroll said the volunteers who made up the state’s marine rescue groups “do a fantastic job at keeping boaties and those participating in marine activities safe”.

“Queensland has one of the longest coastlines in Australia and the intention of this review is to ensure our volunteers are well supported and have the most comprehensive emergency services capability on the water,” Ms Carroll said.

“This review will mean we can make sure our valuable volunteers have the greatest capacity to respond to emergency events and protect those on the water when they need it most.”

Interested parties can pass information and submissions to:

Email: QFESVMROR@qfes.qld.gov.au

Postal: Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, GPO Box 1425, Brisbane, QLD, 4001

ENDS

MEDIA 0412 393 909