Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thursday last week was Thank a Paramedic Day, a time for people across New South Wales to take a moment to recognise the important work that paramedics play in our community.

First held in 2008, Thank a Paramedic Day was launched to give the community the opportunity to formally thank paramedics and other ambulance operational staff for the jobs that they do on behalf of our community. Few people can go home and say, 'I saved someone's life today,' yet paramedics do it 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Last year, New South Wales paramedics took 1.1 million emergency and non-emergency response calls. That is an average of one incident every 26 seconds; the highest volume of calls to any emergency service. In the community of Liverpool and Fairfield, which I have the honour to represent, paramedics provide a front-line health service, including emergency prehospital care and transport, medical retrievals and also, importantly, rescue services.

The work which they undertake is often unpredictable and in dangerous situations. In fact, paramedics have one of the riskiest jobs in the country. They are seven times more likely to be seriously injured than all other occupations, and are twice more likely to be injured than a police officer. In 2012, Michael Wilson, a New South Wales paramedic, tragically lost his life in a helicopter rescue mission trying to rescue two people at the base of the Carrington Falls in Sydney. This 41-year-old, and father of three, made the ultimate sacrifice in doing what he did for a living—looking after people. Michael's death is evident of the risks and challenges that paramedics face in doing what is necessary to save lives. It is also a salient reminder of the protections and safeguards that paramedics need.

My brother Gerard, a paramedic himself, is the secretary of the New South Wales Health Services Union and represents over 32,000 members across the state in the health and community services sector. The union has been advocating for stronger protection measures for paramedics, who currently do not have the same safeguards as police officers despite the risks and injury statistics. As a community, we must do all that we can to provide adequate protection to paramedics, not only to ensure their safety at work but also for the peace of mind of their families, given the dangerous line of work they undertake. Therefore, I would like to thank ambulance officers and paramedics for their invaluable contribution in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our community, and also to have regard to their families for their continuous support for their loved ones at work.