Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to ask the government which program in the 2008 budget will fund the Walpole Sea Rescue Group’s badly needed sea rescue headquarters. Walpole is a wonderful small regional town of 450 people in the south-west. The sea rescue group has 136 financial members, a remarkable feat in such a small town, and approximately 30 constant volunteers and workers, who between them provide an essential and life-saving service in what can be treacherous conditions in the Southern Ocean. Their sea rescue boat is currently stored in a volunteer’s shed away from the launch site. This means a 30-minute turnaround time in the case of an emergency, a critical amount of time to someone in life-threatening circumstances in the extremely cold waters off the southern coast.

The group is very modest in its needs. It has the necessary land organised and permission to clear the small amount of land required for the boatshed. The Walpole Sea Rescue Group is planning to share the new facility with the local SES. The cost of the building is estimated to be $160,000. With Regional Partnerships funding no longer available and the Better Regions Program delivering only the government’s election promises, where does the Walpole Sea Rescue Group apply for the funding it desperately needs to assist in providing a critical life-saving service? When will the funding for this project be available? What program in the budget will provide for this group and which department will oversee the process?