Karen Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Our emergency responders are the go-to people for our communities' safety and resilience at a time of crisis. When we experience floods, bushfires and other emergency situations, our first responders are who we rely on. But this type of work comes at a huge cost to them and to their families. Day in, day out, walking into the unknown and encountering traumatising and life-risking situations isn't easy, and there is a huge mental health toll.

When we were in government, we recognised the need to provide standalone services specifically tailored to emergency responders' needs, particularly following the Black Summer bushfires. Fortem Australia, a charity, was one of the organisations selected, through a competitive tender, to deliver its tailored mental health and wellbeing programs for first responders, as a result of those bushfires. During the March budget process, the need to scale up Fortem's services for a national program to be delivered across Australia was identified, and funding was allocated. Labor's Minister for Emergency Management, Senator Murray Watt, has repeatedly tried to muddy the waters about this funding. But it is clearly listed in the March Budget Paper No. 2, on page 159:

It's right there in black and white in the 2022-23 budget that was tabled in this place back in March.

The convention, when there is a change of government after an election, is that what is budgeted and announced is continued in the coming financial year. It's done for peace of mind for service providers, and for continuity of crucial programs identified at the most senior levels of government as a priority. This allows a funding recipient to do their job and get on with delivering vital services. In Fortem's case, they were expanding to multiple regional areas to provide their services to more emergency services personnel—specifically in Townsville, Ballina, Albury-Wodonga, Gippsland, Dubbo, Nowra, Newcastle, Sunshine Coast, Darwin, Launceston and Perth. After protracted discussions with the Labor government, Fortem have been advised that the maximum they will receive is just $2.5 million of the budgeted $10 million.

Labor won the election, and the new emergency services minister was sworn in in June. It's their prerogative to make changes via their update to the budget. But Senator Watt should have the courage to admit that this was a deliberate decision to rip funding from our first responders—at a time when we see floods and emergency incidents across multiple states. Without their budgeted funding, Fortem won't be able to continue to provide their crucial services beyond the end of this year. This is a time of high need. As we head into the summer months, I'm deeply concerned that we may see more natural disasters and more pressure heaped onto our emergency personnel.

I'm astounded that Labor thinks this is a fair or appropriate decision. Even more puzzling is the fact that the money is literally sitting there, but Senator Watt has suddenly decided that another competitive tender is required for the remainder of Fortem's funding. This is despite the fact that he sat in Senate estimates less than two weeks ago and robustly defended the fact that no competitive tender was required or appropriate for Labor's own election commitment of a grant of over $38 million to another organisation. By Senator Watt's own admission, Fortem do a tremendous job in delivering a vital service, and they have a stellar track record. A competitive tender process will take many months to finalise, and it hasn't even started.

In the meantime, come 1 January there will be no specialised tailored services available to emergency personnel because of Senator Watt's callousness. The money is there, the services are needed, the emergency personnel have earned and deserve our support. What has been allowed to happen in Labor's budget is a national disgrace, and this cut to wellbeing and mental health services for emergency first responders needs to be fixed immediately. Speaker, I seek leave to table the pages from Budget Paper No. 2 where this funding is listed.

Leave not granted.