Andrew McLachlan (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Honourable senators would know of the extremely high regard in which I hold paramedics. They witness trauma and tragedy every day of their working lives. In these times, when our nation is ravished by the coronavirus, paramedics must endure the added stress of saving life while the constant risk of infection hangs over them. Still they mount duty day and night, hearing and then responding to the clarion calls of the community that rely so heavily upon them—the same community that does not always acknowledge and reflect, as it should, on the personal cost our paramedics suffer, nor the costs paid by those close to them.

It is important that accounts of their lives become public record. Only then can we attempt to gain a better understanding of what we are asking these brave individuals to do in our service, on our behalf and for the great collective benefit. For when we are in need, we do not hesitate to call and they do not hesitate to come to our aid. That is the starting point on a journey that the states and territories need to begin to ensure that our paramedics receive the care and support that is commensurate with the burden they so nobly carry for us. Honourable senators, there are distinct approaches across the nation. I suggest that in some jurisdictions a greater generosity of spirit might need to be found and much more might need to be done to ease the pain the men and women of our ambulance services endure as a consequence of their service.

I have been contacted by the daughter of a South Australian paramedic. She recounted to me the impressive record of the service of her father, Mr Paul Cottier. Paul has lived a life of service to others. He served in the Royal Australian Air Force in the 1980s as a medic, which included time in Butterworth in Malaysia. Subsequently he became an ambulance officer with St John Ambulance. These were the days when the ambulance service was run by St John Ambulance with a mixture of full-time staff and volunteers. When the SA Ambulance Service was founded he joined as one of its first cadre of paramedics. He has proudly served the South Australian community for over 30 years. I know from his loving daughter that despite the stresses and strains of serving as a paramedic he has continued to devote himself to his community's welfare, like so many. It is an example of service above self. As a volunteer with St John Ambulance myself, I thank you, Mr Paul Cottier, for your service as an ambulance officer for St John. As a senator for South Australia, I thank you, Mr Paul Cottier, for your service as a paramedic to my state.