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

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) Australia's first responders to natural disasters perform a vital and valuable job in extreme circumstances for communities across our nation;

(b) ensuring the mental health and wellbeing of our first responders is not only the right thing to do but helps them continue their vital work saving lives and supporting communities;

(c) the former Government provided $10 million over two years in the March 2022 budget to Fortem Australia for the establishment of a national support program for first responders to maximise their capacity through stronger mental health, given the huge demands placed on them through the full suite of natural disasters;

(d) this funding was a scale up of the program that Fortem Australia delivered following a competitive tender process in the wake of the Black Summer bushfires; and

(e) in the October 2022 budget, the funding for Fortem Australia was not provided, resulting in an $8 million budget cut that would have meant on-the-ground support for first responders would not be available in the regional towns where it is needed; and

(2) recognises, that following public pressure, the Government has since restored the full $10 million funding for Fortem Australia as announced and provided for in the March 2022 budget so that they can provide vital support for our emergency first responder heroes.

I do recognise that, following public pressure, the government has since restored the full $10 million funding for Fortem Australia, as announced and provided for in the March 2022 budget, so the organisation can provide the vital support that's needed for our emergency first-responder heroes. The members on this side certainly welcome the confirmation that the Albanese Labor government has reconsidered its position of stripping the charity of its funding and have now decided to provide the full budgeted funding to charity organisation Fortem Australia, which provides mental health and wellbeing services to Australia's first responders.

Following an election period, it's convention for an incoming government to continue funding programs that were budgeted by a former government. That's to assist in the continuity of those programs and to provide the certainty for providers in the first instance. After several days of strong public pressure, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that Fortem Australia will receive $10 million upfront over one year, despite initially seeking to slash $8 million from this organisation. In a media release, Fortem Australia cofounder and managing director, John Bale, said it was encouraging to see the government supporting the nation's first responders. He said:

These men and women across Australia are always there for us when we need them and have been going above and beyond during floods, fires and COVID over the last few years … We know what we do at Fortem works. Our independent and specialised services ensure there is mental health support available not only for first responders but also their families when they need it …

This funding will allow Fortem Australia the peace of mind to continue their program expansion to assist more emergency personnel at a time when we continue to experience devastating floods and as we head into the summer months. This expansion of programs will also help provide services to regional areas, including Townsville, Ballina, Albury-Wodonga, Gippsland, Dubbo, Nowra, Newcastle, the Sunshine Coast and Launceston as well as Darwin and Perth.

The coalition budgeted funding of $10 million over two years to Fortem Australia back in March after recognising a critical need—a need to provide tailored services to the emergency personnel and their families that come to our rescue every single time we experience a natural disaster or crisis. This was listed in Budget Paper No. 2 on pages 158 and 159. This new decision will undoubtedly be a welcome relief for our first responders in important regional locations. These unsung heroes don't need any additional burden for the work that they do, and their families deserve the peace of mind that they're being well taken care of.

The coalition will always back our first responders. They perform an absolutely vital role in the community, supporting vulnerable people in times of urgent need, such as during bushfires and floods. After the Black Summer bushfires, the toll on first responders was noted, and this program certainly helped them out. It was then expanded to cover additional responders across more locations. It's absolutely in the best interests of this country that our emergency personnel and their families are in tiptop shape when they do their difficult jobs and don't come back to work early after experiencing trauma.

I call on the members of this place who share the sensible view that the funding to provide vital support for our emergency first-responder heroes should be a priority of any government to support this motion. I'm very confident that there is considerable support in this place for the reinstatement of funding for Fortem. Some members here will have seen and experienced some of the things that first responders have experienced, because they were first responders prior to coming into this place. I haven't, but I will be ever so grateful for the rest of my life that there are people out there who are able to do the work of our first responders. I congratulate them. I thank them. We would not be where we are today without them.

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