Minister for Justice Michael Keenan and NSW Minister for Police and Emergency Services Troy Grant today announced that emergency management volunteers in NSW will soon benefit from more than $1 million in additional funding.
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Minister Keenan said 21 projects across eight emergency services organisations will receive funding from the Emergency Volunteer Support Scheme (EVSS) to assist with the costs of recruitment, training and retention of emergency services volunteers.
“This funding is provided under the jointly funded Commonwealth-State National Partnership Agreement on National Disaster Resilience, which aims to help communities step up efforts to manage and respond to natural disaster risks,” Mr Keenan said.
“The EVSS has already assisted many emergency management organisations to retain and recruit volunteers and build up their skills, to ensure New South Wales’ natural disaster capability continues to be strengthened.”
Minister Grant said communities need to be adequately prepared to face natural disasters and extreme weather events now and into the future.
“Our volunteers play a vital role fighting fires, undertaking flood rescues, providing support to ambulance workers and a host of work in both the city and the country,” Mr Grant said.
“Our emergency services volunteers are often on the front line and we’ll keep supporting them so they can continue their important work and keep us safe.
“Projects supported through this funding range from the purchase of training equipment and training courses to upskill the state’s emergency services volunteers, through to projects that investigate trends and strategies in recruitment and retention of emergency services volunteers and how these can be enhanced.”
Organisations receiving funding include:
- Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Australia Ltd
- Australian Red Cross
- Bushwalkers Wilderness Rescue Squad
- Nambucca District Rescue Association Inc
- NSW Rural Fire Service
- NSW State Emergency Service
- NSW Volunteer Rescue Association, and
- Marine Rescue NSW
A full list of projects supported under the EVSS can be found on the Office of Emergency Management web site.