00:03A risky fire season and a testy election campaign.
00:10The Premier today announced $20 million funding for a critical minerals processing facility,
00:15but it was the Auditor-General digging the dirt on underfunding of the state's firefighting
00:20fleet.
00:21Clearly shows we have more work to do.
00:24The report found almost 60 per cent of CFA and FRV trucks are more than 15 years old,
00:31which means more maintenance.
00:33It sounds like what we've been saying for years.
00:36Exactly what we've been saying that they only just realised today.
00:40The primary tanker at Pailong CFA is 32 years old.
00:44It's being replaced with one that's about 28.
00:48To catch up over the next decade, the CFA needs almost a billion in funding to replace
00:531,600 trucks, FRV would need almost $300 million and forest fire management is short $216 million.
01:02The Auditor-General also revealed today that more than half of forest fire management trucks
01:06cracked and had to be pulled out of service before last season's bushfires.
01:11So what we're saying very clearly, the firefighters have been vindicated.
01:15But FRV and CFA had reduced their funding requests in line with instructions from the then treasurer.
01:22There's no special treatment for any individual organisation.
01:27They're all asked to make sure that they bid for what they need.
01:31The Coalition conceded they'd probably struggle to find the money too.
01:35It's a very big figure and as I said, we have been working on this for some time.
01:39While there's more to do, Ben Carroll wants to be judged on his commitments,
01:43rather than past failures of a government he was a part of.
01:47Reports like this make that task difficult.
01:50It's alright to stand in Spring Street and say what you're going to do.
01:54It's out here on the ground is where it's got to happen.
01:57So, thank you very much.
