Dear Honourable Minister Dawson MLC,
We are writing on behalf of the dedicated volunteers of the:
1. Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service Association of Western Australia (VFRSAWA),
2. Volunteer Marine Rescue of Western Australia (VMRWA),
3. Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services Association of Western Australia (ESVA),
4. Association of Volunteer Bush Fire Brigades Western Australia (AVBFB) and
5. SES Volunteer’s Association of Western Australia (SESVA).
We represent well over 26000 of Western Australia’s selfless individuals who willingly devote their time and effort to respond to emergencies across our state.
We express our profound disappointment and concern over the recent decision made by the Labor government, in collaboration with the Greens, to vote 19/10 against the amendment proposed by the Opposition to extend presumptive PTSD protections to our dedicated emergency service volunteers. The same volunteers who tirelessly serve our communities day in and day out and save the state more than 2 billion dollars per year.