The firefighters union has taken a swipe at the state government’s announcement of a new ‘all agencies’ approach to emergency services training after it was confirmed last week that Craigieburn will be home to Victoria’s new police training centre.
The Weekly mooted the possibility of Craigieburn as the new police training site in July after advertisements went out following the announcement that Victoria Police’s existing lease at Essendon Fields will expire in January next year.
Police and Emergency Services Minister Kim Wells last week confirmed Craigieburn as the home of Victoria’s new $30 million police operational tactics and safety training facility, next door to the Victorian Emergency Management Training Centre being constructed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade.
The $109 million specialised MFB centre is now under construction and was initially supposed to replace the CFA’s Fiskville training ground, which the firefighters union claims contains hazardous material and contaminated water.
“When the MFB began work on this new training college, it invited other emergency services to partner with them,” United Firefighters Union secretary Paul Marshall said last week.
“They all declined and so the MFB has had to foot the entire bill. We question how the facility will cope with the expected demand.”
Mr Wells said the building of the two centres alongside each other would create 219 jobs during the construction phase and boost the Victorian building industry by $139 million.
Mr Wells said police would be required to undertake compulsory training twice a year at the facility, which is due for completion by March 2015. “This new facility is underpinned by our commitment to deliver an additional 1700 police officers – the largest recruitment of police in one term of government in the history of the state,” he said.
“[This] will ensure our police officers, firefighters and the emergency management sector at large will have access to modern training facilities and infrastructure that promote interoperability and allow each agency to grow and adapt to future demands,” Mr Wells said.
