Poll fuels funds

By Dion Teasdale
WARBURTON residents would get a new $1.6 million fire station if the Bracks Government is re-elected later this month.
Tim Holding, Police and Emergency Services Minister, made the election promise last week during a visit to the town’s existing CFA station on the Warburton Highway.
It follows a promise made a week earlier by Simon Wildes, Liberal candidate for Gembrook, that a Ted Baillieu led government would connect Warburton to natural gas.
Joined by Gembrook MP Tammy Lobato, Mr Holding said the new fire station would serve the community and the brigade’s 56 volunteers better.
“With its superior facilities, this new station will make members’ working lives just that little bit easier, helping them deliver an even better service to the local community,” he said.
Ms Lobato said the new station would be a major boost for the area.
“In a town the size of Warburton, the local brigade is a focal point for the community,” she said.
“It’s vital that our dedicated and hardworking emergency services personnel have the facilities and equipment they need to do their jobs properly.”
Mr Holding said the station would be build on a new site early in the next parliamentary term if the Bracks Government is re-elected.
“A search for a new location is being driven by the local brigade and will continue with input from the local community,” he said.
Maurice Dell, captain of Warburton CFA, rejoiced when Mr Holding announced the cash for the new station.
“This is wonderful news. We weren’t expecting this, and certainly not this amount. It’s mind blowing,” he said.
Cpt Dell said the brigade, which responds to an average of 125 incidents each year, had been lobbying for more than five years to have the 25-year-old station upgraded or replaced.
“We’ve outgrown the station and have been searching for a new location, and if this happens it will help the brigade no end,” he said.
“We will be able to service the community better and more efficiently.”
Barry Marshall, ex-captain of the brigade, said the cash promise would help the brigade overcome major access and traffic obstacles.
“One of the biggest issues we have with the current station is the battle we have with traffic congestion on the Warburton Highway,” he said.
“We have to wait for the traffic to clear before we can get the trucks out of the station and this means a delay in our response times.”
Mr Wildes welcomed the promise of a new station and said a Liberal Government would match it.
“It appears that this is a CFA funding priority, so we would commit to the project in government as well,” he said.
However, Mr Wildes did question the timing of the announcement.
“The CFA have needed new site for a number of years and have already missed out on purchasing a number of sites,” he said.
“It does worry me how quickly this is now being promised when there has been ongoing issues with the existing station.”