Emergency Services Minister grilled over state’s crisis-plagued triple-0 system

Jaclyn Symes has confirmed the Premier’s department has received the report into Victoria’s crisis-plagued system but defended their silence.

Ambulances outside St Vincent's Hospital in Melbourne after a recent code Orange alert. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Emergency Services Minister Jaclyn Symes has confirmed the Premier’s department has received a report into the state’s crisis-plagued triple-0 system, but insists it is her job to read the document.

Ms Symes was grilled over the performance of the Emergency Service Telecommunications Authority (ESTA) during parliamentary budget estimates on Wednesday.

A report into serious issues within ESTA, written by former top cop Graham Ashton, was commissioned last year and the government has received its findings.

But it is yet to be publicly released and Premier Daniel Andrews has come under fire for refusing to say whether he’d read the document, labelling the attacks a “political game”.

When asked why the report was not yet made public, Ms Symes said it was being given “due consideration” and would be released alongside the government’s response.

Jaclyn Symes insists it’s her job to read the document. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

Daniel Andrews refuses to say if he has read the document. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

She said it would be released in full but stressed the report was not a probe into “specific incidents” and would look more broadly at reform of the service.

“It looks at current governance structures of ESTA and makes recommendations about future long term structures funding and governance arrangements,” Ms Symes said.

“So we need to take the time to talk to all the parties that contributed to the report as well as those that would be impacted by any of the any of the recommendations in the report.”

Brighton MP James Newbury then confirmed with the minister that the Department of Premier and Cabinet had received copies of the document and accused Mr Andrews of “sitting on the report”.

An ambulance on standby at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Picture: David Crosling

But a bitter back-and-forth broke out as Ms Symes shot back over Mr Newbury’s statement.

“I’m the responsible Minister,” she said.

“The report is delivered to me, it is my responsibility.”

“No one is sitting on a report ... It will go through the appropriate government processes involving a range of government departments and a range of ministers’ views will be incorporated.

“I’m responsible for releasing that report. I will take it through appropriate cabinet processes and then release it to the public.”

Mr Newbury said the Premier was the “boss of the state” before being asked to allow the minister to finish her response.

“If you’re the Premier of the state and people are dying you’d read the report, you would think, but clearly that’s not always the case,” he said.

Originally published as Emergency Services Minister grilled over state’s crisis-plagued triple-0 system