Ms JENNY AITCHISON (Maitland) (16:55): Today I speak about a very serious kind of "TOLing"—not the tolling that happens on the road but the TOLing, or taking offline, of our fire rescue stations across the State. I am concerned about this happening in my community. I wrote to the former emergency services Minister in September 2021 because—as you might be aware, Mr Temporary Speaker—Maitland got a new fire station when 455 Telarah became 455 Rutherford. That station did not carry across its TOLing. Under the taking offline and the In Orders arrangements, the Minister for Police and Emergency Services at the time, Minister Elliot, was taking that station offline when the number of staff at the station dropped below four rather than using overtime to fill the gap to make sure that the station had a minimum of four firefighters available to provide the necessary safe response to our community.

That TOLing arrangement at Telarah was removed and transferred to the Maitland CBD station. That is a real problem. The station in our CBD is blocked on one side by the Hunter River. Then on the other side there is the New England Highway and a lot of half-done projects that connect two roads across our city. There is a big congestion issue in Maitland. If you take the Maitland Fire Station offline, you actually put all the CBD businesses of Maitland at risk when there is a fire because it means that it is more difficult for stations from other areas to get in and respond. We know that response times are a vital component of responding to fire and other emergencies. In fact, if you are going to maximise the opportunities for preventing loss of lives and minimising damage to properties, you need to have standards that are effective and enable the firefighters to respond quickly to those emergencies.

The response time and the number of qualified and trained firefighters at the incident within that required time determine whether a rescue can even be performed, whether a home and business can be saved and, more importantly, whether a life can be saved. It also directly impacts on the safety of the firefighters on the fireground. Scientific research dictates that a fire must be suppressed within five to 10 minutes of ignition. That is really important and the physical characteristics of fire cause the temperature in a building to rise extremely rapidly. A sudden and dynamic simultaneous ignition of most combustible materials and gases is flashover.

A flashover in our CBD from any potential fires is a very dangerous situation for us. My concern is that the In Orders now in force as of 23 May—this is the intention—are designed to save a projected $2 million over three years. That is a paltry amount compared with the huge consequences that will be paid by the 56 communities that are being TOLed as a result of this Government's decisions. I note that the member for Bega is in the Chamber. He, of all people in this place, should be very aware of the importance of having firefighters who are resourced and able to save lives. This Government is penny pinching and taking stations offline so that it can save $2 million over three years.

I will list some of those stations, because it is not just Maitland and my area. It is also Morpeth. If you get into the broader Hunter, there is Kearsley, Kelso, Minmi, Abermain, Paxton and even Quirindi in your electorate, Mr Temporary Speaker. Those stations are being taken offline. What is happening to those communities when the stations are offline? They are put at extra risk. Fifty-six stations could be closed by Fire and Rescue NSW at any time. That is a really big concern. I call on the Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience, and Minister for Flood Recovery to please reconsider the In Orders. I urge her to not leave our regional and rural communities at risk from fire and do some resourcing. We just had open days for Fire and Rescue NSW. We have spectacular people employed in Fire and Rescue NSW, and we need to be supporting them, not taking them offline at a time of deepest need in our community.