Mr SLIPPER (9:51 AM) —I rise in the House today to support an application under the Regional Partnerships program for a sum of $500,000 for the Sunshine Coast Helicopter Rescue Service to construct a new helicopter hangar to house and service the three rescue helicopters which service a large area of south-east Queensland. The $500,000 represents 30 per cent of the total project cost, which is $1,692,000. The board of the service will fund the remaining 70 per cent through a bank loan of $1,192,000, which has already been secured through the Westpac bank. A partnership has been formed with the Queensland government, which has agreed to fund the recurrent operational costs of $1.32 million per year.

This is a vital service for the region. It is a service I greatly admire—a service which has been around for very many years and which is absolutely essential. The rescue service has outgrown its existing hangar facility at Maroochydore Airport. It urgently needs a completely new facility designed to comfortably accommodate the operation over the next half-century and provide for future growth. The RPP funding will be instrumental in the construction and completion of the hangar. An extra hangar is needed because of the increased demands on the service—it continues to service even greater areas of south-east Queensland—and because of space requirements.

This is a really important project. This service is well managed and supported by the community. Over its years of operation, many hundreds of lives have been saved and many people have been able to be taken to medical attention, when previously they would not have had that opportunity. The isolation of distance for country people can be compensated for by a quick helicopter response when search and rescue or medical evacuation are required. The new hangar will help to upgrade this rapid response service and is vital to improving timely support to the community. The service should be able to provide people who live in country areas and on isolated farms and properties with the best possible support and the new hangar will assist in providing this. The increase in the population in south-east Queensland is catered for in the provision for community needs for the future.

With security in relation to external and internal threats becoming more important in the national interest, services such as the helicopter rescue service can be the first to respond should something occur in our local region. Helicopters are vital in this scenario. The community would know that their local counter-disaster organisers have the best possible equipment available should the need arise and that the federal government is assisting a service to provide for their needs and ensuring quick response in times of trauma.

The Sunshine Coast Helicopter Rescue Service provides vital support to rural and regional people on the coast, in the country and in the more isolated areas of south-east Queensland. Increased efficiency by the service would lessen the stress of isolation. This is a worthwhile project. Most of the money has been raised from other sources. The Commonwealth has only been asked to contribute a small amount. It is a particularly worthwhile application, and I ask the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Transport and Regional Services to seriously consider it. (Time expired)