It’s often the unsung heroes – the State Emergency Service (SES) – who are first to respond. First to rescue. First to clean up. First to help. First to support the community any way they can.
During the Burdekin's recent floods, they completed 140 jobs, a similar number to Cyclone Kirrily last year. While they receive plenty of praise, pats on the back, or free food and accommodation, what they need most is more volunteers. In a sign of the times, volunteering nationally is down 10% everywhere!
As the SES’s volunteer base has shrunk and current members are ageing (some are in their 80s), areas such as the Burdekin have some of the lowest turnout numbers in Far North Queensland.
“At Clare, we've only got three volunteers, but one's since left so that's back to two. Giru has two. Home Hill has six, however, we’ve just had the deputy local controller resign because of his age. He's 85,” states Warren Francis, local controller of the (SES) in Burdekin.
“It's a phenomena. It's something that's happening that we can't control. There are two separate enquiries going at the moment. One is a state level enquiry, and one is a national enquiry about volunteerism. Why can't we get volunteers? Why is it dropping? Why have we had a 10% decrease in volunteers in the last two years?” Warren says.
While it's something that's being looked into by both State and Federal governments, where it’s simply a case of ‘let's see what they come up with’ that doesn’t help the men and women of the local SES units. Whether it’s Ayr, Home Hill, Clare, Giru, or Rita Island, all could use a boost in numbers.
So what’s the answer? What can the community do to rally behind the volunteers in bright orange who do so much for the local communities of the Burdekin?
They’ve got all the latest equipment, from rescue boats, heavy rigid trucks, 4 wheel drives. They offer free training in over 20 courses. They’re backed by the council and government. And above all, they have camaraderie second to none.
“All the training is free. If you stick around you can get a forklift license, a working at heights elevated platform ticket, Bobcat certification, etc. They're skills you can take anywhere. We try to emphasise that to younger people, that there's rewards and it's all free! They'll feed you, they look after you. If you need accommodation, they'll look after that too,” Warren expresses.
“Look, we really need some extra people. I get it, it's volunteering. It’s not for everyone and I won't tell fibs to people. I'll tell you honestly, when you get a job it's going to be at the worst, most inconvenient time. When you go and do the job, it's going to probably be wet and very uncomfortable. It's going to be miserable,” Warren asserts.
“But it's a great feeling, and it says something of a person that can volunteer their time, because there's nothing more precious than someone's time. If people are prepared to give you their time, that is the biggest thing that they can give you. That speaks volumes to me about the character of people who are prepared to come and do it for free, and do it so they can help their community.”
“We're just grateful for any time that people can give us, whether it's a little bit of time or a lot of time. We're grateful for anyone that can give us their time,” Warren declares.
Newest recruit, Ian Schwerin, didn’t need any convincing. When his boat was hit by a rogue wave and flipped over last year where he and his mate spent 23 long hours in shark infested waters, the first thing he did when he was rescued was walk straight into the nearest SES.
“I went for a weekend fishing trip over at the Cape, and I got hit by a rogue wave, which swamped my boat. My mate and I were stuck in the water for 23 hours and once we got found, I joined the SES to give back to the community for everyone that came looking for me,” Ian says.
While it shouldn’t take a rescue to convince you to join, perhaps a more sobering thought is what happens when the current members reach an age that they can no longer volunteer? Attend a flood or cyclone to lend a hand and clean up? What happens then? Who steps up to help when the helpers can no longer help?
“Burdekin has tremendous units, probably because we get so much work which is done by so few people that, you know, it creates a camaraderie. The satisfaction of helping the community is probably the biggest satisfaction anyone can do,” Warren concludes.
Be part of an organisation that makes all the difference. To join your local SES, simply drop in to your nearest SES branch, sign up, or visit: https://www.ses.qld.gov.au/form/become-an-ses-member and discover why there is no greater reward than helping and saving others.
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