State Member for Morayfield Mark Ryan today announced the Caboolture State Emergency Service (SES) group will soon have access to superior communication capabilities, thanks to the Palaszczuk Labor Government.

Mr Ryan said Caboolture SES would join 78 other SES groups in South East Queensland transitioning to radios on the Government Wireless Network (GWN).

“Police, firefighters and paramedics are already using the GWN, which is a secure digital communication network that allows multiple agencies to operate on a single channel,” Mr Ryan said.

“The GWN-equipped radios provide increased coverage and reduced communication black spots, which is great news for our local SES.

“This major investment by the State Government means our SES will be able to fully integrate with other emergency service agencies during incidents, by using a single communication network.

Mr Ryan said GWN radios also included important safety measures to protect SES personnel.

“At any time, someone using a GWN-enabled radio can press what is known as a duress button to call for help,” he said.

“This will put them in direct contact with our central communication centre and alert others on the GWN network.

“We ask a lot of our SES volunteers in times of need, so it is only right to provide the support they require to keep us safe.”