Mr Wettenhall asked the Minister for Police, Corrective Services and Emergency Services (Mr Roberts)- Will the Minister advise the House the extent to which existing or planned Queensland Emergency Services communications systems enable inter-operability in Queensland?

Answer:
The Department of Community Safety (DCS) has significant capability for
communications interoperation and there are ongoing developments to
improve the capability and options available.

The Government has invested more than $15 million in the new Emergency
Services Computer Aided Dispatch System (ESCAD). It provides one fully
integrated interoperable communications system for the Queensland Fire and
Rescue Service (QFRS) and the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS).
ESCAD means that information about incidents can be shared in real time
and enables an ambulance and fire appliance to be tasked simultaneously.
ESCAD also enables communication centres across the state to exchange
data about incidents.

Work has recently commenced on a new Queensland Emergency Operations
Centre (QEOC) facility at Kedron that will modernise and improve the
robustness of both radio and data networks used by DCS. The project
provides significant upgrades to radio and data network operability by
providing backup capability that has never existed before.

DCS connects with the Queensland Police Service (QPS) microwave
communications network for the existing Mobile Data Network. As part of a
program of work being undertaken by the QEOC project, the DCS mobile data
network infrastructure has recently been upgraded.

The upgrade provides a higher level of redundancy for the mobile data
network, and also provides the ability for QFRS to implement Automatic
Vehicle Location technology to aid communications officers to identify the
nearest resources to respond to incidents. QAS already uses this capability
to enhance responses.