Ministers agree to Triple 0 changes (Herald Sun, VIC)
11 November 2011 From: Herald Sun
AUSTRALIAN emergency phone services will be revamped to speed up assistance to people needing urgent help.
The triple zero national emergency number will be complemented by a national state and territory emergency services phone number, 132 500, and a non-emergency police assistance number, 131 444.
“Having one nationwide number to call when you need assistance in non-life threatening or non-time critical situations will make it easier for people to remember and use wherever they are in Australia,” federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland said in a statement.
Callers to the triple zero service will be directed to the other numbers for non-urgent help from police, fire or ambulance services.
Nearly half of all calls to triple zero are non-urgent or people seeking information, Mr McClelland said.
“Triple zero should only be dialled in emergencies that are life-threatening or for time-critical situations requiring a rapid response from police, fire or ambulance services.”
The changes were agreed at a meeting of police and emergency services ministers from Australia and New Zealand today.
The decision comes in the wake of the death of Victorian father Tim Knowles on Saturday, who collapsed and died while waiting for an ambulance.
Just hours earlier, in neighbouring town Maryborough, a 48-year-old mum died on her way to hospital after she waited 35 minutes for help to arrive.
Senior paramedics warned that thousands of Victorian lives were being put at risk amid fears of more deaths because of the worsening crisis. It comes less than a fortnight after figures revealed paramedics failed to reach more than one in five critical emergencies within the 15-minute target response time.
The ministers also agreed to work towards a national “all hazards” emergency hotline to give information on floods, bushfire and other serious events.
Mr McClelland also said the Federal Government aimed to raise awareness of bushfire arson.
A new website to help people to identify arson risks and to report suspicious activity is expected to be up and running before the end of the year.
