Mr TEHAN (Wannon) (13:45): Last Friday, we saw some of the strongest and wildest winds lash the southwest Victorian coast that we have seen for a very long time. Gusts up to 110 kilometres an hour caused severe damage to buildings, and they caused trees to come down and a loss of power to many households. Our SES volunteers right along the coastline reacted and responded as only they could. They were out answering every call that came their way.
There were a record number of calls to our SES, and they responded as they always respond—quickly and making sure that they get the job done. Without their great volunteer service, we wouldn't have been able to respond to the wild weather that we saw rip along the south-west Victorian coastline.
On behalf of all the communities in south-west Victoria, I thank all our SES volunteers. They do an extraordinary and outstanding job. They do it out of a sense of service. They don't want to be patted on the back. They want to make sure that they're doing the right thing for their community, and they did that last Friday. Thank you very much to all our SES volunteers.
