This year marks a remarkable milestone for Queensland – 50 years of the State Emergency Service, an organisation built on courage, community spirit and the tireless dedication of volunteers who step up when Queenslanders need them most.
Across the state, SES units are proudly celebrating this anniversary, reflecting on five decades spent helping communities through cyclones, floods, storms and countless emergencies. Here in Far North Queensland, where extreme weather is part of life, the SES has long been a lifeline for local families.
It was wonderful to celebrate this amazing milestone with donuts and conversations with Life Member Bob Simmons and SES Volunteer Alisa Bake as well as SES Regional Community Engagement and Recruitment Officer Peter Rinaudo.
Over the past year, SES volunteer numbers have grown from 5,101 to 5,383. This rise reflects renewed confidence in the organisation and the strong desire of Queenslanders to give back.
The Crisafulli Government remains committed to supporting SES volunteers by strengthening frontline capability, investing in equipment and facilities, and ensuring communities across Queensland are safer and better prepared.
As we head into our wet season, it’s so important to start preparing for disasters just in case.
It is important people know and understand the risks to them and their family associated with where they live and their property. People need to make plans now based on those risks and prepare their property and their family. Take the time now to become familiar with warnings and where to find them.
Then once they have all this knowledge, they are in a good place to act — and act early.
From clearing gutters to preparing an emergency kit, understanding evacuation zones or simply knowing where to find reliable weather updates, early preparation saves lives.
As we honour the past 50 years of service, we also look ahead — supporting our volunteers, strengthening disaster resilience and building safer communities for everyone.
Here’s to the SES, past, present and future, and to the incredible volunteers like Bob, Alisa and the additional 300 volunteers in our region who keep Far North Queensland safe. Thank you for your service.
