Mildura SES Gets $1M Pledge for New Volunteer Headquarters

For 43 years, emergency volunteers in Mildura have been changing clothes in toilets, showering at home after contaminated river searches, and processing trauma on two small couches squeezed between parked vehicles.

That's finally about to change. The State Emergency Service unit that responded to over 1,100 incidents in four years is getting the headquarters upgrade volunteers say is long overdue.

Unit controller Elliot Matotek remembers when his grandfather helped build the facility in 1983. The green carpet, wood-paneled walls, and hole in the ceiling tell the story of a building that's served far longer than anyone expected. "It's almost embarrassing when we have to do open nights to try and recruit volunteers," Matotek said.

The current setup forces volunteers to change in front of each other or crowd into two single toilets. After responding to fatal accidents or major deployments, there's nowhere private to decompress. When Mildura experienced its wettest March day on record this year and became the state's busiest unit with 200 calls in two days, visiting volunteers from across the region had to work from a different building because the headquarters couldn't fit everyone.

The Coalition has committed $1 million for the redevelopment if elected in November. The plans include proper changing rooms, private offices, meeting spaces, disability toilets, laundry facilities, and a dedicated wellness area where volunteers can process difficult calls.

Stage one already happened two years ago when the community came together with government support to build a new vehicle shed. Now volunteers are pushing the current government to match the opposition's funding promise for stage two.

The Ripple Effect

Beyond just improving volunteer comfort, better facilities could help recruit and retain the emergency responders regional communities desperately need. Mildura serves as a regional emergency services hub, handling everything from 188 road crash rescues to river searches across Victoria's northwest.

The unit has handled storms, floods, and accidents for over four decades. Matorek admits he wouldn't be surprised if volunteers left over the years because of the poor conditions. "It's quite embarrassing to have to rely on our other emergency service colleagues to use their facilities," he said.

Local candidates across the political spectrum now support the upgrade, recognizing that people who volunteer to save lives deserve safe, professional spaces to work from.

A 43-year-old building is finally getting the respect its volunteers have always deserved.