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MRIP - Monthly Newsletter June 2023

The past couple of months have been busy, productive and challenging for the Marine Rescue Implementation Program (MRIP), as we moved across into the Queensland Police Service from Queensland Fire and Emergency Services. We thank you for your patience and are excited to share this latest program newsletter with you.

During May, we celebrated National Volunteer Week, recognising the tireless determination, dedication, expertise and commitment of Queensland’s marine rescue volunteers who are always there so that no one is left alone at sea. Thank you. We also marked International Women in Maritime Day, acknowledging the unique value female volunteers bring to the marine rescue service.

Some of the program's latest highlights are included below, and we're really looking forward to the opportunities coming up over the next few months to speak with you further on topics like training, volunteer recruitment and uniforms.

We’d love for more volunteers and other stakeholders to receive this newsletter, so please encourage them to subscribe here.

We also have a private Facebook group for marine rescue volunteers, which you can join here. It’s a great space for connecting with volunteers across the state, sharing stories and information, and of course for information about MRIP and MRQ.

As always, thank you for your dedication and commitment to keeping people safe on the water.

Matthew Thompson Program Director, Marine Rescue Implementation Program

A message from the Deputy Commissioner

On behalf of Queensland Police Service (QPS) and the Reform Implementation Taskforce (RIT), I’d like to give a warm welcome to the Marine Rescue Implementation Program (MRIP) team and Queensland’s 3000 dedicated marine rescue volunteers.

While you’ve no doubt heard about the exciting work the MRIP team has been doing, I would like to echo the sentiment and express my gratitude for how well the MRIP and the RIT teams managed the transition. Theirs was one of the most successful and seamless transitions I have been involved in, and that is down to the collaboration of both teams.

As disaster and emergency services staff and volunteers, we’re no strangers to teamwork, and marine rescue volunteers have always worked side-by side with QPS assisting Water Police with their operational capabilities up and down the Queensland coast.

I have spent much of my career working in the maritime policing space, and I am truly looking forward to working with our marine rescue volunteers the MRIP team in the same spirit of collaboration as we work towards establishing Marine Rescue Queensland.

Deputy Commissioner Shane Chelepy

What’s the Emergency Services Reform? And who is RIT?

In October 2022, the Honourable Mark Ryan, Minister for Police and Corrective Services and Minister for Fire and Emergency Services announced an enhanced investment in fire and emergency services capabilities to ensure Queensland’s committed frontline officers, staff and volunteers are best positioned to respond to emergency situations and keep Queenslanders safe in a disaster.

The changes include the expansion of the Queensland Police Service (QPS) to include the State Emergency Service (SES), disaster management functions and establishment of the new Marine Rescue Queensland (MRQ).

To oversee these critical reforms, the Government stood up the Reform Implementation Taskforce (RIT) over a two-year period. The Taskforce is being headed by current State Disaster Coordinator, Deputy Commissioner Shane Chelepy, and falls within the broader scope of the Police and Emergency Service Reform Program led by Special Coordinator, Steve Gollschewski.

You can learn more about the Disaster and Emergency services reform here.

QPS is MRIP's new home

MRIP’s transition to QPS as part of the Emergency Services Reform occurred in May. We’re firmly in our new home now and progressing projects. The MRIP leadership and delivery teams have completed their introductory meetings with the Reform Implementation Taskforce (RIT) team to bring them up to date with the overall Program and each individual project. The RIT is undertaking workforce planning activities, which will include looking at the proposed MRQ organisational structure and considering it alongside other emergency services like the SES, who are also transitioning to the QPS.

Introducing Greg Ringuet, Marine Rescue Queensland Business Reform Coordinator

Chief Inspector Greg Ringuet has almost 40 years’ experience with the Queensland Police Service, including 15 years’ experience leading specialist police teams. During almost two decades working in regional and remote areas of Queensland including Cairns, Thursday Island, Aurukun, Atherton and Mackay, Greg gained significant experience as a police negotiator. This led to him being appointed the State Negotiator Coordinator in 2000 and later as an Inspector with the Special Emergency Response Team. In 2013, he moved to the Water Police and for five years overviewed its centralisation, fleet modernisation and operating procedures. Mr Ringuet's role within the RIT and the MRIP is to assist with successful establishment of MRQ in the QPS and ensure successful transition of existing services into the new service.

Vessel replacement

The first vessel under the Vessel Replacement Program has successfully completed sea trials and preparatory arrangements are being undertaken prior to it being on its way to the Torres Strait. The VMR Thursday Island team has undertaken training in how to operate their new vessel, bringing enhanced safety to people in the water in the Torres Strait. This rewarding project demonstrates that working closely together with all partners to deliver vital new assets really does help to build ongoing capability, and we're looking forward to working closely with more units over the coming months to help enhance capability and deliver new vessels.
Our thanks goes to our partners at VMRAQ, VMR TI, Marine Rescue NSW and QPS Water Police.

Meetings of note

VMRAQ State Council

MRIP Program Director Matthew Thompson and BRC Greg Ringuet were invited to present at the VMRAQ State Council meeting on Saturday 27 May. This meeting was a fantastic opportunity to provide an overview and progress update on MRIP projects. There was great engagement amongst the group on topics including uniform concepts, vessel replacement, the conceptual MRQ organisational structure, and how MRQ's regions might be organised to align with existing Water Police units.

National Volunteer Marine Rescue Search and Rescue Committee meeting

The program also attended the National Volunteer Marine SAR Committee 2023 meeting in Perth with VMRAQ and AVCGA Queensland-based representatives. Director Thompson provided an update about the establishment of Marine Rescue Queensland and the integration into the Queensland Police Service. Updates and common interests including AMSAs Exemption 24 were key items of discussion.

Local Government Association of Queensland Disaster Management Conference

Matthew joined a panel discussion alongside Shane Chelepy, Deputy Commissioner Queensland Police Service and Andrew Short, Assistant Commissioner, State Emergency Service to discuss the future of disaster management in Queensland. He discussed MRIP's transition to the QPS, and how this change means that marine rescue volunteers in Queensland will have a more modern, sustainable state-wide service. Local government representatives were very interested in hearing about the development of MRQ and eager to offer their support.

Marine Rescue Implementation Working Group Meeting - Cairns

The Marine Rescue Implementation Working Group met in Cairns on Tuesday 13 June, followed by a fantastic volunteer event in the evening, with around 40 local marine rescue volunteers attending. Uniforms were the order of the day, and we received some incredibly valuable feedback to inform the next design phase. We look forward to informing stakeholders about the discussion and outcomes in our regular post meeting communique.

MRQ uniforms

What will our uniform look like? That’s one of the questions we hear most often from marine rescue volunteers.

A number of marine service volunteers from across the state have been involved in focus groups and meetings on the subject of uniforms.

At the moment, we’re testing high-level concepts around colours, design, and function to understand exactly what marine rescue volunteers think is most important, and what boaties will recognise.

We’re working with the QPS on topics like procurement and production. Final uniform concepts will be completed in July 2023, and we’re really excited to share them with you.

Thank you to everyone who has put their hand up to be involved. Your insights and feedback will shape the future MRQ.

Volunteer Onboarding - Blue card accreditation

We’re excited to be launching a Blue Card Pilot with Manly Coast Guard in July, and we recently met with flotilla volunteers to confirm the details and dates.

We’ve also had expressions of interest from three other units, so details for those pilots are being discussed now. Single unit pilots will support a small group of volunteers through the application process for their Blue Cards – and help us identify where we might need to modify our approach when we consider the scale and geographic dispersion of the volunteer workforce for a future Blue Card implementation.

This is an exciting step in establishing MRQ and great preparation for the Blue Card journey ahead.

Meet a volunteer – celebrating International Day for Women in Maritime

International Day for Women in Maritime fell on 18 May, during National Volunteer Week. Please take a moment to meet some of the wonderful female volunteers across VMRAQ and AVCGQ.

Look ahead

Over the next few months, members of the MRIP team have confirmed visits to:

  • Port Douglas
  • Mooloolaba
  • Jacobs Well
  • Currumbin
  • Stradbroke Island
  • Caloundra
  • Noosa

We're really looking forward to speaking with many of you, sharing information about the program, and hearing your feedback

Public Safety
Last updated:
6 July 2023