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AAP
AAP
Politics
Callum Godde and Cassandra Morgan

Vic govt handed new triple-O crisis report

The government to finalise response to a report into the Victorian triple-zero call-taking service. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

A new report into Victoria's embattled triple-zero call-taking service will be kept behind closed doors until the state government finalises its response.

The Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA) report was handed to the Andrews government just over a week ago, Emergency Services Minister Jaclyn Symes confirmed on Tuesday.

She has committed to release the 150-page report from the Inspector-General for Emergency Management in full within the next month, but said the government must first finalise its response and put it before cabinet.

"(Inspector-General) Tony Pearce has created a report that has de-identified individuals," Ms Symes told reporters at state parliament.

"It is not my intention to sit on this a minute longer than I have to."

Another review into ESTA, led by former Victoria Police chief commissioner Graham Ashton, found the service was plagued by continued and systemic underperformance.

ESTA's benchmark is for 90 per cent of ambulance triple-zero calls to be answered within five seconds.

But there were days during the Delta COVID-19 wave in September last year when four out of five calls were not being answered on time, according to leaked Ambulance Victoria figures published in The Age on Tuesday.

Ms Symes said the data was not "verified" and ESTA's call answering speeds deteriorated due to surge demand stemming from the pandemic.

"What the report will show is the pandemic had unprecedented impact on call-takers (and) their ability to answer calls at the benchmark," she said.

"The benchmark was being reached each and every month - sometimes exceeding the benchmark - before November 2020."

There has been "marked improvement" since the government committed to recruit and train almost 400 extra call-takers as part of a $333 million state budget package, she said.

A budget estimates hearing in May heard the service was responsible for 18 deaths of people waiting for an ambulance over the previous six months, with a further three fatalities attributed to paramedics not getting to patients on time.

Victoria's coroner is reviewing several cases to determine how many will form part of another investigation into deaths linked to emergency call delays.

Meanwhile, a bill to shut down Victoria's three remaining coal-fired power plants within the next eight years was introduced by the Greens on Tuesday.

Under the legislation, the deadline for Yallourn's closure would be set for 2024, compared with its anticipated time frame of 2028.

It would also shut Loy Yang A in 2027 instead of 2045 and bring forward Loy Yang B's closure from 2046 to 2030.

Victorian Greens spokesman Tim Read insists the plan is feasible despite the nation "dragging its feet" on transitioning to renewable energy over the past decade.

"We've got the technology; what we don't have at the moment is the political will in Victoria," he said.

The bill is expected to be debated and voted on next month.

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