EARTH: FIRE & RAIN. Australian & New Zealand Disaster and Emergency Management Conference EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.

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1 Australian & New Zealand Disaster and Emergency Management Conference EARTH: FIRE & RAIN 5-7 May 2014 QT Hotel, Gold Coast REGISTRATION BROCHURE Australian & New Zealand Disaster and Emergency Management Conference 5-7 May 2014 QT Hotel, Gold Coast In association with DISASTER & EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT Australian & New Zealand Mental Health Association

2 Miss Victoria Bovill-Lamb Lecturer, Charles Sturt University The practicalities of restoring personal property in response to major incidents The aim of the presentation is to provide sound practical advice with regard to a programme of personal property restoration following a major incident involving mass casualties. This will reflect on the procedures adopted by the Property Restoration Team, Counter Terrorism Command, Metropolitan Police, UK in response to the London terrorist attacks in July It is envisaged that the processes outlined will be sufficiently flexible that they can be adopted in a similar global context, such as natural, aviation and maritime disasters. Historically the emergency services response to personal property restoration has afforded differing standards to the victims and the bereaved, taking away their right to make an informed choice. This response was fraught with danger due to the emotional and symbolic significance that personal property can hold and the risk of causing further trauma. Despite personal property restoration being increasingly recognised in emergency responder training, there is still a need to adequately address the practicalities of setting up and running a Personal Property Restoration team. Therefore this reflective presentation will outline such processes with the greatest emphasis placed on fulfilling the rights of the victims and the bereaved. The content will discuss the use of Family Liaison Officers, the use of professional cleaning companies, administrative functions, legal and human rights considerations. To conclude, the ultimate aim of the presentation is to assist emergency responders in achieving a greater understanding and providing a more efficient and effective response, taking heed of advice given by disaster advisory groups to provide a more victim-rights based approach. Miss Elizabeth Calder Team Leader Risk Intelligence, Country Fire Authority Victorian Fire Risk Register: Supports and informs your plan The Victorian Fire Risk Register (VFRR) is Victoria s first consistent bushfire risk register. It is demonstrating value to those with risk planning mitigation and response accountabilities. The register lists all infrastructure, townships, environmental tourism and cultural assets that may be impacted by bushfire. It is centrally maintained on behalf of all agencies but has been built from the ground up with the participation of over 160 agencies and businesses and local government across 70 municipal footprints using consistent facilitation and business systems. VFRR meets the ISO international standard for risk management. A 2012 independent evaluation identified that the VFRR was an effective tool in providing all stakeholders with a shared and consistent understanding of bushfire risk to enable robust evidence based bushfire management planning. One of the VFRR tool s key strengths is its ability to spatially represent assets at risk and overlay them with topography and satellite imagery. Its maps have provided municipal fire management planning committees with an effective communication tool that the wider community easily understands and can engage with. The VFRR however goes beyond the preparedness and planning environment and is now used in a dynamic response mode to provide accurate asset information for decision making by Fire Agencies and Emergency Management sector to support prioritising and resource allocation strategies.

3 Mr Doug Caulfield Principal Consultant, Emergency Management Network Solutions Collaboration - the 'Clearway' to capability Under the current Victorian State EM arrangements, much is expected of local government in terms of service provision before, during and after an emergency. In an environment of fiscal tension, rural municipalities must consider innovative and cost effective ways to meet the growing demands of their communities as well as the ever increasing requirements of state government departments and the broader emergency services sector. In order to address these significant challenges, a group of rural municipal councils embarked on a journey of collaboration to produce a set of universal operating procedures that would form the basis of a 'road map' for a regional approach to the establishment and operation of emergency relief centres. This was a significant project in so much as the region has, over many years, suffered a high number of emergency incidents (and continues to do so). By taking on board the concept of a similar process involving metropolitan based councils, the six rural councils from the Gippsland region of Victoria successfully applied for a Natural Disaster Resilience Grant and undertook a twelve month project to produce a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP's) that has proven to be an invaluable guide for council staff and both volunteers and members of Health & Human Services sector support agencies. The presentation will outline the process used to reach consensus as to the content, procedures and design of the end product. It will describe the innovative approach taken to 'field test' the developing set of procedures by way of a series of full deployment exercises that were conducted in the final stages of the project that, ultimately, lead to the final version of what is now in use across the region as both a definitive guide for setting up and operating emergency relief centres, and providing the basis of a training reference for council staff and sector support agencies. The true value of the project is coming to light in the face of a current outbreak of significant bushfires and is providing under resourced councils with a degree of interoperability not witnessed in the past. Mr Anthony Clark Group Manager, Corporate Communications, NSW Rural Fire Service Case Study - The October 2013 NSW Bush Fires - The challenges, experiences and outcomes 2013 saw some of the most challenging fire conditions NSW has experienced in more than a decade, proving the first real test of the recent focus of information and warnings. January 2013 saw widespread Catastrophic bush fire danger ratings and a number of large and destructive fires. Despite some of the worst conditions ever recorded, and the extensive fire activity, not a single life was lost. Then, in October 2013, more than 200 homes were destroyed in a series of fires across the Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands, Port Stephens and Central Coast. Throughout these fire events, the NSW Rural Fire Service delivered as many as a million telephone warnings a day, as well as engaging with millions of people through social media. The information effort saw a strong but measured response from the community. The presentation will outline some of the experiences, highlights and unexpected issues experienced during this time of emergency and disaster.

4 Mr Mitchell Clout Planning Officer - Disaster Welfare, NSW Ministry for Police and Emergency Services Unofficial Evacuation Centres and Community Resilience Should we be afraid of the rise of the spontaneous unofficial evacuation centre? During recent bushfires and floods in New South Wales, there has been an increased prevalence of unofficial evacuation centres being established by local community groups to assist affected residents. Significant planning occurs through all levels of government and within the community to ensure that we can assist and care for those affected by disasters. Usually, emergency services and government agencies work alongside not-for-profit organisations to provide a place of safety and security for people during evacuation; in line with basic public expectations of government during disasters. Well intentioned community groups feel obliged during disasters to actively support local affected people through opening unofficial evacuation centres. The challenge for government and relief agencies is that there are risks which unofficial evacuation centres pose for disaster affected people. Not least, the centre could be at risk from the hazard or may not have adequate services to address a vulnerable person s needs. These risks need to be understood by emergency services and government agencies to ensure that clear policy is articulated on how these groups can be involved in disaster relief. This is made especially difficult when these groups are outside of established emergency management arrangements. Indeed, the unofficial evacuation centre can take the pressure off relief agencies and support the community resilience agenda but there is no simple answer to this challenge. This presentation will draw on case studies from recent disasters in New South Wales with reference to current policy and guidelines. It will also consider the opportunities and risks which government agencies and emergency services should consider when non-traditional organisations operate unofficial evacuation centres. Mr Scott Davey Managing Director, Crisisworks Improving the Post Impact Assessment process for fire-devastated Grampians region using mobile technology and the cloud - a case study In January this year a series of bushfires devastated the Grampians national park, resulting in extensive property and asset damage. Using Crisisworks mobile Post-Impact Assessment tools, Northern Grampians Shire Council was able to streamline and simplify the collection and processing of post-impact data, which resulted in cost savings, reduced errors, and an improvement in the planning and execution of recovery operations. This presentation is a case study of the post-impact assessment process used by Northern Grampians, and covers the following topics: - Using ipads and tablets to efficiently capture and transmit field data - Combining GPS, photography and form-based data into the one electronic record - The importance of offline capability - Using GPS and maps to identify properties where all forms of property identification have been destroyed - Assessing infrastructure and managing claimable costs - How to manage recovery beyond the Post Impact Assessment process - The difficulties of property records - Lessons learned If your organisation still uses clipboards and digital cameras to capture post-impact data, or if you ve spent time fumbling about with 99c apps to move to electronic data capture, then this case study will show you a best practice way of capturing and processing impact data to kickstart your recovery efforts.

5 Ms Susan Davie Senior Advisor - Australian Emergencies, Save the Children Safeguarding Children in Emergencies Current Australian Emergency Management Practice Current emergency management practice in Australia identifies children as part of vulnerable populations within communities. This is despite increasing evidence in the literature that identifies children as uniquely vulnerable in emergencies and requiring targeted planning in all areas of emergency management. Safeguarding children should be a priority of all staff and volunteers who have emergency management roles and this should be clearly articulated in all emergency management plans as a first step in protecting children in disasters. To determine the current level of planning regarding the needs of children in Australia, local government, unincorporated areas and alpine authority websites were accessed during March and April The websites were searched to access local emergency management plans. 570 websites were accessed and 239 plans were available to view. The plans were then analysed to determine what planning was undertaken that specifically related to children. An important child safeguarding measure is well understood and documented procedures for managing the unique needs of this vulnerable population. Due to their various needs which will depend on their developmental stage, children require special protection physically and emotionally when exposed to emergency events. Recent experience has shown that when communities and families are impacted by significant emergencies, parents and primary carers may be overwhelmed and not able to provide sufficient support to their children. This situation can further increase the vulnerability of children. Several areas have been identified to provide a framework to address this gap in planning and fall under the headings: plan development, plan content, plan communication and plan monitoring and implementation. There are a number of key activities, many of them straight forward and simple that can be undertaken by emergency management practitioners in these four key areas to progress planning that will safeguard children when emergencies and disasters occur. Mrs Sarah Dean Senior Advisor Disaster Management, Tablelands Regional Council Resilience in the Face of Disaster: Evaluation of a Community Development & Engagement Initiative in Queensland Queensland is disaster prone (Granger & Hayne, 2011:2), a State of extremes where natural hazards such as flooding, cyclones and wildfires are experienced on an annual basis. The unprecedented events of the 2010/11 Summer of Disasters, led to all 73 local governments being disaster declared (Department of Communities, 2011a). To assist communities recover and build resilience to future natural hazards, a Community Development & Recovery Package was activated, under Category C of the Natural Disaster Relief & Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA). This session will present the key findings of a Masters Thesis which sought to evaluate participants perceptions as to whether the package, jointly funded by the Australian & Queensland Governments, was effective in enhancing communities' resilience to natural hazard events. The literature review explores traditional and contemporary theoretical perspectives of emergency management and community resilience and identifies and evaluates its applicability in key legislation, policy and guidance. Primary research methods including key participant interviews, a focus group and a survey were also selected to evaluate implementation of the program in the Tablelands Regional Council area, as well as more broadly across Queensland.

6 The key findings demonstrate that despite a number of challenges defining the inaugural implementation of this package in Queensland, a community development approach to building resilience to natural hazard events has proven effective. This presentation will provide detail on a number of projects that have helped people move forward collectively, come together to develop skills, knowledge, self-confidence, community capacity and cohesion as well as identifying a number of strategic outcomes to enhance future implementation of NDRRA packages and to drive emergency management theory, policy and practice. Implementation of these recommendations by agencies working in the fields of emergency management and community development will lead to greater opportunities to prevent disasters and to foster long-term community resilience to natural hazards. A/Prof Matt Duckham Associate Professor, University of Melbourne Co-authors: A/Prof Allison Kealy, University of Melbourne A/Prof Kevin Tolhurst, University of Melbourne RISERnet: Situational awareness using environmental sensor networks Accurate, detailed, and up-to-date information about our changing environment is critical to decision making, both during and in preparing for a natural disaster. Networks of small, low-cost, sensor-enabled computing devices (called wireless sensor networks) can today help to generate such information. For example, RISERnet is a wireless sensor network of 100 nodes deployed over a 1km square region of forest in the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria. The network monitors a range of environmental parameters, including soil moisture, humidity, solar radiation, temperature, wind speed and direction, in real time. This information can improve situational awareness in a range of important disaster preparedness and response applications, such as improving the detail and timeliness of data inputs to bushfire models. Wireless sensor networks like RISERnet are sometimes termed "macroscopes". Like microscopes, they can assist us in making detailed observations of changes and complex interactions in the world. However, they are tuned to observe large-scale environments that are too big to see, rather than microsopic worlds, too small to see. This paper describes the design and deployment of RISERnet. The paper shows how real-time, fine-grained, macroscopic information about the forest environment can be monitored over periods of weeks or even months. The paper also discusses the collaboration necessary to successfully develop and deploy such technologies, involving interaction between academia, industry, and government. Finally, the paper indicates some of the ways in which this information is beginning to be integrated into larger information systems to support bushfire preparedness. Mr Neil Dufty Principal, Molino Stewart Pty Ltd What is disaster resilience education? Community disaster education is an integral component of emergency management in Australia and around the world. Its main goal is to promote public safety and, to a lesser extent, reduce damages. However, many governments around the world, including Australia, aim to also build community disaster resilience, with education viewed as a critical mechanism. There is therefore a need to examine current community disaster education practices with a view to aligning them to the broader goal of disaster resilience. To attempt this, an exploratory research methodology was utilised to examine possible education content and processes that could be used by emergency agencies and other organisations to design plans, programs and activities that build disaster resilience in local communities.

7 The research found that disaster resilience education content should not only cover preparedness and response aspects, but also learning about speedy and effective recovery for people, organisations (e.g. businesses) and communities. It found that disaster resilience education should also involve learning about the community itself, including how to reduce vulnerabilities and connect communities through social capital formation. As a result of the research, opportunities for disaster resilience education were identified in the main learning domains: behavioural, cognitive, affective and social. The findings demonstrated that many current disaster education programs are only using limited parts of this learning spectrum, although this would be significantly increased by further embracing social media as a disaster resilience learning medium. The research also identified a framework to design disaster resilience education programs that can be used for any community. The framework includes guiding principles, palettes from which to choose appropriate learning content and processes, and a series of filters to tailor the programs to specific disaster-impacted communities. Prof Jeremy Finn Professor of Law, University of Canterbury Co-authors: Professor Elizabeth Toomey Providing for legal issues in disaster management: lessons from New Zealand and the USA This paper identifies and discusses some of the most pressing legal issues that will arise from natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods and how disaster management practice may provide for these to be addressed in disaster management practice. (Many other legal issues will arise in the disaster recovery phase but space precludes their discussion here). The paper draws on empirical data from research into the consequences of the Canterbury earthquakes of and of earthquakes and hurricanes in North America, as well as the available literature from a range of jurisdictions. During the initial disaster management phase the legal issues most likely to surface are the effectiveness and scope of disaster management legislation, dealing with volunteers, access to both private and commercial properties and media/privacy law. If the disaster period extends for any substantial length of time there will also be issues as to environmental matters (particularly responsibility for the acquisition and/or disposal of damaged property), residential and commercial tenancies, employment law issues and family law issues (particularly issues of custody and access where the parents are not living together). Our research also shows the need for immediate and effective programs for providing legal advice to disaster victims who will frequently not have contacts or resources necessary for them to obtain advice. Overseas experience suggests strongly that such programs need to be planned well ahead of time and the persons in charge need to be involved at an early stage in general emergency and disaster management planning.

8 Ms Kate Fitzgerald A/Director, National Disaster Recovery Programs Branch, Emergency Management Australia Preparing for the Future Risks of Modernity In 1986, Ulrich Beck introduced the concept of risk societies in his highly influential work Risk Society and further expanded on the concept in World at Risk in Beck argued that modern society is facing the risks produced as a consequence of modernity and development which have given rise to unintended and surprising consequences. Previously, governments have responded to new risks with more technology, economic growth, science and infrastructure however there is a growing realisation that this is no longer desirable and is likely to result in even more risks. The Fukushima Nuclear Crisis, the Arab Spring and the Global Financial Crisis are the epitome examples of risk societies which have had global consequences. Emergency managers are seasoned at managing the anticipated/known consequences of natural disasters; however as the risk society of Australia grows we need to prepare for the unintended consequences of natural disasters. This presentation will explore how the unintended consequences will impact on front-line emergency services, present challenges for researchers and revolutionise government policy. Mr Donald Garlick Manager, Emergency Management, Ballarat Health Services The Vulnerable Persons in Emergencies Policy: Hiding vulnerable people in plain sight In the aftermath of the devastating Black Saturday bushfires the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission noted that a particular group of community members, known collectively as vulnerable people, were overrepresented in the mortality figures. One of the commission s recommendations was the development and maintenance of a list of vulnerable persons living in the community (Teague, McLeod & Pascoe, 2010, Vol. II, p.58). The vulnerable persons list, or register as it was later called, epitomised the ideal of shared responsibility between emergency management agencies and communities enshrined in documents such as the National Disaster Resilience Strategy (Council of Australian Governments, 2011, p.10). The implementation of the vulnerable persons list meant that emergency management agencies would now share responsibility with vulnerable people to collaboratively plan for emergencies as well as providing them with tailored evacuation advice in an emergency. This presentation will examine the origins of the vulnerable persons list recommendation, the development of a bureaucratic policy to manage the implications of the recommendation and how different stakeholder groups perceived that policy in practice; revealing how the policy has completely negated the intent of the vulnerable persons list recommendation and postulating a different system of collaboratively developing emergency management plans with vulnerable persons.

9 Mr Steve Glassey Associate Director, Centre for Risk, Resilience & Renewal Why pets matter in disaster: Don t shoot yourself by shooting them This presentation will introduce emergency managers to the importance of integrating the needs of companion animals into planning and response. This presentation covers the human-animal bond, the lessons of Hurricane Katrina and other disasters around the globe, busting the myths associated with animals in disasters, evidence based recommendations to protect human and animal life in disasters, practical tips for public education. The presentation is aimed at emergency managers, emergency service responders, welfare volunteers and animal care professionals. The presnetation is based around a number of case studies which challenge the assumptions many emergency managers have around this topic and aims to motivate them to create integrated animal welfare emergency programmes. Mr Ken Granger Director, Environmental Risk Science and Audit Pty Ltd ERSA Co-authors: Flo Bridger, Environmental Risk Science and Audit Mikila Rosewall, Environmental Risk Science and Audit Emergency Risk Management in Australia and the Pacific: Information Policy and Governance Emergency risk management has evolved significantly since it was first introduced in Australia in A number of states adopted the approach quickly and developed processes to assist local governments, in particular, to develop their emergency management plans based on the risk management process. With changes to the criteria for NDRRA funding, a flurry of activity followed in which many emergency risk assessment projects were undertaken. The risk management approach also found its way into the Pacific through the work of SOPAC. A considerable amount of public money was spent on these studies over six or seven years. Their quality varied considerably, with only a small proportion being based on good risk science and comprehensive information. While those local governments did tick the box as having undertaken an emergency risk assessment, little of that effort was translated into local emergency management plans or risk reduction projects. In more recent years considerable effort has been expended in establishing a standard emergency risk assessment methodology (i.e. NERAG). It has been turned into a veritable bureaucratic camel and is widely ignored in most jurisdictions. At the same time, changes of government in several jurisdictions and the recommendations from various post-disaster judicial inquiries have led to changes in the structural arrangements of emergency management agencies and the re-working of policies and procedures. Much of that activity has been undertaken in the absence of the detailed information needed to support them. This paper explores the critical linkages between information, emergency risk assessment and risk audit procedures in the development of emergency risk management policy, procedures and governance. It addresses these issues both in Australia and in Pacific Island countries.

10 Mr Trevor Hazell Executive Manager Programs and Services, Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health Co-authors: Ms Jacqueline Coombe, Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health Dr Robyn Munro, Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health Professor Prasuna Reddy, Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health Teacher-mediated interventions to support mental health and wellbeing amongst children and adolescents following a disaster: a process of identifying what is needed Disaster recovery programs have typically addressed the immediate and material needs of communities impacted by disasters. There is an increasing recognition of the need to address the psychological vulnerability of communities after disasters, particularly that of children and adolescents. Schools are uniquely situated in the post-disaster environment to reach a large population of young people quickly and easily. Teachers are arguably well placed to administer mental health promotion interventions to support their students. A recent literature review sought to identify school-based, teacher-mediated interventions to support child and adolescent mental health and wellbeing during and after disaster. Few empirical studies were found. While the mental health promotion message was similar, the interventions varied in their structure, duration and implementation. None of these studies were conducted in Australia. A follow-up search found a number of mental health and education organisations and departments had developed high-quality information resources for schools and teachers and that these were available on-line. The actual use of these resources by schools and teachers has not been evaluated. There appear to be no formal programs designed to assist schools to utilise these on-line resources. To ascertain whether there is a need to provide additional assistance to schools to support the social and emotional wellbeing of students after a disaster, a consensus workshop will be conducted in NSW in March Experts from the pre-school, primary school and secondary school sectors as well as experts in child and adolescent mental health and wellbeing will participate in the meeting. The workshop will investigate the best ways in which schools can incorporate the learnings from the empirical studies and to utilise available evidence-informed information resources. This paper will present the findings from the literature review, the resources that are available to schools, and the outcomes of the workshop Mr Matt Heysmand Detective Inspector, New South Wales Police Force Incident Command and Control Training for Senior Police The presentation highlights senior level NSW Police Force training in Incident and Emergency Command and Control. The Incident Commanders Course (ICC) commenced in Since then 533 Senior Officers have been trained. The course enhances the officer s command and control skills and understanding of the Incident Command and Control System (ICCS). The ICC is facilitated by Principal Tutor Detective Inspector Matt HEYSMAND. Lectures are delivered by subject matter experts. Desktop scenarios and a day-long Simulated Operation enhance and reinforce learning outcomes across the subject areas.

11 Day 1 encompasses an overview of ICCS functional areas. Highlighted topics include Context of Command, Risk Management, Commanders Intent and Public Information. On Day 2 a Senior Tactical Operations Unit officer and the Senior NSW Negotiator lecture and lead discussion on integrating specialised response units with local Police Commanders in the successful and safe resolution of High Risk Incidents. Day 2 culminates in a High Risk desktop exercise. Day 3 involves Public Order issues. Presentations include Crowd Psychology and Working with Public Order Legislation. A desktop Public Order exercise concludes Day 3. Day 4 focuses on Emergency Management and is led by the Region Emergency Management Officer. The presentations highlight the Police role in emergencies requiring a significant and co-ordinated multi-agency response. The significance of roles of Site Controller, LEOCON and Police Commander are discussed. The concluding desktop exercise explores a recent flood scenario. The final day of the ICC is devoted to a simulated Public Order operation. A plenary session debriefs participants on command team role performance and the resolution of the incident. An Assistant Commissioner acts in an observational role and provides feedback to participants on their performance. Graduates of the ICC are further developed in the field at major events such as NYE, Mardi Gras and Naval Fleet Review. Dr Gwyneth Howell Senior Lecturer, University of Western Sydney Co-authors: Dr Mel Taylor Queensland Natural Disasters 2011 and a comparative study of social media engagement During the 2011 and 2013 natural disasters that occurred in Queensland realised intense community social media engagement. Initially, formal and official organisations were ill prepared to respond in terms of understanding of this channel of communication during times of disaster. This paper reports on the findings of a quantitative study comparing the levels and types of social media engagement undertaken by the community during these events. Data indicates that the public relied on a mix of formal and informal information sources, often using social media to re-post or re-tweet links from government websites felt to be of use to communities, thus acting as filters and amplifiers of official information during the acute stage of the disaster. How social media, specifically their core strengths of timely information exchange and promotion of connectedness, act as sources of psychological first aid in the early stages of these disasters is identified. The paper also explores why these sites continue to operate and engage with a diverse group of participants. It appears that these organic sites today, play a key role in supporting aspects of community resilience while maintaining strong participation as participants undertake the recovery phase of the disaster. This research identifies the need to understand and optimise social media during all phases of disasters to enhance the resilience and well being of affected communities. The economic benefits and the potential to save life and property through effective communication using social media during disasters, emergencies and crises is important to the future from both a social and an economic perspective. This paper seeks to inform the public policy debate to maintain good health and strengthening communities social and economic fabric post a disaster event

12 Mr Craig Hynes Operations Manager, Executive Risk Solutions Crisis Management within an Incident Management Structure. Are we supporting our people effectively when things go wrong? The Emergency Services Industry has been on a steady rate of improvement related to Incident & Disaster Management operational systems and associated procedures in recent years. With several high profile events occurring since 2000, a number of reviews have resulted in changes to such matters as legislation, Incident Management Systems, Resource allocation models, Community Safety, and Warning Systems. Whilst these improvements have resulted in a demonstrable and effective change in the way disasters and major incidents are handled, this presentation poses; are there any gaps to address in the Crisis Management Systems of the agencies tasked to respond and deal with these events? When a crisis occurs during an emergency incident the operational control of the incident suddenly is faced with the arduous task of dealing with the ongoing incident and the complications of a developing crisis. The crisis could be a combination of factors (adverse media, community outrage, poor decision making) or an isolated incident such as a fatality or a serious injury to a responder. Left to the Incident Control system and coordination structure to deal with, this can result in gaps in the overall effectiveness of the support and recovery actions required. The Incident Control structure, already under pressure to deal with an incident, can benefit from the implementation of a further support structure such as Crisis Management Team to take on the role of Crisis Support, whilst the Incident Control structure remains focussed on the response. The Author, Craig Hynes AFSM, has come from a long career in Emergency Services and Major Incident Management. He is now working in Crisis & Emergency Management consultancy, predominantly in the Mining & Resource sector. He sees an opportunity for Emergency Service agencies to improve their approach to this aspect of Operations. Ms Christine Ianna Museum & Conservation Consultant, PRIVATE Queensland Disaster Information Network (Q-Dis) - a resource for Queensland s heritage and cultural sectors This paper will discuss the role of the Queensland Disaster Information Network (Q-Dis) in training and education within the heritage and cultural sectors in Queensland. It is recognised that heritage and cultural collections are essential to the recovery of communities devastated by disasters especially those located in isolated and remote areas. Many volunteer hours and community resources are spent in maintaining these collections each year and it was recognised that there was a need to provide training and education to assist communities when these collections were effected by disasters. In December 2010 an online cross-sectoral discussion group for sharing information on disaster preparedness and planning for cultural and heritage resources was launched at Museum and Galleries Services (Qld). It rapidly evolved into a hub for posting news and updates on whom and what had been affected by the unprecedented weather events that impacted on Queensland in the first weeks of 2011.

13 Information posted to the site can be either sector specific or more general. It has included links related to the salvage of specific materials and calls for volunteers to assist in a specific recovery project as well as media releases and information on disaster relief and funding programs as soon as they became available. Q-Dis is a self moderated site hosted on the Museums Australia website that has contributed to training and education in this critical area of community recovery. Three years on the site continues to have a role in education and information sharing within Queensland s heritage and cultural sectors. Dr Dasarath Jayasuriya Assistant Director Water Forecasting, Australian Bureau of Meteorology Co-authors: Dr Ray Canterford, Division Head (Hazards, Warnings and Forecasts), Bureau of Meteorology Meteorological Services meeting Future Emergency Planning and Response The Bureau of Meteorology is aware of increasing risks due to extreme weather events and is strengthening its capabilities to respond to these events by focusing on people, processes and systems that are underpinned by data and science. This mandate is supported by the recommendations from the 2013 Senate Inquiry into Recent Trends and Preparedness for Extreme Weather Events and the 2011 Review of the Bureau s capacity to respond to future extreme weather and natural disaster events and provide seasonal forecasting services (Munro Review). Extreme weather events can manifest into floods, droughts, tropical cyclones, fires and heat waves. The Bureau is operationally responsible for providing warnings for these events and in the last decade, it has been particularly active in issuing severe weather forecast and warnings as Australia faced record droughts, catastrophic fires, record floods and now, record heat waves. Following the Munro review the Bureau will be undertaking a number of initiatives. These include, but are not limited to, increasing the number of frontline meteorologists and hydrologists; standardising and harmonising products and services across all jurisdictions, establishing a specialist function for extreme weather to sit within a new Bureau National Operations Centre and developing a new Storm Tide Forecasting service. Progressive implementation of Munro Review initiatives over the next four years and other Bureau science and operational programs will enhance our ability to meet severe weather threats more effectively and efficiently. The presentation will highlight the touch points and collaboration and partnership with emergency service agencies in meeting our joint and challenging demands for protection of life and property. To achieve this the Bureau will also be working across all levels of government emergency service areas to determine the best possible hazard impact prediction services.

14 Dr Dasarath Jayasuriya Assistant Director Water Forecasting, Australian Bureau of Meteorology Co-authors: Mr Jeff Perkins Strengthening Flood Forecasting and Warning Services at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Over the last 5 years Australia has experienced a series of extreme weather events and severe and repeated flooding across many States. With increased climate variability and change, there is potential for more extreme weather and flooding events in the future. The Bureau has recognised the increased risks and is strengthening its Flood Forecasting and Warning capabilities, nationally. In 2012, the Australian Government announced the 'Review of the Bureau s capacity to respond to future extreme weather and natural disaster events and provide seasonal forecasting services' (Munro Review). The Commonwealth Government response to the Munro review strengthened the Bureau s capacity to respond to emergency situations by supporting a number of initiatives. The paper presented at the Conference will provide a cohesive narrative and an overview of these initiatives affecting flood forecasting and warning including: Boosting the number of front line severe weather and flood forecasters; Developing staff and system capabilities to provide surge capacity to the regionally based services either as flying squad or through the Bureau National Operations Centre; Developing a flood warning competency framework and associated training plan; Investing in a major upgrade of the data management and hydrological forecasting system (HyFS) and transition to the new system by mid 2015; Improvements to the products and the web site to provide more graphical products to improve the situational awareness of people affected; and Documenting the roles and responsibilities as well as specifying clearly the levels of services provided by the Bureau. The latter includes formalising the hydrological data sharing arrangements with the agencies that provide data vital for forecasting floods. Progressive implementation of Munro initiatives and other related business Improvement projects will enable the Bureau to meet future flood forecasting and warning challenges more effectively and efficiently contributing to enhancing public safety. Mr Peter Kueffer Clinical Director, Victoria State Emergency Service Resilience - a Proactive Solution to the Challenges of Crisis Intervention Numerous studies confirm that following any disaster, regardless of scale, psychological casualties exceed physical casualties. Furthermore, research continues to demonstrate that emergency responders are at significantly higher risk than the general population, not only in the area of general stress reactions but in the development of mental health disorders including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In spite of advances in crisis intervention methodologies, interventions have traditionally been reactive and event specific. Moreover and in spite of methodological guidelines, they are too often applied outside the recommended timeframes and as standalone solutions. This applies equally to CISM Group Processes as well as the range of Psychological First Aid methodologies currently practised. The need for a proactive approach to issues of stress and mental health disorders as they affect emergency responders has been evident for over a decade and was highlighted by Michael Kaminsky in Research by Albert Bandura and George Everly and associates has not only developed a model for understanding

15 Resilience as a factor which either reduces or prevents stress reactions, but also a methodology for developing and enhancing personal and organisational Resilience. A key factor is leadership. A focus on Resilience has the advantage of proactivity while incorporating CISM and Psychological First Aid methodologies. Indeed, research in the USA and Australia has shown the importance of CISM Pre Incident Education. What was viewed as one factor in the multicomponent CISM model is now being seen as a method for building Resilience. Given the risks to emergency responders mental health due to the nature of their roles, Resilient Leadership methodologies and their focus on building individual and unit Resilience offer a way forward and represent the next phase of crisis intervention. Dr Constance Lever-Tracy Adjunct with Full Academic Status (Retired), Sociology Flinders University of South Australia Co-authors: Ms Carolyn Corkindale Willingness of Australians to contribute now for long term natural disaster mitigation The discourses about climate disasters and about anthropogenic climate change have been converging recently, especially since Hurricane Sandy. Questions about the acceptability of expensive measures for mitigation and adaptation become more urgent if future disasters are expected to be more frequent, more severe and more unpredictable because of climate change. Experience and awareness of disasters is becoming more widespread and the dangerous future is already beginning to be manifest. This paper seeks to explore and clarify public attitudes to contributing substantial sums now to reduce future dangers, through a nationwide survey of 1502 Australian adults. There was no evidence that people value the near future more than the distant future. Younger cohorts and those who had had experience of disaster or who knew those who had were significantly more willing to contribute. Miss Jane Lodge Manager, Welfare & Recovery, Auckland Council Surprises happen - building resilience within the business sector Surprises happen. Both good things and bad things should surprise us when they happen but we should not be surprised that they happen. When surprises will affect investments, operations, or personnel it becomes important to plan for the ability to bounce back. This often means building flexibility and diversity into the options available for critical resources. There seems to be some tantalizing clues in current work being done on the concept of resilience the ability of a system to bounce back after a bad surprise. Building resilience within the business sector. What is business resilience? Why is business resilience important to emergency managers? How does it impact on individuals, families and communities? This session will examine why resilience is important to the emergency management sector and how it adds value to businesses. We will explore simple, easy to implement resilience tools and how to engage with the business sector by discussing how to gain access to the business sector, the concept of business resilience particularly within readiness and recovery, implementing a scorecard approach to benchmark current state of resilience, identifying simple steps to embed resilience and ensure minimum disruption and maximum ability to stay operational.

16 Mr Iain Mackenzie Inspector General Emergency Management, Office of Inspector General Emergency Management Disaster Management: Creating a Framework to Provide Assurance The 2013 Queensland Police and Community Safety Review prompted significant reform in relation to disaster management. A significant observation was that the current cooperative arrangements.are not sustainable as the sole means of ensuring continuous improvement and offering the government assurance of the systems capability to protect Queenslanders. The Review recommended the creation of an Inspector General Emergency Management, charged with the responsibility of providing the Premier, Government and people of Queensland an assurance of public safety. This is to be achieved, in part, by establishing and implementing a performance standards and assurance framework. The framework will direct, guide and focus work of all agencies across all tiers of Government on the desired outcomes of the Queensland disaster management arrangements. Defining and designing this assurance framework has been a major focus of the office of IGEM since being established in late The framework must drive continuous improvement, it will consist of a range of assurance and assessment methodologies that help agencies deliver high level disaster and emergency management outcomes. It will not create red tape. My test will be that the value created by implementing and assessing standards should outweigh any implementation costs. Standards within the framework will be specific, and outcome focussed. They will meet the expectations of communities, agencies and the Queensland Government and be applicable across all agencies and levels of Government. Assessment activities will include self-assessment tools, reviews, training and exercises, and postevent analysis, they should recognize the validity of differing levels of capability and maturity for disaster management, rather than a simple pass/fail approach. My challenge is to ensure the framework can deliver the assurance sought by government. This paper examines how we will achieve this through collaboration with our partners who must share in this collective responsibility and accept individual accountability. Mr Clive Manley Civil Defence and Emergency Management Director, Auckland Council Auckland s Crisis and Emergency Management Approach Becoming a truly competitive international city means that Auckland has to keep functioning well, no matter what. Its reputation can be built or lost by how it manages emerging incidents. The speed at which the council responds of is of the essence, with each minute counting in the early stages. Creating organisational cultures which recognise emerging incidents before they impact on reputation is crucial. Successful resolution requires getting the right expertise and resources available at the right level in the organisation early. Auckland Council coordinates all incidents from the smallest to a large scale emergency, in a division reporting directly to the Chief Executive and Mayor. The head of this division is part of the Executive Leadership Team of Council and is also the Auckland Civil Defence Controller. This presentation will share the principles and practice involved and draws from experiences from the last three years since Auckland Council s amalgamation.

17 Mr Simon Markham Manager Policy and Customer Service, Waimakariri District Council Retreat in Response to Disaster: Kaiapoi and the Canterbury Earthquakes, New Zealand The Canterbury Earthquake Sequence led to 8,000 residential properties in Greater Christchurch being subject to red zoning classification in view of the extensive property damage and assessed risk of continued residential use. Close to 20,000 residents have relocated from these areas over the last 2.5 years under a Government relocation programme. In the case of the town of Kaiapoi and adjoining beach settlements in North Canterbury, significantly impacted by the Sept.2010 earthquake, some 1100 properties were red zoned and around a quarter of homes are being demolished. Waimakariri District Council has been a support party to an extensive assistance programme to households as they have moved through the process of relocation and has undertaken extensive engagement with and surveying of red zoners during this difficult journey. This paper considers the process, issues and consequences experienced by households, and discusses the impacts of the disaster on the Kaiapoi community and how they are being managed. Retreat experience in this setting, while an acute post disaster response has relevance to retreat in relation to longer term climate change adaptation. Mr Tony Marks Volunteer Officer, RFSQ Volunteer engagement and alignment: Observations of a volunteer on the value of empowerment and a shared set of core values Aim: The importance of actively engaging and aligning volunteers with the vision and direction of the leadership of a volunteer fire service is not often given a high priority. Yet, a shared set of core values around which volunteers are able to be effectively engaged, aligned and empowered is really what fire services need. Content: Issues such as legal liability, training, family, work, health, age and demographic shifts frequently appear as disincentives to volunteer participation. While these factors are relevant, it is a personal observation that volunteers weigh up a number of other factors that are not readily identifiable. Importantly, they are difficult to objectively measure and are matters of perception by each volunteer, yet they are, from personal experience, powerful contributors to volunteers deciding to leave. Disempowerment, a lack of focus upon identifying and agreeing a set of shared values and rigid adherence to managed processes are key indicators of a fire service likely to experience higher levels of volunteer dissatisfaction and attrition. Paradoxically, fire services seemingly continue to introduce more processes seen as red tape by volunteers further alienating the volunteers they seek to protect. Conclusion: Fire service volunteers remain committed where they are aligned with and engaged by the leadership of their service. Where this is effective, volunteers will be empowered to actively participate in the vision and direction of their organisation and a healthy set of shared values will exist. Where this is ineffective, then personal observation is that volunteers become increasingly alienated and their involvement is characterised by frustration, dissatisfaction, negativity and protest; the ultimate protest being to leave. Hence, fire services seeking to improve volunteer involvement need to actively and periodically measure the alignment and engagement of their volunteers and to clearly articulate the values the organisation stands for and expects to be demonstrated.

18 Ms Julie Maron Senior Lawyer, Legal Aid NSW Co-authors: Mr Joel Townsend, Victoria Legal Aid Mr James Farrell, Director, Queensland Association of Independent Legal Service Meeting communities' needs for legal assistance after natural disasters Legal Assistance Services play an important role in helping people recover from disasters and emergencies, particularly as victims turn to rebuilding their lives. Legal advice and help can ease some of the shock and trauma of victims by helping them to deal with a plethora of immediate needs which could become overwhelming, such as Wills and estate administration, insurance claims, dealing with utility companies and replacement of lost documents. The extent and breadth of issues that require legal intervention after disaster extend, however, well beyond these more immediate issues. Other, sometimes unforeseen, legal issues continue to emerge, and early intervention in these issues can help prevent family and relationship breakdown, while speedy resolution of financial, employment, housing and rebuilding problems can help avoid a downward cycle into unemployment, debt and financial hardship. Additional legal issues can arise when governments and communities investigate and review emergency responses and introduce new regulations and practices to prevent or respond to disasters. This paper will examine the experiences of legal assistance services in the 2009 Victorian bushfires, 2011 and 2013 Queensland floods and other disasters and emergencies. Drawing on these experiences, the presenters will discuss the need for legal assistance services to be integrated into existing and future emergency response plans, so that stronger collaboration can be developed with other services such as local councils and health and welfare agencies. The speakers will discuss how the provision of legal assistance should be recognised in emergency management arrangements across Australia, as timely and efficient resolution of legal issues will ultimately assist government by limiting the burden on other social and health-related resources. Ms Stephanie McConachy Stakeholder Relations Coordinator, Austraining International Co-authors: Steven Williams International volunteering: outcomes and partnerships across the Pacific The Australian Volunteers for International Development program, funded by the Australian Government, offers a range of opportunities for skilled volunteers to live, work and make a difference as part of Australia s overseas aid program. As Core Partner of the Australian Volunteers program, Austraining International has mobilised over 5000 skilled and youth volunteers to develop and support capacity building and community partnerships. Steven Williams spent 30 months in Samoa as an Ambulance Training Officer. During this time he - Assessed local staff to determine skill level. By both written and practical examination. - Developed and delivered a training program based on skill levels.a training program has been developed as has workbooks, training manuals, multiple scenarios and various test papers. - Training implemented and continually reviewed. Initially at an elementary level, as progress and skills advance more advanced training. - Work with trainees in pre-hospital situations. Act as a mentor/supervisor of local staff in the pre-hospital environment. This presentation will also discuss how organisations in Australia can establish and strengthen international partnerships through Australian Volunteers for International Development.

19 Prof Jim McGowan Adjunct Professor, Griffith University Resilience objectives compromised by current Emergency Management Policy and Funding Frameworks The policy and funding frameworks for disaster management must be re-framed to be consistent with the strategic policy objective of the NSDR of building resilience. Resilience requires the integration of the prevention, preparedness, response and recovery (PPRR) phases to provide feedback loops to improve performance, policy development and resourcing priorities. Currently these feedback loops are poorly developed, as evidenced by the disproportionate funding allocations between the response and recovery phases and the prevention and preparation phases. These policy and funding gaps have long term implications that not only create significant demands on the budget, but also on productivity and economic performance. The investment in prevention and mitigation has been miserly in comparison to the expenditure of response and reconstruction, despite evidence of the economic returns and resilience benefits that would result. The 2013 Regional Australia Institute Report, From Disaster to Renewal; The Centrality of Business Recovery to Community Resilience presents a further challenge for policy makers. It argues that recovery needs to be viewed from a resilience framework, moving beyond the traditional narrow focus on relief and reconstruction to incorporate renewal and adaption strategies to enable affected communities to adapt to their post disaster circumstances. The origins of this policy and funding incoherence can be attributed to the overwhelming focus by all levels of government on the National Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements and the hardship grants to affected individuals. They are reactive. They are triggered by an event and are consequently focussed of response and the initial recovery, reflecting when political and media attention is strongest. The policy and funding arrangements need to be derived from the NSDR and based upon the shared PPRR obligations of government, local communities, the private sector and individuals. These times of economic austerity make the imperative of a coherent, comprehensive approach to natural disasters even more pressing. This is not a cry for additional resources but for the redirection of resources to promote community resilience through mitigation strategies and a more focused approach to community recovery. Mr Peter McNamee Executive Coordinator Disaster Management, City of Gold Coast City of Gold Coast using cloud technology to provide total situational awareness during an emergency for multiagency response Under Queensland's disaster management legislation, the City of Gold Coast is primarily responsible for managing disasters that occur within its boundaries. To meet this obligation, the Council of the City of Gold Coast has established the Gold Coast City Local Disaster Management Group, approved the City s Local Disaster Management Plan and operates the Gold Coast City Disaster Coordination Centre. To promote best practice in its disaster management, the City of Gold Coast continually reviews regularly its disaster management operations, especially following disasters that occur within the City and beyond. One of the key learnings for the City following the devastating 2011 South East Queensland Floods event, is the importance of maintaining situational awareness and a common operation picture (COP) amongst the many agencies that contribute to a community's disaster response. This instigated a search by Council for new technologies to support the City's disaster operations, which pointed to cloud and mobile options to share disaster-related information between agencies and personnel.

20 In September 2012, in accordance with Council's corporate governance procedures, the City of Gold Coast commissioned a new disaster/emergency management information system accessible by all of the City's disaster management agencies. The new system incorporates centrally managed live communications with all key stakeholders tailored dashboards to suit meet individual needs including links to geospatial information workflows to automate a range of functions that have previously been managed manually analytics and reporting to guide decision making This case study presents how cloud and mobile technologies have been embraced by the City of Gold Coast to enhance its disaster operations, and associated challenges and opportunities. Dr Wendy Miller Senior Research Fellow (Sustainable Energy / Energy Efficiency), Science and Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology The role of the built environment in risk mitigation, resilience and disaster recovery The nature of our housing stock is a key determining factor in the ability of our citizens to manage risk, be resilient to various natural and human events, and to recover from these events. Recent research has been examining current challenges posed by our housing stock and exploring potential solutions from a range of perspectives. In a collaborative project funded by the National Climate Change Adaptation Fund, a multi-disciplinary team of researchers in three states explored the impact of heat waves on houses and occupants, and proposed changes to building regulations, air conditioning standards and building design, to enable occupants to better cope with heat waves. In the Brisbane flood in 2011 many families were directly affected by the flood waters, but many more were indirectly affected because of loss of electricity services. Several research projects have been looking at issues of urban design and housing design, to determine how houses could be made more resilient by incorporating some level of autonomy that would have benefits under normal circumstances as well as in times of severe events. For example, a combination of building quality, energy and water efficiency, water storage, solar power and battery storage can provide lights, water pumping, communication and refrigeration at a household level for a period of time. This would alleviate pressure on emergency services and also allow those households to contribute to the recovery effort after severe events. A large amount of information about individual buildings is generated during its lifecycle, but very little of this information is collated and utilised in a manner that can be used to inform decisions by purchasers, occupants, insurers, valuers, financiers or government agencies. A recent project has mapped the flow of this information, the relationship between various stakeholders and the impacts of these relationships on other stakeholders. This mapping has shown the potential benefit and value of establishing national building files (in a similar manner to personal medical records). It is suspected that such a building register would have benefits for disaster management and planning.