Preparing for extreme weather events
A major focus of this inquiry was to consider how well prepared the
Australian community, together with utilities, essential and emergency services
and industry are for the predicted increase in the number and intensity of
extreme weather events. The impacts of past extreme weather events and projected
future impacts are discussed in other chapters.
Many witnesses made a strong argument for decreasing human effects on
the environment in order to reduce the impact of extreme weather events. However,
the reality is that cyclones, heavy rainfall causing floods, rising sea levels
and tidal surges, heatwaves or bushfires have always been a factor in
Australia's climate and will continue to be so, probably to an increasing
extent. For this reason, improving the nation's preparedness for these events remains
an important way to reduce the risk and impact on people, property and economic
stability. The concepts which underpin such preparedness are those of
adaptation and mitigation and these are discussed in detail in this chapter. The
chapter commences with a consideration of the evidence about preparedness in
key sectors and then examines how this applies in emergency situations.
Adaptation and mitigation
Adaptation and mitigation are strategies which refer to positive preparation
for extreme events. Specifically, adaptation refers to how societies and
ecologies adjust to accommodate new weather patterns, while mitigation refers
to measures that are undertaken to reduce the impact of potentially disastrous
events when they do occur. Adaptation and mitigation are 'very, very closely
related' according to Associate Professor David King of the Centre of Disaster
We feel that adaptation is one strategy encompassed within
mitigation and that if you are trying to get people to be prepared for the next
hazard event then you are helping them in terms of adaptation for long-term changes
and for increased regularity of events.
The Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science,
Research and Tertiary Education (DIICCSRTE) defined adaptation as 'managing the
impact of climate change'.
The department described government funded research into adaptation and the
linkage between overarching information and practical implementation:
...the government provid[es] the information on which adaptation
decisions are based....When it comes to decision making, you need these two
things to come together, being the capability at the local level to use that
information and to look at how decisions are robust to a range of future
This section describes information received by the committee about Australia's
preparedness for extreme weather events. The committee was advised that
preparedness varies across the country. While some outstanding examples of
adaptation in some geographical locations were presented, deficiencies and gaps
were also identified. Likewise some sectors appeared to be better prepared than
others. As the Director of the National Climate Change Adaptation Research
Facility (NCCARF) put it, all levels of government and the private sector are
'on a pretty steep learning curve with respect to extreme events'.
Mr John Connor of the Climate Institute described preparedness as
...we compiled Australia's first-ever sectoral resilience and
readiness indicators for these sectors. We were surprised, given Australia's
history of extremes, that the readiness was patchy. It was poorly coordinated
and reliant on historic data. Our infrastructure managers are walking backwards
with blinkers on into an uncertain and high-risk feature.
Associate Professor Laura Stocker from the Curtin University
Sustainability Policy Institute went so far to say that there was inadequate
planning by the state government and general ignorance in communities.
The committee heard that in contrast, in the Northern Territory where
extreme events occur more regularly, this regularity means that preparations
for and responses to such events are better developed:
I would just like to say by way of introduction that the
Northern Territory is quite used to having emergency events every year. It is
well practised in the management of flooding through the wet season as a matter
of course, with towns being cut off as a matter of course. So a lot of what
might be seen as an emergency down in the southern regions is a fact of life up
here and we are organised to deal with it.
The committee was advised that the business sector was conspicuously
absent from long-term planning for extreme weather. Mr Ian Dunlop, formerly an
executive in the energy industry advised the committee that, in his view,
business leaders had underestimated both the extent and speed of climate change.
This section provides an overview of some of the issues relating to
implementation of strategies for adaptation and mitigation. Green Cross
Australia gave an example of how the twin strategies of mitigation and
adaptation can deliver benefits:
...where you can integrate adaptation and mitigation it is a
great idea. When we talk to companies like BlueScope Steel that have rooftops
that resist hail and also are painted white—so there are less insurance claims,
there is less damage from storms, they are reflective and cooler to live in—it
just strikes us as a win-win.
Professor David Karoly, representing the Wentworth Group of Concerned
Scientisits, described some successful adaptations taking place in Australia in
response to previous disasters, but noted that much more was needed:
In fact, what has happened in Australia over time is
changes—very sensible changes—in adaptation to past extreme events, such as
Cyclone Tracy leading to changes in building codes in northern Australia, or
changes in protection against wildfires, and the massive improvements that we
have had in the technology and infrastructure that is now available, such as
the helicopters and the aircraft, for fighting bushfires. There have been
massive adaptive responses. They are not sufficient.
Despite these positive examples, according to the Australian Local
Government Association (ALGA), there has been a reduction in local mitigation
projects in recent years.
Similarly, Mr Glenn Evans of the Floodplain Management Association
claimed that flood risk management plans have been left unimplemented due to
lack of funding and that 'flood mitigation has ceased to be a top-of-mind issue
in all levels of government'.
Mr Evans was of the view that local councils had reduced numbers of staff with
necessary expertise, leading to increased delays in implementation.
Mr Evans expressed concern that assessment of flood risk in land use
planning did not take place at the appropriate time in the process:
There needs to be an assessment of the flood risk of land
proposed for development right at the beginning of the planning process. In New
South Wales the assessment of flood risk often happens a fair way up the chain.
You might actually be at the development application stage before there are
detailed flood assessments. By that time there are already financial
commitments to develop that site. Even if the site may be deemed a suitable
risk, there are often huge additional costs involved in building things on that
site to suit the flood risk; whereas, if the assessment of flood risk had been
carried out initially it might have been decided, "This is not really a
good place to build".
Mitigation for flooding often takes the form of protective walls, but
witnesses indicated that flood planning is more complex than simply erecting
defences. While protective infrastructure can reduce vulnerability to floods, the
committee was advised that 'they also bring problems because they can encourage
more and more development behind them and no levy is going to stop every flood'.
This concern was echoed by Mr Evans who argued that levees can cause
complacency about flood risk:
There will nearly always be a bigger flood than what you
design for...If it overtops, it comes very quickly and it becomes too late for
people to evacuate, so there is the potential for disaster...[Locals] ignored the
advice [to evacuate] because there was a mitigation structure in place.
Another weakness in general land use planning was identified by NCCARF who
stated that local government:
...lack[s] the support that they need in terms of policy,
regulation and legislation in order to feel that they are able to act around
adaptation. Especially people working in local government but also people
working in [the] private sector do not feel that they have got the regulatory
framework that allows them to act with confidence.
A significant aspect of mitigation is how it is to be funded, as
multiple local projects, many as yet uncosted, would be involved. The Insurance
Australia Group (IAG) has analysed funding as having two aspects: affordability
of insurance (see Chapter 3) and government access to funding. IAG advised the
The first one is about insurance affordability and how we
make sure that the broader spectrum of community can continue to afford
insurance and protect their assets so that they do not ultimately fall back to
The second piece then is: how does government actually get
access to funding and coordinate funding to be able to invest in mitigation
that will ultimately reduce the economic cost of losses over time?
Representatives of the insurance industry alerted the committee to the
practical implications of adapting to extreme weather events:
From the insurance industry's perspective, the need for
adaptation to extreme weather conditions is not a theoretical exercise or
something that we need to contemplate doing in 10, 20 or 30 years' time; it is
something that we are paying money and claims about right now, so we actually
need to see adaptation of the built environment sooner rather than later.
While the committee heard some good news in relation to mitigation and
adaptation at a local level, evidence presented to the committee suggests that
there is much to be done before adaptation and mitigation strategies are being
The committee considered evidence that poor communication, inadequate coordination
and inconsistency are among the most significant barriers to preparation for
extreme weather events. The challenge of coordination across different
jurisdictions and sectors is discussed in detail in Chapter 5 and will only be
briefly addressed here. However, from the evidence the committee notes that
while some progress has been made in communicating important messages to enable
community members and organisations to be better prepared for extreme weather
events, there is still much work to be done in this area.
Dr Cassandra Goldie, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Council
of Social Service (ACOSS), encouraged the Commonwealth government to take an
active role in collaboration:
We think there is a need for a deliberate process at that
level to draw up what has worked, to work out what is scalable and what does
need to be mandated, and what on the alternative needs to be enabling. ...Also I
think we do need to be ensuring there is a way to get through to local
organisations. We also see local government having a key role here in providing
the frameworks for the ongoing coordination of local action.
Dr Blair Trewin from the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic
Society observed that:
There is definitely a need for improving communication
between the agencies doing research and people on the ground who are at the
sharp end of climate change adaptation.... Another part of that is making sure
there is good and relevant resource material available from the science
community in a form that is accessible to other decision makers.
Another example of confusion was this description by the Tasmanian
Branch of the Environmental Defenders Office:
At a recent climate change adaptation forum in Hobart,
numerous council representatives expressed frustration at the volume of conflicting
information regarding climate change impacts and the difficulty in obtaining
credible, consistent advice to guide their policy decisions.
The implication of a lack of coordination and communication is that if
people do not know who is responsible or how to organise the multiple strands
of adaptation and mitigation, then preparedness will be disjointed and much
The committee also heard evidence that there are two aspects of
communication which are relevant—communication between instrumentalities and
sectors, and communication to citizens on the ground in vulnerable situations.
The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) noted the following
principles of effective communication:
local specific information
- research on the best way of communicating the risks of climate
change and extreme weather so citizens are prepared.
The committee considers that good communication with local groups is
vital if such principles are to be applied, yet representatives of community
service organisations told the committee that these groups are routinely left
out of prior planning and collaboration, and consider that they are not adequately
resourced for the demands of extreme events.
What we have identified is that, when these things come
along, they actually cripple the [community service] organisations that look to
their needs...[A]fter a week 50 per cent of those organisations who provide food,
medicine, disabled access and so on would not be operating...
...when we have organisations which are well prepared and are
operational...they become part of the solution. Indeed, they take some of the
load off our traditional services.
In a time of emergency, communication takes on a particular urgency. However,
a number of witnesses provided information about the cost of having good
communication systems in place. The committee was advised by the Northern
Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services:
Luckily for us in the Territory one of the television
stations plays a lot of emergency management advertising free; otherwise, we
would not be able to afford it. But routine messages are really important. And
increasingly doing them from a national perspective is also important...so that
there is a consistent message being given to them about how to handle an
Dr Michael Eburn described for the committee a lack of clarity about
people's responsibilities during Black Saturday:
Right down to the chief officers of those agencies, people
were unclear on what their responsibility was. That comes down to the state
legislation. I think state disaster plans are, despite their best efforts, very
unclear about who is in charge of what and, in particular, about where the police
sit against everybody else. That leads to a lot of confusion.
Communication of heat alerts is an area where there has been some
success and Australian systems have used lessons learned from reports of
disasters in Europe. Professor Nicholls advised the committee that:
In Melbourne we had a system in place before the 2009
heatwave the weekend before Black Saturday and we know that worked quite well.
It has been further developed by the Department of Human Services in Victoria
and their counterparts in other parts of Australia are also doing a good job to
improve these sorts of systems. We can always do better but I think it is one
of the success stories of the last decade.
Good communication within the community was raised as a critical aspect
of medical and health preparedness. The Australian Medical Association (AMA)
advised that GPs should be anticipating more extreme conditions and advising at-risk
groups in advance:
...we see the elderly eight or nine times a year, on average,
in our surgeries; and there is an opportunity for primary-care providers, as
part of their preventive health impacts with their patients, to actually
explain to people about ventilation, perspiration, evaporation and when it is
appropriate to switch on that air conditioner...
The other time of life we have to be really careful of is
infancy...New parents do not know some of these clues, and it is up to us to tell
One of the major themes that came out of evidence presented to the
committee was that of the need for improvements in community understanding and
knowledge about how to prepare for and respond to, extreme weather events, and
for this knowledge to be based on solid research and empirical evidence.
Submitters to this inquiry expressed deep concern about changes to
climate and weather patterns, and many questioned the current level of
education and public awareness in relation to how to manage extreme weather
The committee also heard from witnesses and submitters who suggest that people
and organisations need to build relationships and social capital in order to be
able to prepare and respond appropriately to extreme weather events. 
The City of Melbourne advised the committee of their research to
determine residents' preparedness for impacts of weather changes predicted for
Melbourne. This research found that that 35 per cent of residents and 50 per
cent of businesses perceive a risk from extreme weather events. Only 53 per
cent felt prepared for very hot days and only 41 per cent for flooding.
Only 16 per cent of businesses knew how to develop a flood plan.
The City of Melbourne suggested that 'ambiguity surrounding roles and
responsibilities in preparing for extreme weather events...hampers the ability
of the local government sector to prepare for and manage [them]'.
The need for research
For the Australian community to be better prepared for extreme weather
events, accessible and straightforward communication of complex scientific and
economic information is important. Research gaps and the need for improved
observations and data collection around extreme weather was discussed in
Chapter 2. The following section of the report considers research into
effective preparedness for extreme weather events.
Ms Olivia Kember of the Climate Institute noted that in some
circumstances there may be pressure for information to be withheld and that
this may hinder adaptation and mitigation:
For some of these issues, there are going to be groups that
stand to lose value by the disclosure of the true risks that they are facing.
So there is always a risk that there will be political pressure for those
findings not to be disclosed, which I think comes back to why we think
disclosure early and often is really important. 
It was apparent to the committee that submitters and witnesses on the
whole believed that sound research was very important. Both the Bureau of
Meteorology (BoM) and CSIRO noted that physical data is fairly straightforward,
but 'the nonphysical and social data starts to get harder'
...there is plenty of science in other areas, including the
social sciences, looking at things like barriers to adaptation, which we still
have quite a bit to do on to understand...
Dr Mark Stafford Smith from CSIRO added that:
...responding to sea level rise [is] very complex. We are
moving really into the social sciences of people's responses there and I do not
think that is resolved.
Some witnesses indicated that much more research is needed to enable
effective decision-making and recommendations about reliable preparedness
strategies. Others indicated there are knowledge gaps in certain areas,
and a need for more long-term funding for specialist research to be undertaken
by well prepared and competent scientists.
Some of the impacts of extreme weather events on infrastructure and the
subsequent disruptions to Australian communities and businesses are discussed
in Chapter 3. Preparedness for extreme weather events requires that infrastructure
is adapted appropriately for such events and that it has built-in qualities to
mitigate the worst effects of these events. Such adaptations refer both to
physical structures and to organisational structures that support them.
The Climate and Health Alliance (CAHA) advised the committee that the predicted
1–5 degree rise in the earth's temperature could have catastrophic impacts on
human life and health.
The CAHA presented the committee with research to show that current
infrastructure is inadequate to respond to the impacts likely to ensue from
more intense and frequent heatwaves. Indeed, problems already exist:
...heatwaves in Melbourne and Adelaide in 2009 put power
supplies, morgue capacity and transport systems under stress. In Adelaide,
railways buckled under the heat and commercial refrigeration vans were hired as
The Climate Institute stressed the interdependence of infrastructure and
described the roll-on effect of extreme heat leading to such events as buckling
railway lines resulting in the closure of services, preventing employees from
getting to work and resulting in a loss to businesses. The institute suggested
that better scenario-based planning could allow people and organisations to be
prepared for impacts:
[W]e do think there should be better focus on two- and
four-degree scenarios for risk management and risk planning across government,
and that governments are doing. We do think there are key tests that agencies
with oversight of standards, such as the building commission, need...Finally,
the Commonwealth should be a leader in...getting agencies themselves to look at
and disclose those risks.
It was generally agreed that extreme weather events also require much
greater numbers of personnel on the ground to assist with, and manage impacts.
Professor Nicholls observed:
...one of the problems with adaptation of any sort to climate
change, particularly with something like this, is that it is a very personnel
intense, that you would need a lot of people to be talking to a lot of other
Engineers Australia defined two aspects of infrastructure preparedness: operational
and strategic. Operational preparedness is 'geared to preparing, responding and
recovering so that when damage occurs to infrastructure, continuity is rapidly
restored'. Strategic preparedness is 'geared to preventing damage from
occurring or minimising its impact'. Engineers Australia emphasised that it is
difficult to assess preparedness as there are no standard metrics across
In the absence of rigorous measurements, they based their conclusions on
examination of responses to recent disastrous events. Their conclusion was that
there is reasonable operational preparedness but 'a low level of strategic
It was noted that preparedness was patchy across different sectors.
According to the Climate Institute, water infrastructure is quite well prepared,
and some property areas, but with transport and electricity infrastructure
'there were some issues where we found very poor preparation, very much
reliance on historical data'.
The South Australian State Emergency Management Committee (SEMC) felt
that South Australia was well prepared for emergencies:
The SEMC supports the national policy shift towards building community
resilience to natural disasters...
South Australia has undertaken a Critical Infrastructure
Protection program in line with the national critical infrastructure model.
Under this program South Australian Government authorities collaborate with the
owners and operators of critical infrastructure to ensure risk assessments are
undertaken and protective mitigation measures implemented.
University of Queensland researchers gave evidence from the 2010-11
Queensland floods on the issue of food security. The general disruption caused
crops to be spoilt, products not to reach processing plants, severely reduced
distribution, food shortages and price increases. While alternative
transportation, supply sources and relaxing quality standards mitigated the impact
to some extent, their evidence suggests inadequate preparation especially among
community members who resorted to panic buying.
The submission commented that:
...some sections of the community suffered from low levels of
‘food literacy’ during and after the floods. Food literacy captures peoples’
ability to identify and use fresh and nutritious food, ensuring a healthy diet
and avoiding waste.
The Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) drew attention to
exclusions and limitations in the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery
Arrangements Determination which mean that 'only one betterment application had
been approved so far'.
The LGAQ stated that:
From a long term resilience building perspective, of the 73
councils in Queensland the LGAQ estimates that the majority of councils are not
where they should be...Approximately 2/3 of councils will have undertaken some
work in a particular area.
It attributed lack of adaptation strategies to a paucity of good quality
data, limited people and financial resources, and failure by communities to
As mentioned above, the committee heard that the preparedness of
essential services, such as electricity, transport and water, to cope with
extreme weather events is variable.
Mr James Hanson from the Conservation Council of Western Australia
commented on the correlation between very hot weather and energy demand. Some relevant
policy measures that have been proposed are:
- increasing the price of power to reflect the cost of producing
- smart meters; and
- managing peaks over short high intensity demand periods.
However, these mitigation measures are not necessarily in place.
Attention was drawn to the vulnerability of local electricity services
where power poles (particularly wooden poles) and wires may fail and cause
fires during heat waves, while transformers should be operable under all
At the macro level, the Clean Energy Council submitted that since the
electricity sector is the major source of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions,
preparation should be underway to make 'a rapid switch to low carbon heating,
cooling and electricity generation'.
In the transport sector, the Climate Institute suggested that railways were
responding positively and 'putting in place plans to improve. They have
extended their risk assessment to cover climate change'.
The Australia National Retailers Association (ANRA) noted the importance
of getting supplies into disaster areas. During the 2011 Queensland floods,
stock was damaged while roads were cut (see also Chapter 3):
Despite this challenge, the use of novel methods for
overcoming constraints in the transport networks - incorporating aspects of the
road, rail, air and sea freight networks from as far away as Adelaide, Sydney
and Darwin - meant that households in isolated areas did not go without basic
necessities for survival.
However, ANRA also noted room for improvement:
- there was no mechanism for any dialogue with retailers initially;
- there were perceived difficulties in Australian Defence Force
participation because of regulations and lack of common standards for packing;
- applying normal trading restrictions limited availability of
The committee was advised that Sydney Water had undertaken some studies
to evaluate its strengths and opportunities under climate change conditions. Research
data indicated that the five water utilities surveyed were:
- Reasonably strong in their ability to "survive a
- Less able in the area of "thriving in a world of
Strong on the emergency side but business as usual has more room
In its submission, the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) summarised
its progress to respond to extreme weather events through:
- diversifying water supplies;
- reducing water use;
- improving the way utilities manage waterways and wetlands;
- changing the way decisions are made;
rethinking advice for development in flood prone and vulnerable
- planning for risk.
The ability of agencies and citizens to respond to extreme weather
events is particularly reliant on telecommunication and communications networks.
The committee heard that the major issue for telecommunications is whether
operations continue effectively in an extreme weather event. The capacity of
communication networks to deal with emergencies and natural disasters was the
subject of a previous inquiry by this committee and more information on this
topic may be found in that report.
A range of communications technologies have been used effectively in
recent times to warn people of impending weather crises.
However, while weather forecasting is much more accurate than in the past, the
committee heard that people still need convincing to trust and act on this
In disaster situations, telecommunications can be adversely affected.
Ms Yve Earnshaw, Director of Dunalley Community Neighbourhood Centre,
described the needs of the Nubeena community in Tasmania after the recent
There were thousands of people trapped in the region and
there was no power. We went and opened up the community house with a
generator—it is my and my husband's own generator. Basically, we plugged it in
and set up some computers, and we got an old telephone to plug into the wall
because, of course, with no power, only old landlines would work. We wondered
what was going to happen. Then, over the next few days, literally hundreds of
people came through the house to use the internet and to charge their mobile
phones...There were no communications available in the region, virtually, except
for emergency personnel.
Telstra's submission asserted its growing capacity in relation to
extreme weather events. It noted its Global Operations Centre, Major Incident
Management and training of technical staff so that they can be 'highly
effective in responding to extreme weather events'.
Telstra advised the committee of its corporate Crisis Management team, which
both resolves crisis generated problems and also anticipates planning required
for such crises.
The Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) submitted
that existing networks are well placed to deal with extreme weather events and
itemised examples of effective responses. The capability depends on:
...having in place appropriate processes and the ability to
deploy personnel and resources quickly and efficiently. Appropriate processes
and protocols include having established points of contact for ESOs [Emergency
Service Organisations] and network operators.
AMTA also noted that:
...the resilience of mobile networks in bushfire-prone areas is
partially dependent on maintaining a schedule of back burning around mobile
base stations. This is an example of how regular preparedness processes are
vital to ensuring the resilience of telecommunications networks during natural
disasters or emergencies.
The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE)
said that providers had learnt from recent events and are updating their
responses. Temporary systems are being used 'routinely' to circumvent loss of
function when infrastructure is damaged. Their submission referred to quick
responses in recent bushfire events. The National Broadband Network (NBN) is
designed with back-up built into it and it has 'specified high availability and
reliability targets for its Long Term Satellite System'.
In addition, the government is working with states and territories to 'improve
the effectiveness, clarity and consistency broadcasting emergency warnings'.
The most significant adaptation for the construction and property
industry is to build structures in places which will not be risk prone under
changed climate conditions. Yet in this area the committee heard much evidence
that there is confusion of responsibilities and often resistance from
individuals and organisations who do not factor these risks into their plans.
The most important mitigation strategy is to make buildings according to
specifications which will limit damage in extreme conditions. Witnesses and
submitters advised the committee that progress was being made, although
existing buildings and building standards need updating.
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) identified several steps to
preparing for extreme weather events:
- The first is creating better buildings... we are interested in
building code changes to enhance the durability of property...
- We are keen to see a requirement at a national level for the
risk-appropriate use of available land... to develop [floodplains] ... in a
- We need to create an informed, risk-aware community by providing
clear, credible, understandable hazard information at a property level for all
individuals so that they can make the right decisions about their future in
that location and how to insure themselves appropriately...
- We need to work to protect those existing communities from the
exposures they have now through better mitigation.
Where structures are built
The summation of the causes of loss through natural disasters given by
Professor John McAneney from Risk Frontiers was that:
...the increasing cost of natural disasters is mainly driven by
more and more stuff being built in harm's way. These losses and this trend
cannot be attributed yet to global climate change.
The Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists noted the historical legacy of
inappropriate building sites:
We have allowed infrastructure to go to places which are in
harm's way to natural forces....So extreme event phenomena have impacted
adversely on our society ever since the Governor Macquarie days. What we do not
have is a clear articulation as to what is at risk now and what could be at
risk in the future with growing population.
Information from the Coastal Collaboration Centre stated that certain
highly vulnerable coastal areas in Western Australian would be exempted in
legislation from limitations on development due to projected sea-level rise.
These included areas in Bunbury and Derby:
That state coastal planning policy includes a response to
increased expectations of sea-level rise. The policy drafted by the [state]
Department of Planning is definitely an improvement ...[but] interpretation [of
that policy] is likely to mean that development will probably continue on the
coast in certain coastal development nodes and that areas that are identified
as critical for economic return will be exempt from the increased setback for
The committed heard evidence which placed state and local government at
the centre of decisions for land usage. Mr Paul Considine from the Australasian
Fire and Emergency Services Authorities Council (AFAC) suggested that the key
issue is that property owners understand and explicitly accept the level of risk
that comes with their usage. He rejected the common idea that responsibility
rested with emergency services:
What we want people to understand is that using land which is
subject to natural catastrophes comes with risks and that those risks cannot be
deferred to emergency services or passed on. They have to be accepted.
Professor Rodger Tomlinson also commented on the issue of land values
and building in unsuitable places:
To be a little bit flippant, it seems that the closer you get
to the shoreline the more value there is, if you just look at property values...[Property
owners] do not really respond because they want to be there—until it is too
late, of course.
The Northern Territory Police gave a succinct summary of this dilemma:
Part of the problem we have here is that the best places to
live for 99 per cent of the time are the worst places to be when the extreme
event comes along.
He emphasised the importance of a long term view in planning which would
acknowledge that if people build in vulnerable places and their houses fall,
they will have to deal with that, and, if they are not able, state and
territory governments will be expected to bear the costs.
Professor Thom expressed concern that the finance sector did not
consider disaster risk when giving loans for houses:
But with coastal areas there is no doubt that many people are
prepared to still live in vulnerable areas and not have insurance; but still
they get loans to have houses there. This really bothers me.
The committee was advised that appropriate land use may be undermined by
ill-informed decisions. For example, Climate Future claimed that:
...the NSW Govt. has stated that Councils should no longer use
the benchmarks for sea level rise set in 2010. Instead they have to develop
their own benchmarks. This has left many Councils in limbo with no support for
action to reduce storm impacts on the community.
Similarly the Director of the Centre for Disaster Studies at James Cook
University, Associate Professor King, noted problems with Queensland
The Queensland State Planning Policy 1/03 has not been
effective in guiding land use planning in vulnerable locations. ...Ideally the
primary planning legislation should directly identify hazard mitigation
planning under the act, so that it is central to planning rather than an add-on
through a state planning policy. This will require a significant rewriting of
the Sustainable Planning Act (or a new act) in Queensland, and most probably in
other states as well. Issues of public safety have to be compulsory, not an
option of best practice.
Mr Evans from the Floodplain Management Association also noted
inappropriate siting of buildings and said that future development should not
occur in places which require flood levees or other mitigation strategies.
Several witnesses drew attention to inadequacies in the important area
of flood mapping. For example, Associate Professor King emphasised the need for
comprehensive flood studies: 'In some cases [this] is going to be expensive,
but you cannot make any decisions until you have these comprehensive studies'.
This was a point he returned to several times in speaking with the committee,
summarising in these terms:
Good, comprehensive flood mapping makes it possible to define
where these areas are—which are the most vulnerable—to rank them in terms of
vulnerability and then to begin a process of perhaps trying to persuade people
to relocate, to sell their houses and to gradually rezone over a long period of
time. It will not be a short process.
How structures are built
The committee heard that there are two major issues in construction:
- having building codes which are better aligned with increased
risks from more frequent and more intense extreme weather events; and
- providing incentives which facilitate 'building better', not just
replacing damaged structures.
Associate Professor King submitted that:
Education to improve the house-building process (regulation,
design, construction, certification and maintenance) aimed at all parties
(designer, builder, certifier, and owner) will enhance community resilience.
Research of the Association for Mitigation Studies for Top End Cyclones
Inc. (AMSTECI) concluded that Darwin is at risk from category 5 cyclones but is
not adequately prepared for this. AMSTECI reported that buildings put up since
1983 would not withstand category 5 wind speeds and that cyclone shelters do
not meet relevant standards.
Mr Adrian Beresford-Wylie from ALGA identified difficulties in improving
buildings after a disaster:
That is the idea that, if a piece of infrastructure is
destroyed, the original disaster relief arrangements allowed funding to restore
it to its pre-existing state before the disaster struck. ... The relief
arrangements do provide for betterment, which is to rebuild that infrastructure
to a better standard. Even though there have been changes to the betterment
clauses contained in the disaster relief arrangements, it is still difficult to
address the challenge facing local government infrastructure.
The Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council commented that:
...our new buildings and suburbs are being built based on past
climate information not on predicted future climate change. This risks leaving
a legacy of urban communities being underprepared for future climate change
The experience of Green Cross Australia in Queensland showed that a
major barrier to mitigating property damage is the impulse to immediately
replace property that has been destroyed, instead of taking a little more time
to create a better built environment. Nevertheless, Green Cross Australia
reported that people were very responsive to a green building guide. Local
recovery committees in Victoria after Black Saturday had also worked with the
government to encourage people to 'build it back green'. Green Cross Australia
articulated the hope that:
...increasingly homes will come out of the ground that can
actually have lower insurance premiums because they are designed to withstand
hazards in a much better way, and are also highly sustainable.
The committee is encouraged by the concept of 'building better' and
believes that this is one of the means by which Australians will mitigate the
effects of future extreme weather events. The committee was also pleased to
receive evidence of 'getting it right' after Cyclone Yasi:
Cyclone Yasi showed that things were actually working...The
North Queensland community felt very much that it was 'get on with it'. And
they did. The fact that they got on with it and dealt with it...without loss of
life and without an enormous loss of housing shows that people did know what to
The committee heard that the forestry and agriculture industries are
particularly vulnerable to bushfires. In its submission the Australian Forest
Products Association (AFPA) stated:
The greatest impacts of climate change on forests will be
associated with the hotter drier environment, with increased risk of bushfires
and cyclonic activity, greater stress on trees increasing susceptibility to
pest and disease incursions and decreasing productivity, and greater
variability and intensity of rainfall influencing hydrological cycles and
potential soil erosion.
In response to this scenario, in November 2009, the National Climate
Change and Commercial Forestry Action Plan 2009-1012 was produced to guide
forestry action and adaptation. Timber Queensland has also prepared a guide for
industry to respond to cyclones.
AFPA felt that:
Effective bushfire management appears to be a problem of
social and political commitment to effective preventative land management
rather than a case of scientific and operational complexity. A well-coordinated
land management strategy could help reduce fire risk.
Professor Bindoff from Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative
Research Council described some positive uptake of adaptation strategies in
Tasmania around rye-grass. The Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association has
worked with the viticulture industry so that 'people who are going to invest in
grapes now are thinking about what kinds of grapes they are going to plant' for
success in higher temperatures.
The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and
Communities (SEWPaC) told the committee of successful research into soil
[We] know now that the Mallee is more resilient to loss of
soil because of the investments that are being made in improving natural
resource management across both farmers and off-farm management. We are also
improving the policy environment in terms of corridors and what connectivity
means in terms of improving resilience as well. So this is a key focus of our
work both at a programmatic level and in our policy construct.
These few examples demonstrate once again that preparedness is variable
across sectors and regions.
The natural environment is both a subject for protection from extreme
weather and an agent for mitigating its effects. The consistent message from
those commenting on the natural environment was, in the words of Mr Peter Cosier
from the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, that:
...the single most effective thing to do in terms of securing
the health of the landscape in the face of significant change is to get your
ecosystems into a healthy condition. It is a no-regrets action. We should be
doing it anyway.
Sometimes this means work to restore ecosystems. The Wentworth Group explained:
The two things that are very strong in the case of catchments
are first and foremost to maintain our native vegetation in place...The second
thing is to minimise the extraction of water from our river system so that our
ecosystems are in a good place to respond to the extremes of drought and
Moreover, protecting natural features also protects the human
environment, as Professor Tomlinson's example of Geraldton in Western Australia
There is a fringing reef there that basically protects
Geraldton as a piece of land. If sea levels rise, unless you keep propping up
the reef then you lose that protection. That is a valid issue, but you would
need to look in detail at the extent to which the reef would be degraded by
things like ocean acidification and how that is relative to sea level rise.
Mr Sullivan described another example:
...studies post Yasi which showed that, where we had intact
mangroves—and we were lucky that basically 97 per cent of mangroves were intact
within that zone where Yasi came across the coast—the estimated damage bill
would have been significantly higher in terms of damage to ecosystems,
infrastructure and people and human lives if they were not intact.
Professor Hughes of the Wentworth Group stressed that:
...the main way that we can deal with [species adaptation] and
help our ecosystems and our species be in the best shape for the future is to
reduce all of the other threats, particularly habitat loss but also pollution
and over harvesting, to improve the health of our landscapes. Mainly what we
need to do is turn the clock back on habitat loss and vegetation clearing.
In the case of systems, WWF-Australia emphasised that there are limits
to adaption and that therefore mitigation must be accelerated.
They believed that current progress is inadequate:
Federal, state and local governments have various adaptation
programs in place to build resilience and provide habitat protection;
unfortunately the extent of the programs remains inadequate, or they are under
threat of reduced funding, wind-back or repeal...Too much investment has gone
toward temporary fixes rather than securing protected areas and enduring
As the discussion in the preceding sections demonstrates, there are
multiple dimensions to evaluating whether essential services and key sectors of
the Australian community are adequately prepared for extreme weather events. Some
sectors and regions are well-prepared and have taken into account the potential
impacts of future extreme weather events; others are inadequately prepared and
do not have a grasp on the possible implications of a changing climate leaving
them particularly vulnerable to future natural disasters.
The committee agrees that more can and should be done to improve
coordination between the states and territories. Such coordination would
improve nationwide confidence that communities can adapt to extreme events and
So far as the evidence is reliable and credible, the committee believes
it is essential for landowners and prospective landowners to be aware and fully
informed of the risks associated with their location or proposed buildings. The
committee is mindful of the pressure tighter building codes may place on
housing costs; however, the committee believes that reasonable precautions
should be required against foreseeable and realistic risks. The committee
recommends that credible and reliable flood mapping activities and the
development of other information that would best inform landowners or
prospective landowners of realistic potential risks from extreme weather events
are prioritised and used to inform land use planning laws.
The committee recommends that credible and reliable flood mapping
activities and the development of other information that would best inform
landowners or prospective landowners of potential risks from extreme weather
events are prioritised and used to inform land use planning laws.
It is also the committee's view that building codes should incorporate
mitigation measures that take into account foreseeable and realistic risks from
extreme weather events.
The committee recommends that building codes incorporate mitigation
measures that take into account foreseeable risks from extreme weather events.
The health sector
According to The Lancet, in a series published in 2009, 'climate
change is likely to be the greatest threat to human health this century':
...so it is something we should be taking really seriously,
both in terms of mitigation, trying to avoid the absolutely unmanageable
consequences to human health from climate change, and in terms of early
adaptation so that we can survive or adapt to cope with them. Extreme weather
is a very good example of that. With preparedness for our health services, our
emergency services and many other things, we could probably reduce the impacts.
Dr Steve Hambleton, President of the Australian Medical Association
(AMA), strongly argued for active planning to mitigate illness and death
exacerbated by increased temperatures and extreme events. In his opening
statement he said:
There is no doubt that we need to do better planning. Extreme
weather events pose a significant challenge to human health, and as the peak
medical organisation we believe that preparing communities, service providers
and governments for these health impacts is a public health priority...
We do need to minimise and manage the health impacts of these
more frequent, intensive weather events and we are concerned that the current
policy response nationally is inadequate...
We certainly acknowledge the importance of some jurisdictions
already where some good things have happened. Much of it has been reactive
rather than proactive, though. The National Strategy for Disaster Resilience
has improved coordination, but there are some fundamental gaps.
The CAHA described the effects on people of a warming world and claimed
Australians are neither prepared for, nor informed about, the
dangers of the warming climate and the severity and scale of extreme events
they are likely to experience in coming years and decades. The unprecedented
national heatwave of January 2013, floods of 2011, wild weather of 2012, and
bushfires of 2009 give an insight into the weather of a warming world...
Australia healthcare systems are ill-prepared to cope with
extreme events and Australia’s health professionals lack understanding of the
health impacts of climate change. This affects the ability of both individuals
and the health care system to prepare for and respond to extreme weather
events. This puts lives at risk.
An example was provided by the CAHA with reference to Cyclone Larry in
Innisfail Hospital [was] forced to close, the Herberton
Hospital los[t] power, and a leaking roof at the Atherton Hospital forc[ed] a
partial evacuation. The demand for services overwhelmed available human
resources and nurses were required to travel from Brisbane to provide support
to the region.
The committee heard there is more can be done to improve the
understanding about the health impacts of climate change and extreme weather
events amongst health professionals.
This view was corroborated by Dr Eugenie Kayak, from Doctors for the
Environment Australia (DEA), who stated:
Extreme weather events have challenged and will challenge the
existing capacity of our health services as well as put increasing demands on
it to deliver this level of care. They will also directly jeopardise the
ability of the health sector to care for and look after the wounded.
DEA recommended setting up a national disaster and recovery fund to
provide finance for extreme weather events and to remove the added pressure
they cause to existing health service budgets.
The committee heard criticism of the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA)
and health system:
We have a huge department called DoHA and they closed their
environmental health section recently—it had four people and an operating budget
of $1 million. This is just laughable; it is a tick-the-box affair. They argue
that environmental health matters are the responsibility of the states and
territories....We would have hoped that, after these major events, they would
have had funding boosts. Instead, in some states who seem to have an allergy to
the word 'environment' they have actually closed some of those down. We think
this really increases Australia's risk.
Health and emergencies
In emergency situations health services are put to the test. This
section discusses some of the key observations of stakeholders as to health
services' capacity to mitigate disaster. There are encouraging examples of
effective strategies but also deficiencies to learn from. Witnesses made a
range of suggestions to improve operations in the future.
The committee heard from the Department of Health and Ageing about some
areas where the Commonwealth helps in emergency situations. The Australian
Medical Assistance Teams (AusMATs), established under the auspices of the Australian
Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) which comprises every state chief
health officer, are:
...teams of health professionals who not only are expert in
their own profession but also have been given training in disasters, and are
able to support themselves if they are away for two weeks from a normal base.
The committee heard that these teams have been effective in providing
medical support, along with National Incident Room in the Office of Health
Protection which provides assistance with the management of spontaneous
volunteers during an emergency.
The Northern Territory has the National Critical Trauma Centre in
Darwin, increasing its capacity to deal with health issues in the north of the
A critical health area during emergencies is the provision of
In order to support the Community Service Obligation in times
of crisis, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia, the Department of Health, CSO
Agency and CSO Distributors work together to turn their regular reporting and
communicating channels into an effective emergency response mechanism, sharing
information on road access to towns and pharmacies, facilitating contingency
planning in cases where a supply warehouse may become compromised and
coordinating the supply of medicines to emergency services when stock needs to
be flown into isolated towns.
The committee heard evidence that this was successfully accomplished
during a number of extreme weather events in Queensland.
According to the Department of Health and Ageing, knowledge has
developed in the pharmaceutical supply chain which allows more effective
dispensing in a time of emergency:
[There has been] an exploration of recent trends in
pharmaceutical manufacturing and getting us a much better understanding of
that. It is a rapidly moving, rapidly developing and fluid industry that is
seeing quite a bit of concentration of manufacturing sites in fewer places
around the world. ...
[I]t is much more along the lines of just-in-time supply,
throughout the supply chain, rather than big stockpiles in warehouses. That is
what we are focused on so that we have a contingency plan ready to go.
There is evidence of work on the ground in helping people be prepared in
their neighbourhoods. Red Cross has devoted increasing resources to
preparedness rather than simple responsiveness. The committee was told of a
program called REDiPlan, which 'works with households to be informed, to make a
plan, to get a kit and to know their neighbours'.
Although these examples of good work are positive, the committee heard
further evidence to indicate that psychological, research and structural
barriers remain which still need attention.
Dr Alexander Donald experienced the cyclone in Cairns and commented on
the needs in the health sector. These included easier access to expertise and
stock, and what he called 'templates' for managing nursing homes, hospitals,
aged care, mental health patients and vulnerable people. He believed that these
facilities did not necessarily have the resources to develop their own disaster
response plans. He also identified a lack of planning in who should take
responsibility and that ad hoc decisions about staff allocation in hospitals were
taken. Dr Donald believed that a 'flying squad' of clinical staff should be
prepared which could come in immediately to the area affected.
Dr Donald's comments on the capacity of the health sector in disaster
situations were endorsed by Dr Hanna
and Dr Hambleton, who also raised the issue of what happens when medical personnel
are themselves the subjects of the disasters:
With disaster planning...We have not actually said: "When
we are unable to staff the department because they are looking after their
families, what do we do?" That is where local jurisdictions will be
overwhelmed, and we will need a broader plan.
Dr Hambleton described specific scenarios where better coordination or
knowledge could have alleviated major problems:
In Brisbane the AMA in Queensland, to its credit, coordinated
doctors locally to volunteer. Why wasn't that a plan that was ready to go?
Large medical centres like my own let it be known that anybody who was affected
by a flood could come in and get bulk-billed, so there was no financial barrier
for those people who maybe had no resources. Why isn't there a registry
somewhere, or why isn't the government causing a registry to be built, so they know
who is ready to volunteer?
There was a train crash. There was [a] GP down the road with
emergency medicine training who did not even know it had occurred but who could
have been part of that response process.
How do you evacuate an entire hospital if you do not have a
plan? If there are no plans in place, if there is no accreditation system that
says you have to have a disaster plan, how are you going to engage with your
community? How are you going to continue to provide services? These are the
sorts of roles that are centralised and can be facilitated by government.
While cyclones and bushfires are dramatic and obvious, the effects of
heatwaves often creep upon communities unnoticed. Using figures from Brisbane based
research, Professor Barnett from the Queensland University of Technology
commented on health effects of heatwaves. He warned against over reliance on
early warning systems:
...whilst they may seem to be a good idea, there is no good
evidence (from Australia or elsewhere) to show that they work...
It is incredibly difficult to predict the number of deaths
caused by a heatwave, because the numbers will depend on many things including:
its timing...if there is a power cut...whether it occurs during a holiday (as
elderly people may be left alone), and the number of vulnerable people which
changes from week-to-week. These difficulties mean any early warning system is
likely to have frequent false alarms, which may then undermine public
confidence so that they then do not react to a well-timed warning.
Witnesses often linked infrastructure weaknesses and health risk. The
Australian Nursing Federation (Victorian Branch) believed that cost cutting,
bed closures, waiting times and workforce reductions were impacting
significantly on the hospital system and would only exacerbate problems in an
extreme weather event.
According to Professor Reser, although there is plenty of information available,
there is very limited evaluation of it and of how different strategies,
sources, materials and experiences might combine to produce effective 'convergence
risk communication and disaster preparedness materials'.
Several experts in the social and medical fields drew the committee's
attention to the significant aspect of psychological readiness to deal with an
extreme weather event. What seems clear is that how information is
presented is as important as what information is presented in eliciting
appropriate adaptation and mitigation actions.
Health professionals and psychologists gave some examples of effective
...very positive psychological and behavioural adaptation is
happening in Australia right now. I think we need to capitalise on that ... it is
a very effective kind of understanding and if we are able to better understand
public understanding, we could better engage with the public on this matter.
Professor Reser from the Australian Psychological Society commented on
psychological preparedness. He said that Australia was leading research in this
...psychological preparedness and situational preparedness go hand-in-hand.
If you do not have psychological preparedness and if you do not have some idea
of how you are going to be feeling and operating and how other people are going
to be operating in an emergency situation, actually that physical preparedness
is not going to do you as much good as it could.
The Australian Nursing Federation (Victorian Branch) referred to the
Victorian Disaster Mental Health Workforce Capacity Survey, which revealed that:
[There are] mental health risks to members of the community when
faced with the consequences of a natural disaster...Victoria is a State exposed
to risk in respect to future natural disasters so investment in service
improvement is warranted.
Prevention of most extreme weather events is normally out of human
control; therefore, the focus of this inquiry has been on adapting to them and
taking actions that mitigate such events becoming human and social
catastrophes. Emergency services play a key role in mitigating the impact of extreme
weather events and therefore must ensure they themselves are adapted for
projected future extreme weather events.
As already discussed earlier in this chapter, planning for land use
which takes into account possible extreme weather is crucial. For instance,
witnesses such as the Centre for Disaster Studies strongly recommended that
local councils should develop floodplain mapping and management plans based in
The theme of good local risk knowledge is also extremely relevant to emergency
situations. Mr Paul Considine of AFAC noted that it was not the place
of emergency services to dictate land use and be solely responsible for
communicating risk; residents should have good knowledge of their environmental
So it is very necessary, I would submit, that people who live
in bushfire prone areas understand their environment, understand the risks
inherent in living where they do and understand that getting a warning may just
be part of the picture.
The Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services explained
that they have been training people in emergency management. Actions taken
include the placement of cyclone shelters, translating emergency management
messages into local languages, distributed through schools or on air and
developing 'an extensive network of volunteer fire brigade and Bushfires NT
An annual process of data update and briefing of key personnel to prepare
indigenous remote communities was also described.
Mr Gary Morgan, Chief Executive Officer of the Bushfire Cooperative
Research Centre (Bushfire CRC), said that with a changing natural environment
and expectations 'current practices will not sustain [fire agencies] into
He elaborated on adequate preparedness for the future:
...in the area of preparedness, first of all, you need the
knowledge for how you are going to address the issues that may arise. Then you
need to have information on how to use the technologies that are there, how to
communicate the messages and how to get a clear response to those messages by
the community and by the agency personnel to make sure that, under that shared
responsibility, everybody is able to act in accord to save lives, property,
assets and the environment, and that is about a whole lot of unanswered
questions. Right at the moment we know that we cannot address the issues into
the future unless we have new ways of doing so.
The necessity for adequate funding was referred to by several witnesses.
Mr Jody Nobbs, also from Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency
Services, told the committee that the major support the Commonwealth government
might give is the provision of money:
It would be nice if we could overcome the vertical fiscal
imbalance somewhat—that is to say, of course, that the Commonwealth has the
money and we have the responsibilities. Clearly, we really appreciate the
contribution it has given over time through various grant schemes that we run
up here in the Territory, which have had a huge impact on our ability to
respond [to] emergencies. We would like those sorts of schemes to be
strengthened. I also note that mitigation up here is very expensive. The dirt
roads that flood every year get washed out and isolate people, and it is not
cost effective from the Territory's perspective to replace that sort of
AFAC commented on the resource implications of more frequent and intense
weather events for the agencies it represents, namely 34 government fire, land
management and emergency services bodies:
This would necessitate an increase in the standing capacity
of agencies both to prepare for and to respond to emergencies...This has
implications both for funding staff and infrastructure, but also for
maintaining the very large volunteer engagement...
Much larger emergency events...will require more extensive
arrangements for surge capacity to be in place. It is simply uneconomic...to
maintain full-time fire and emergency services that are capable of combatting
all conceivable incidents.
With respect to the Commonwealth's role in emergency services, the
Attorney-General's Department provided a comprehensive list of projects
supported by the government. These include aerial firefighting, telephone
warning systems and flood risk information.
The Department of Human Services pointed to its role in improving
emergency responses, and particularly the centrality of the National Emergency
Call Centre Surge Capability (NECCSC) established in 2009:
The NECCSC allows states and territories and Australian
Government agencies to divert excess call loads received on their emergency
(non-000) lines to the department and the Australian Taxation Office.
The committee received information which demonstrated that preparations
had been effective and that the community could be confident about emergency
responses in critical situations. Instances of good communication, emergency
preparedness planning and well-executed disaster management were given.
In November 2012 Telstra launched the world's first Emergency Alert
warning system to send SMS alerts via landline and mobile phone.
Telstra claimed that in 2010–11, under disastrous conditions, its staff were
prepared and able to restore services. The submission stated that 'in many
cases the existence of multiple networks in affected areas meant that
alternative forms of communication were still able to be maintained'.
Although Save the Children recommended more targeted emergency plans for
children, the good news was that:
...from a child-focused perspective, examples can be found of
proactive approaches to including the specific needs of children in Emergency
Preparedness Plans. This can be seen at State level in Victoria and in certain
Local Government Areas.
Townsville City Council claimed that:
The disaster management process is well exercised and
coordinated in our local area with clear delineation of roles and responsibilities
between agencies and respective levels of government.
A substantial number of witnesses commented on positive bushfire responses
and the committee heard that actions to deal with bushfires have benefitted
from improved telecommunications and dissemination of knowledge. For example,
the Bureau of Meteorology was commended by the Bushfire CRC for its
contribution to research in smoke trajectories, fire spread and fire modelling,
and to providing fire alerts in enough time for effective action.
In turn, the Tasmania Fire Service expressed its desire to publicly thank the
Bushfire CRC for its input to which they attributed the fact that in the recent
fires no lives had been lost.
It was stated that good communications are at the 'heart' of the
responses of both emergency services and communities in an emergency bushfire situation
and that it is 'absolutely...a fundamental principle of emergency management that
information flow is critical to successful outcomes'.
The committee was advised that fire services have done a lot of work in
developing a range of warning systems and message interfaces in recent years,
including internet solutions and the Australasian Inter-service Incident
Management System. AFAC emphasised that:
[P]ublic information and getting warnings out should now be
in the forefront of the minds of incident managers across Australia and the
importance of doing so can be elevated in some circumstances to be equally
important to get the information out as it is to get the fire out.
However, a concern repeatedly raised with the committee was that when
infrastructure dependent on electricity or communications towers are brought
down by fires, many technologies will not work and that people must be able and
willing to keep informed through multiple means, not least the battery-operated
AFAC explained that they are working cooperatively with state and
territory emergency services under a memorandum of understanding. They cited
substantial sharing of resources across borders in the Victorian Black Saturday
bushfires, and the Queensland floods/Cyclone Yasi of 2010–11. However, AFAC
also warned that there may be occasions when simultaneous demands are made in
several states. 
With respect to floods there were also positive stories. An example of
success was the claim by Mr Cameron, Manager of Disaster Operations at Brisbane
City Council that:
Queensland disaster management arrangements, which are based
upon the Disaster Management Act 2003, have a proven history of providing
efficient response and recovery for a multitude of emergency events ranging
from cyclones through to flooding.
He elaborated further on improved responses between 2008 and the 2011
flood due to better intelligence capability:
[The Brisbane Incident Management System] had a rapid damage
assessment and ability to get a better situation more quickly. This did aid in
the effective response in 2011.
Townsville City Council claimed that:
The disaster management process is well exercised and
coordinated in our local area with clear delineation of roles and
responsibilities between agencies and respective levels of government.
Balancing these positive stories of the effectiveness and success of
emergency services in recent natural disasters were a range of suggestions from
submitters and witnesses as to areas where emergency services could be improved.
There are two aspects to resourcing emergency services. Firstly, there
is the need to have enough personnel for day-to-day operations especially if
extreme weather is occurring more often, causing more frequent and intense
demands. AFAC explained:
...agencies need, as I am sure they are, to be aware that that
is happening and they need to consider how that is going to be resourced, be
that through increasing their full-time establishment, increasing seasonal
workers—for instance, employing more firefighters during the fire season—or be
it by maintaining and improving the recruitment of the volunteer establishment.
Secondly, there is coping with emergency events that necessitate a
sudden increase or 'surge' in resource provision. Dealing with this needs 'some
advance strategic planning for how greater workloads may be handled'.
The Bushfire CRC drew to the committee's attention the importance of
quick responses to indications of bushfire danger. He stated that:
If you do not have the ability to respond quickly, the fire
is going to get larger; the larger the fire gets, the harder it is to put out;
the harder it is to put out, the greater the costs. That is where there is a
benefit cost analysis of investing early and investing in the right knowledge,
the right people, the right places and the right equipment to enable the
response to be adequate.
With increasing extreme weather events and the prolonging of the fire
season in both hemispheres, a new difficulty is that international backup
resources may not be available.
...there have been times when they have been having major fires
running a lot longer in their season than they normally do and when ours have
started a lot earlier. If that trend continues, we are going to get to the
stage where we are battling for resources.
The National Secretary of United Firefighters Union of Australia,
Mr Peter Marshall, gave some hard figures on the need for increased
levels of operational staff:
[T]he current population and climate change forecasts for
operational staff needed to address increased bushfire activity would suggest a
28 to 40 per cent increase in operational staff—that is an extra 660 to 990
full-time employees—between now and 2026. This is for Victoria only. The basis
for that is that we are looking at a temperature increase, from CSIRO
predictions, of one to five degrees Celsius up to 2070.
He quoted corroborating research into increased temperatures
commissioned by the World Bank.
These figures are based only on Victorian needs, so if accurate, would be
multiplied several times for all of Australia.
The committee was presented with a number of suggestions for improving
data collection and dissemination. With respect to flooding, Mr Considine suggested
that a more comprehensive network of rainfall gauges would improve the
reliability of predictions for flash floods:
In order to accurately predict flash flooding, it is
necessary to have a good network of rainfall gauges, be they automatic rainfall
gauges or be they monitored. And that is a weakness that I think state emergency
services have recognised.
The need for specific data to evaluate storms was raised by
Professor Rodger Tomlinson.
The nature of our work is very much about fundamental
understanding and getting quite specific information for particular areas. That
requires a great deal of detailed information for particular areas and often if
there is a gauge or other instrumentation some distance away it is very, very
difficult to implement that. From other work that I have been doing, for the
Victorian government, I am very aware of quite significant gaps in the
Waverider information, for example, on the coastline of Victoria.
He also pointed to the:
...importance of making sure that the current data collection
programs around the country are maintained and enhanced, because without data
you may as well not bother with a computer program.
Mr Davies from the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency
Services advised that they had some concerns about the cyclone data provided by
the Bureau of Meteorology:
A lot of the models used to calculate what will happen in the
future with climate change, are based on American models, particularly with
regard to cyclones. These models have never been tested practically in the
Australian environment, so a lot of the data has changed over time. That is,
the techniques that were used 20 years ago to monitor the cyclones have changed
so that the quality of data going back over those years is variable. This is
quite an important issue. ...there is some concern about whether the historical
data is accurate....
...it is quite frightening that we are not doing enough
research into the Australian environment.
Locals Into Victoria's Environment commented in respect to sea level
A prudent risk management approach would demand that this
full range of possible outcomes — including those with the most extreme impacts
at the high end of the range at 2 metres — be incorporated into the
government’s assessment and adaptation work. But it has not...
Instead, the government’s work is based on three scenarios,
none of which exceed 1.1 metres, a height which is little more than half that
which the scientists are telling us could occur.
The manager of Brisbane City Council disaster operations called for nationwide
consistency—in legislation, terminology, systems operational procedures and
understanding of activation levels.
[Consistent legislation] would allow for consistency at all
levels. Whilst we may change things like processes and procedures and
standardisation of the actual activities themselves, standardising who is
responsible for what and where across a nationalised spectrum would certainly
allow for that more efficient and effective response to disasters, which, as we
see, sometimes cross borders and occasionally require support from a number of
agencies, including those federal agencies.
Likewise Professor Thom testified to the desirability for national
consistency in methodologies and standards, saying:
[W]e actually need to have a national methodology that is
consistent so that we do not have state-by-state variation or local council by
local council variation and so that the local councils or whatever regional
authorities are involved can go to that national body and seek the appropriate
The evidence presented in this inquiry shows that the Australian
community generally, and at local levels, is increasingly aware of predicted
changes in weather patterns that will lead to more extreme events, and that they
need to be prepared for this. Media coverage has ensured that recent
catastrophes such as the Victorian bushfires and Brisbane floods are in the
forefront of the public imagination.
However, the committee heard that the Australian community is still on a
'steep learning curve' as to what to do about the increasing probability of
extreme weather events. Some sectors, such as telecommunications, are advanced
in utilising the latest knowledge and technologies. In other areas, research
work is incomplete, understanding is patchy and implementation is captive to a
lack of clarity about responsibilities or resource deficiency.
The committee was particularly concerned by evidence that many
facilities caring for vulnerable sectors of society do not necessarily have the
resources to develop their own disaster response plans to enable them to
respond appropriately to extreme weather events. Some of these facilities, such
as hospitals, may not only be impacted by such events but also at the
'frontline' of responding to extreme weather events. It is therefore essential
to ensure that all such facilities have emergency management plans in place.
The committee recommends that Commonwealth, state and territory
governments ensure that all facilities caring for vulnerable groups, in
particular hospitals, schools, childcare and aged care facilities, have
emergency management plans, relevant to their geographic settings, in place and
The committee also believes that the very existence of this inquiry will
start to raise the level of activity, but follow on action is needed. The most
effective areas where the Commonwealth can contribute are by:
- ensuring that there is collaboration in knowledge production;
- coordinating structural and sectoral bodies; and
- providing resources and demanding accountability in their use.
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