When Disasters Strikes it is Essential for Commonwealth Parliaments to be Prepared

20/10/2023

Small jurisdictions face unique challenges in managing disaster risk. Often with limited resources and capacity, they may struggle to adequately prepare for and respond to natural disasters, which can have devastating consequences for their communities. Small jurisdictions are also more susceptible to the effects of climate change, which can exacerbate the frequency and intensity of natural disasters. As a result, it is critical that Parliamentarians from small jurisdictions are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to develop effective disaster risk management strategies and establish connections with the broader research and policy community.

The CPA Small Branches Workshop on Disaster Risk Management was held from 24 to 26 May of this year, in partnership with the Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience, Durham University and hosted at the Guildhall, City of London in the UK. It was facilitated by experts in the field and was designed to provide small jurisdictions with a platform for knowledge sharing and collaboration.

The workshop was well attended, with 23 Commonwealth Parliamentarians from 6 CPA Regions. Participants shared their lived experience and engaged in open and informative discussion with each other and the experts in the field.

A range of themes, policies and approaches were explored with a clear introduction to disaster risk management, the importance of resilience and understanding community vulnerabilities and capacities, among others.

The workshop noted the importance of maintaining democratic processes during disasters, decision-making under pressure, ensuring accountability and transparency in disaster management and the role of Parliamentarians. Participants gained an understanding of the impact of decisions made during disasters and afterwards on recovery efforts. They also learnt from the experiences of Parliamentarians in disaster-affected communities and the importance of planning for post-disaster recovery.

Having a range of experts as part of these workshops helped the discussion explore the psychological and social factors that influence disaster preparedness and response, as well as strategies for increasing community trust and social connections.

Participants considered what needed to be included in a community-based disaster preparedness plan and the role of Parliamentarians in the development of community response plans.

Sessions explored the use of technology to support disaster risk management and enhance disaster resilience. Participants discussed the economic impact of disasters, the cost of disaster preparedness and mitigation, and the importance of investing in disaster resilience. Having a range of experts available provided significant benefit for participants in understanding the role of research in disaster risk management and the ways in which research can be used to inform policy and practice.

Many of the participants shared their lived experience of disaster on their communities. For the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), my own community, I shared stories of the impact of two bushfires on Canberra.

In 2023, disaster and emergency responses continue to be felt across many Parliaments and regions. Just this summer significant bushfires have been experienced. In Spain alone, in the first half of 2023, more than 65,000 hectares were burned. It represents 55% of all the burned land in the European Union.

In Canada, as of 25 July 2023, 4,709 fires had burned 11,994,987 hectares (29,640,258 acres) about three percent of the entire forest area of Canada and four times the yearly average. Of the 1,078 active wildfires, 659 were deemed “out of control”. Smoke emitted from the wildfires has caused air quality alerts and evacuations in Canada and the United States. By late June it had crossed the Atlantic reaching Europe.

In August 2023, wildfires in Rhodes and Greece were burning out of control. It is estimated that around 19,000 people were evacuated from Rhodes over one weekend. The Greek government said authorities were carrying out the largest evacuation ever undertaken in the country.

Being prepared for natural disasters and other emergencies is a reality that faces all Parliaments. The CPA Small Branches Workshop on Disaster Risk Management provided much needed and relevant information to participants. It is imperative that we continue discussions with the experts so that we are all better informed and prepared for when we are confronted with disasters.

CASE STUDY: ACT BUSHFIRES 2003

On Saturday 18 January 2003, bushfires which had been burning in the hills to the west of Canberra for more than a week, reached the perimeter of the city, and subsequently Canberra experienced a major bushfire event.

The first public emergency warning on 18 January, was broadcast about 2.40pm. The Chief Minister of the ACT declared a state of emergency at 2:45pm on the 18 January and 15 minutes after declaring a state of emergency, fire began tearing through the urban suburbs of Canberra.

More than 5,000 people were evacuated to emergency centres and many more fled to safety with family and friends. Four people died, 435 were injured and almost 70% of the ACT was burned. More than 500 homes were destroyed, and 23 government and commercial buildings were also destroyed, including the internationally renowned Mount Stromlo Observatory. Over 50,000 Canberran residents lost their utilities (electricity, gas, water) post-fire, and up to 1,600 households reported some damage to property and sought assistance from government services. The estimated financial cost of the fires was between AU$600 million and AU$1 billion.

Any major emergency presents an opportunity to review authorities’ preparedness and how they

perform when put to the test. The bushfire disaster prompted a series of major inquiries, including the ACT Government’s McLeod Inquiry and the

ACT Coroner’s Inquiry. Both inquiries criticised the authorities for underestimating the scale of the firestorm and made recommendations to improve the ACT’s future fire response. The McLeod inquiry commissioned by the ACT Government, made 61 recommendations including legislative changes. All of these were accepted by government and implementation of all recommendations were completed by 2016. Of great significance, the McLeod report highlighted structural inefficiencies in the ACT’s emergency services operations and led to the Emergencies Act 2004 and the creation of the Emergency Services Agency (ESA), Australia’s first unified emergency agency.

After the 2003 fires, the Executive developed the Security and Emergency Management Committee of Cabinet. Decisions of the Emergency Management Committee of Cabinet are subject to the Freedom of Information Act, which requires the Chief Minister to make information publicly available about each Cabinet or Cabinet Committee decision made after commencement of the Act.

CASE STUDY: ACT BUSHFIRES 2020

Again in 2020, the ACT experienced another bushfire emergency. Again, the fires were burning to the south-west of Canberra. Our emergency services were very active in alerting the community to risks and preparedness.

The January 2020 Orroral Valley fire swept through Namadgi National Park just outside of Canberra, burning about 80% of the National Park (82,700 hectares) and 22% of Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve (1,444 hectares) and 3,350 hectares of rural lands.

A searchlight on an MRH-90 Taipan army helicopter started the bushfire in the Namadgi National Park. The helicopter was assisting bushfire prevention efforts in the ACT at the height of Black Summer during 2019/20 and was looking for remote helipads. The crew on an army helicopter were landing for a toilet break when they inadvertently ignited the monster blaze.

The fire started about 1:30pm on 27 January and by 2:25pm it had burned 20 hectares. Later that afternoon, it had burned more than 1,000 hectares and was out of control, and soon after 6pm, it had burned 18,000 hectares. It was not put out for five weeks.

In lessons learnt from 2003, including the need for greater parliamentary transparency, the 2020 Canberra bushfire emergency which necessitated an emergency response and involved 19 Cabinet decisions made between 2 January and 3 February 2020, saw all Cabinet decisions published. The publications of these decisions provided community transparency on the decision-making process associated with this disaster and subsequent responses.

This article was written by Chairperson of the CPA Small Branches, Joy Burch, MLA, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory