Acknowledgements
- The Honourable Nathan Rees MP, New South Wales Minister for Emergency Services;
- Mr Greg Aplin MP, State Member for Albury;
- Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons New South Wales Rural Fire Service;
- Cr Gary Poidevin, Mayor of Corowa Shire;
- Cr John Bruce, Mayor of Berrigan Shire;
- Ladies and gentlemen
Introduction
It’s a great pleasure to be here this afternoon representing my colleague, the Honourable Robert McClelland MP, the Attorney-General.
He was disappointed that he could not be here – I spoke with him and I know he was very keen to visit Corowa – a magnificent region often referred to as the ‘birthplace of Australian Federation’. However, I'm very pleased to be here in my role as Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector.
Corowa continues to prove itself on many other levels, and we see that in the way people care for one another and the interests of the community. This Centre is a case in point.
Commissioner Fitzsimmons has indicated that the long service medals being presented today represent more than 560 years of service to the Rural Fire Service and the community. This is an extraordinary effort and I would like to say thank you from the Government and from the community for that dedication and service.
Corowa has many, many people who make things happen. And on this occasion it’s encouraging to see such dedication and enthusiasm directed to the protection of your community and region.
I want to congratulate the New South Wales government, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, and the Corowa Shire Council for working together to complete the upgrade of this Emergency Management Centre. We all believe that Emergency Management is beyond politics. It relies on good will and cooperation between all levels of government, but also the goodwill and support of families and employers, who all let our volunteers do what they do best when called to an emergency. We acknowledge that cost for families and for workplaces.
This Centre and the equipment being handed over today really show how important it is to be well prepared – to have the right support in place to tackle emergencies when they happen, and in a timely way.
This morning I met with Hori Howard, Chair of the Australian Emergency Management Volunteers Forum. He wanted to brief me about the importance of your work, the need for continued investment in your training and skills development, and of course to ensure that the new government was committed to the work of the forum. He emphasised the need for disaster preparedness as well as responsiveness, in a compelling way.
And I agree of course that to ensure communities are safe, it’s really important that emergency managers look at how they can prevent disasters, how they can prepare for them, and – if the worst does happen - how they respond and recover.
Community preparedness and self-reliance are the biggest two factors in getting the response right.
There’s no doubt top-notch equipment makes a difference, and I’m sure that’s what the Shire had in mind when it put in its application to upgrade the Corowa Shire Emergency Operations Centre.
I commend the State Government for generously committing to extend the facility, so it could accommodate the upgrade. This allowed the Australian Government to put up the money for the Centre’s internal fit-out.
And because of the upgrade, the Centre will now slot right into the Shire’s overall strategy for emergency management.
I know from my own experience – and I’m sure you’ll agree – local governments are often best placed to work out the needs of locals in the middle of an emergency. They know their region, they know their people, and they know what will work and what won’t.
I’m delighted that the Commonwealth has provided $50,000 towards this upgrade from the Working Together to Manage Emergencies program. Since this program began, it has funded more than 1,250 projects worth $42 million. Clearly, these are wise investments.
It’s so great to see a really collaborative effort – involving all levels of government, the district, the extended Corowa Rural Fire Service family and the local business that have contributed too.
It’s helped with many aspects of emergency management, including:
- Helping local councils with their emergency risk initiatives;
- Helping local councils fund and develop emergency risk initiatives, security upgrades around critical infrastructure, and provide staff training, and;
- Helping emergency management volunteer organisations boost recruitment, retention, skills and training.
This is a really important point – I want to make sure we all recognise how critical volunteers are in dealing with emergencies, especially in regional areas. They get out there on the front lines to protect our homes when disaster strikes.
I believe the more than five million volunteers across Australia are the glue that holds our societies together, and they are a very important part of the Government’s Social Inclusion Agenda because they make Australia a safer, fairer and more sustainable place to live.
Every day, volunteers are out there doing the kinds of jobs that we cannot do ourselves. These are highly trained and skilled volunteers doing very difficult work.
By working together with local government and volunteer agencies, we want to build on the community’s capacity to deal with emergencies and disasters.
Climate Change
I think Australians – especially those of us living in the bush – know better than anyone in the world that disasters can strike anywhere, at any time.
New South Wales has had more than its fair share of bushfires over the past few years – and just to show how unpredictable our climate is – there’s been severe flooding too.
The bad news is communities are likely to be at increasing risk as climate change really starts to bite. Some of the problems facing us include:
- Bigger and more frequent tropical cyclones, extending further south;
- Severe storms hitting more often, which will mean flash flooding;
- Longer droughts – causing sustained bushfire threats, and;
- More frequent heatwaves.
All of these threats – and others – just show how important it is communities like Corowa get their emergency planning right. And from what I can see here today, with this wonderful upgraded facility, Corowa is certainly ready.
Conclusion
I live on a rural property outside of Goulburn, and I understand how badly a major disaster or emergency can impact on smaller country communities. Be assured, every person in the Federal Government takes emergency management as seriously as you do.
This upgraded centre sets a benchmark for emergency management planning, and I am confident it will be a very effective resource to help protect the people of Corowa Shire.
Congratulations, and I wish you all the very best.