Concerns that Australia lagging in its formation of a national disaster response plan

From the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, an August 2009 special report Hardening Australia: Climate change and national disaster resilience by Athol Yates and Anthony Bergin:

Evidence now suggests that the impact of climate change is being realised in Australia more rapidly than previously estimated.

The observed changes include more extreme events such as droughts and storms.

A new report from the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change suggests that these impacts will increase over time. 1

We should therefore immediately start adapting to the new environment.

Delays will only result in more costly disasters in terms of life and property.

In order to respond to climate change in Australia, this report offers some adaptation ideas for homeland security planners as well as other key domestic stakeholders such as our emergency services.2.........

Emergency services and disaster management organisations are now recognising the importance of integrating climate change into their activities, albeit to different degrees. There are many initiatives underway to assist them to do so, such as the development of a climate change action plan commissioned by the Ministerial Council for Police and Emergency Management in November 2008 and a National Adaptation Research Plan for Disaster Management and Emergency Services.18 (See Box 5)

There's sometimes a limited awareness, however, by broader stakeholders of this work. A reason that's often advanced to justify limited consultation is that exposure of such material will raise public anxiety.

The 2005 government report, Review of Australia's Ability to Respond to and Recover from Catastrophic Disasters, for example, only became publicly available in May this year after the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission requested it.

Not surprisingly the community wasn't spooked by the report's disclosures: the only concerns raised were why the study hadn't been released earlier.19

A former head of Emergency Management Australia recently stated that the Commonwealth had still not acted on key recommendation in the 2005 Review of Australia's Ability to Respond to and Recover from Catastrophic Disasters.

The Federal Government states that it expects to complete a National Catastrophic Disaster Plan by the end of 2009.

This plan will be of particular interest to the NSW North Coast as it is clear from other documents that our region is one of many likely to feel the brunt of increased adverse weather events.