Inquiry Search
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC324-4312 | 17 - Assets and technology | Impact to essential services: That, to minimise disruption to essential services, including outages which compromise basic communication coverage, and to ensure access to safe water supply and power during flood events, Government work directly or together with the Australian and other state governments and/or their relevant power and telecommunications regulatory, policy and market bodies to: |
REC324-4293 | 17 - Assets and technology | Essential services and floodplain infrastructure: That, to minimise disruption to essential services (power, communications, water, sewerage) and to ensure flood infrastructure is fully serviceable before flooding, Government ensure: |
REC324-4297 | 33 - Relief and recovery | Housing , especially social housing: That, to ease housing stress in flood prone areas and ensure new development is resilient and community-centred, Government pursue a multi-pronged, decadal strategy through: |
REC324-4306 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | NSW Reconstruction Authority: That, to provide rapid and effective recovery from floods (and other disasters) and to provide maximum mitigation of the impacts of future floods (and other disasters), Government establish a permanent state-wide agency, the NSW Reconstruction Authority (NSWRA) dedicated to disaster recovery, reconstruction and preparedness. The NSWRA should: |
REC324-4311 | 33 - Relief and recovery | Transition initiatives: That, to improve the community’s experience during immediate disaster recovery phase, Government through the SEOCON, NSWRA, DCS/Service NSW and other state agencies as required provide greater support (financial, health [including mental health], temporary accommodation, administrative and other support services) to affected communities by: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC199-0453 | 20 - Role of police | Victoria Police revise coordinator arrangements to ensure: • a coordinator presence is maintained at the place where incident control is being exercised • effective control is established and is maintained until the response phase has concluded • key control roles may be performed by personnel from agencies other than the designated control agency • that the timely compilation and distribution of an appropriate Incident Action Plan is recognised as a fundamental component of establishing effective control • those performing the coordinator role at an Incident Control Centre be suitably trained, skilled and experienced in emergency management and where possible possess a degree of local knowledge of the relevant area; and • that the revised coordinator arrangements are reflected within the State Emergency Response Plan |
REC199-0403 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | the state and commonwealth undertake a review into the appropriate institutional arrangements for the forecasting and predictions function currently undertaken by Melbourne Water for the Port Phillip and Westernport region. |
REC199-0474 | 33 - Relief and recovery | the state, in respect of the Rapid Impact Assessment process: • resolve which agency/ies has policy and operational responsibility for this process • define the purpose of Rapid Impact Assessment; and • review the process, in light of the 2010–11 floods, to examine options to improve the efficiency of the collection of information. |
REC199-0411 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | the Bureau of Meteorology undertake a review of its radar coverage in the context of flash and riverine flood warnings for Victoria, with a particular focus on known gap areas such as the Horsham/Nhill region. |
REC199-0480 | 33 - Relief and recovery | the state clarify the transition to recovery arrangements including the processes for approving and funding of essential works after transition to recovery has been formalised. |
REC199-0452 | 17 - Assets and technology | the state ensure that any new systems and equipment purchased by state emergency management agencies are interoperable with other relevant agencies to the fullest extent possible. This should involve the state establishing a procurement gateway process with input from the Emergency Services Commissioner. |
REC199-0473 | 33 - Relief and recovery | the state make available to the public a clear guide of who is responsible for: • clean-up and recovery of various types of infrastructure that straddle the public/private boundary; and • the policies agencies will follow in determining whether to repair infrastructure under their control. |
REC199-0410 | 17 - Assets and technology | the state take the necessary measures to upgrade existing manual stream and rain gauges and ensure that all future gauges provide a seamless transfer of data from the gauges to the Bureau of Meteorology. |
REC199-0479 | 33 - Relief and recovery | the state review the way early outreach occurs and implement changes that will ensure that there is a consistency of approach regardless of which agency undertakes the service. |
REC199-0423 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | the Bureau of Meteorology expand its volunteer amateur weather watch groups to enhance its weather and flood information gathering procedures. |
REC199-0491 | 33 - Relief and recovery | the state: • ensure that the concerns raised by Victorians regarding the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements are provided to the national review, including the issues of: – betterment (what it means and how it is applied); and – the 51 per cent income rule for eligibility of businesses for grants. • establish a single point of information (such as the single web portal referred to in recommendation 33) on all emergency related financial assistance available to individuals, businesses and local government. The means of accessing this information should be widely circulated in the community. |
REC199-0472 | 33 - Relief and recovery | the state review the legislation and policies that set out clean-up and recovery responsibilities for infrastructure such as crossovers, culverts, drains, bridges and waterways, including consideration of: • whether the entities who are given obligations or powers to undertake clean-up works have the capacity to do so; and • the appropriateness of having different legal regimes for what is essentially the same piece of infrastructure. If the review reveals that the current responsibility matrix is inadequate, the state develop an action plan to address the identified shortcomings. |
REC199-0409 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | the Bureau of Meteorology should present water levels in both local datum and Australian Height Datum (gauge zero) for all its published information and warnings |
REC199-0478 | 33 - Relief and recovery | the state amend the current protocol governing National Registration and Inquiry System information collection and sharing to: • clarify the role of councils and Centrelink during and after emergencies • ensure the amended protocol is written in plain English and easily understood; and • coordinate, in conjunction with the state and federal privacy commissioners, the development of a new National Registration and Inquiry System information sharing protocol in line with the proposed National Registration and Inquiry System 6 and state or federal privacy legislation. |
REC199-0419 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | the Bureau of Meteorology provide Incident Control Centres with real-time access to flood data held by the Bureau of Meteorology. This will require Bureau of Meteorology staff making themselves available to respond to enquiries from Incident Control Centres during a flood event. |
REC199-0490 | 33 - Relief and recovery | the state finalise the 2008 review of Victoria’s municipal assistance. This should include addressing: • the provision of upfront funding for local councils for repair of community assets • packages for early relief and recovery to be included in both the Natural Disaster Funding Arrangements and the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements, including outreach packages; and • the process of reimbursement of local councils after floods. |
REC199-0470 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | the commonwealth consider including (as part of its review of standards for aged care services) requirements for: • robust ‘all hazards’ evacuation plans that include current after-hour contact details of people who are able to make authoritative decisions during an emergency; and • rehearsal of those plans. |
REC199-0405 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | the state and the Bureau of Meteorology liaise to ensure the existence of appropriate quality control processes for gauges and contingency measures in the event that gauges are damaged during flood events. |
REC199-0477 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | the state review the potential for National Registration and Inquiry System 6 to provide a single point of information collection to both register individuals and plan the delivery of recovery services. If the review determines National Registration and Inquiry System 6 is unable to fulfil this function, the state should work with the commonwealth and other states to implement the necessary changes to National Registration and Inquiry System 6. If National Registration and Inquiry System 6 is unable to be developed as a single information collection system: the state should develop and implement a single point of information collection system, including how information obtained from outreach activities can be incorporated into this system and how such information may be linked into the Rapid Impact Assessment process. |
REC199-0413 | 14 - Incident Mgt Teams | the state clarify the role of intelligence cell staff (for example, hydrologists and/or Catchment Management Authority) who are utilised in Incident Control Centres during flood events |
REC199-0489 | 33 - Relief and recovery | the state implement arrangements to improve the support provided to local government on disaster financing before, during and after emergency events. |
REC199-0460 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | the state formalise and continue the Emergency Response Legal Advisers Forum. |
REC199-0404 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | the state engage with the Bureau of Meteorology to establish a joint initiative to review existing flash flood warning systems in Victoria and identify where additional systems are needed, with a particular focus on urban centres with a history of flash flooding. This review should seek to achieve outcomes similar to those implemented in NSW. Subject to those outcomes being implemented, the state should determine which agency is responsible for flash flood warnings. |
REC199-0476 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | the Department of Planning and Community Development examine strategies to address and clarify insurance coverage of community volunteers in emergency events |
REC199-0412 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | the Bureau of Meteorology adjust its flood prediction models to incorporate water storage conditions (to enable it to issue more timely and useful flood predictions for communities based downstream of water storages). |
REC199-0488 | 33 - Relief and recovery | the Department of Human Services develop proactive strategies to provide information and assistance for people applying for emergency grants. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC177-3274 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The Minister should appoint a senior policy adviser to investigate and report on the best means to implement the recommendations contained in this Chapter 3 of this report. |
REC177-3348 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | Responsibility for well integrity should be moved to NOPSA (as also proposed by the Productivity Commission). |
REC177-3365 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The National Plan should specify that the cost of responding to an oil spill, or other damage to the offshore marine environment, will be totally met by the owner/operator. This would be consistent with the Inquiry’s recommendation for legislative changes to the regulatory framework concerning owner/operators meeting the cost of monitoring and remediation of environmental damage. |
REC177-3376 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | In carrying out a review of PTTEPAA’s permit and licence, the Minister should have regard to this Report, particularly (i) the adverse findings set out in this Chapter; and (ii) the extent to which PTTEPAA has implemented the Action Plan submitted to the Inquiry, or otherwise addressed the matters canvassed in this Report. |
REC177-3347 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The proposal of the Productivity Commission’s Research Report (Review of Regulatory Burden on the Upstream Petroleum (Oil and Gas) Sector, April 2009) to establish a NOPR should be pursued at a minimum. |
REC177-3358 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The body established to undertake a central coordination and facilitation role in the event of any future blowout in Commonwealth waters should undertake to make all relevant information publically available from one, authoritative and easy to access source. |
REC177-3375 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | For the purposes of that review, the Minister should issue a ‘show cause’ notice to PTTEPAA under s 276 of the OPGGS Act. |
REC177-3346 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | A single, independent regulatory body should be created, looking after safety as a primary objective, well integrity and environmental approvals. Industry policy and resource development and promotion activities should reside in government departments and not with the regulatory agency. The regulatory agency should be empowered (if that is necessary) to pass relevant petroleum information to government departments to assist them to perform the policy roles. |
REC177-3357 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | In any future similar blowout or offshore emergency situation, the Minister appoint (through either a NOPR or the relevant Department) a senior public servant to establish and oversight a central coordinating body that will facilitate interaction between regulators, industry, AMSA and the owner/operator. Primary responsibility for stopping a blowout should remain with the owner/operator but should be subject to direction from the central coordinating body in consultation with stakeholders (including the owner/operator). |
REC177-3372 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | OSCPs should be endorsed by AMSA prior to regulatory approval to ensure that they align with the National Plan. Once field operations commence, the capability of operators should be assessed against their plans, and exercises conducted to ensure the plans remain effective. |
REC177-3329 | 17 - Assets and technology | Logistics management of well control equipment should be conducted in such a way as to operate as a check against deficient well control practices, for example, use of serial numbers to track availability, testing, and deployment of well control equipment. |
REC177-3351 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | In the future, and in the interests of ensuring that all possible well control options are comprehensively pursued to exhaustion, decisions as to well control response options should be the result of collaboration between the regulator and the operator rather than leaving one party to make unilateral judgements as to the appropriateness of various well control operations. The regulator should provide transparent and contemporaneous explanations to the public of all well control options under consideration at any particular time. |
REC177-3371 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The Government should examine the scope for a single environment plan to meet the regulatory requirements of both the OPGGS Act and the EPBC Act. This could possibly be achieved by way of bilateral agreements and accreditation arrangements and/or legislative amendment. |
REC177-3310 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | Consideration should be given to ways to ensure that contractors who are involved in barrier installation (such as cementing companies) have a direct interest in the performance of works to a proper standard. In particular, consideration should be given to (i) preventing contractors from avoiding the economic consequences of negligent installation of barriers; and/or (ii) imposing specific legislative standards of workmanship on contractors with respect to well control (similar to those which presently apply to licensees). |
REC177-3349 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | In the meantime, the Minister should: |
REC177-3369 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The obligation of companies involved in an incident to meet the full costs of monitoring and remediation should be made a condition of approval of proposals under the EPBC Act and OPGGS Act. Suitable arrangements (insurance or otherwise) need to be in place to ensure that companies have this capacity. |