REC324-4316 |
12 - EM agency and authority
12 - EM agency and authority
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Resilience NSW and recovery: That, in order to enhance NSW disaster preparedness, response and recovery, and meet the needs of the people of NSW prior to, during and after a disaster, and provide clarity on agency roles and responsibilities, Resilience NSW be reshaped to ‘Recovery NSW’. The new agency will be more streamlined and agile to drive recovery in the first 100 days post disaster. To achieve this, Resilience NSW’s functions should be reallocated as follows:
• disaster preparedness and support, and disaster emergency management policy and service delivery to the newly created Deputy Commissioner of Police responsible for the SEOCON [Recovery NSW]
• community engagement and public education on disaster risk and preparations to DCS/NSWRA
• disaster recovery and renewal management and coordination to the newly created NSWRA
• evacuation centre management and coordination to the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), which includes support for self-styled community evacuation centres. Many of DCJ’s current functions deal with people in crisis, therefore the Inquiry finds it best placed to perform the role of evacuation centre lead. The Inquiry notes the importance of a police or security presence in evacuation centres, particularly in the early days of the establishment of the evacuation centres
• welfare services functional area (WELFAC) to the DCJ
• grants administration to the Department of Customer Service (DCS)/Service NSW for immediate relief and the NSWRA for longer term recovery and reconstruction. There should also be a renewed focus on agency, local and state government training.
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REC324-4318 |
12 - EM agency and authority
12 - EM agency and authority
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Permanent SEOCON: That, to improve NSW’s ability to prepare and respond to floods and other disasters, Government establish a new Deputy Commissioner of NSW Police Force to take on permanently the SEOCON role. This role, in addition to current SEOCON functions, would be responsible for:
• chairing the State Emergency Management Committee (SEMC)
• facilitating collaborative risk management and compliance activities working with local and regional emergency management committees, communities, local government, state government agencies, particularly the proposed NSWRA, and the Australian Government
• working with relevant state government agencies to improve their operational readiness and preparedness for emergencies including, but not limited to, training, education, and ensuring proactive understanding of the location and condition of assets available to the combat agency in the event of an emergency, rather than this information being sought during an emergency, with agencies being required to report on implementation and progress through the SEMC
• ownership of a state capability framework to ensure combat agencies can resource a catastrophic event (so, for example, that during a flood emergency SES deploys all available assets, not just assets owned by SES)
• leading training standards across combat agencies, local government, NGOs and essential service providers.
• establishing funded permanent emergency management police positions (at sergeant or senior sergeant level) focussed on local emergency management service delivery for the SEOCON across all 27 police districts in regional NSW, and the 3 police metropolitan regions in Sydney, with priority given to identified high risk-catchments
• supporting existing interstate connectivity
• State Emergency Recovery Controller (SERCON) responsibilities, which could be delegated to a recovery coordinator/s as deemed appropriate
• leading the proposed new agency, Recovery NSW.
That, to support the Deputy Police Commissioner, SEOCON, a full-time secretariat office led by a Deputy Secretary for Emergency Management be established within, though functionally separate from, NSW Police to drive policy development and implementation. This office should be well-trained to ensure the effective chairing of, and secretariat support for, the SEMC.
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REC324-4320 |
12 - EM agency and authority
12 - EM agency and authority
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Knowledge resources to support flood management: That, to provide more accurate and complete data for flood threat identification, warning and modelling systems, Government through the proposed new NSW Reconstruction Authority (NSWRA) work with the Australian Government to:
• improve the rain and river gauge network by:
— implementing the Bureau’s proposed New Policy Proposal for rain and river gauges in NSW
— working to transfer ownership and maintenance responsibility for as many of the river and rain gauges as possible in NSW to the Bureau of Meteorology
— upgrading and ensuring there is a maintenance program across NSW for those gauges that remain in state and local government ownership
• upgrade radar capability in NSW to ensure overlapping coverage and some redundancy, through upgrades to existing fixed radars, and investment in new fixed and mobile radars.
Also that the Government through the NSWRA:
• ensure that all relevant state entities and local councils implement the Bureau flash flooding guidelines for all watercourses for which they have flood warning responsibility, drawing on the state’s significant expertise in remote sensing to implement effective monitoring and warning systems that send warnings to all residents and businesses in affected areas
• make real-time flood warnings and information – both raw information from gauges and processed information from models – available publicly via a smartphone app (ideally part of a state disaster information app) that also allows citizens to provide information during a flood to help authorities and community. This information could include flood imagery and local knowledge observations in the lead into, during, and immediately after flood events.
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REC324-4306 |
6 - Insurance and legal liability
6 - Insurance and legal liability
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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:
• source and acquit reconstruction funding from state, Australian Government and philanthropic sources and ensure it is distributed and spent efficiently, effectively, and equitably to get the affected communities functioning again successfully in minimum time. A disaster-preparedness funding envelope should be a permanent feature of the state’s budget (NSW Adaptation Fund) with specific drawdown arrangements negotiated as soon as a disaster occurs
• work with appropriate agencies to ensure disaster relief grants schemes are put into place quickly and ensure rapid and effective distribution of disaster relief grants
• be the clear lead agency responsible for managing and coordinating Government’s program of housing and infrastructure renewal and recovery within disaster‐affected communities, with a focus on working with community, business, state and local government partners (particularly planning, infrastructure, water and roads agencies and utilities) to deliver best practice and rapid effective expenditure of public reconstruction funds. For this it should be given appropriate authority to accelerate or override planning arrangements (in particular, local government planning, environmental and land management controls, provisions and regulations) in affected and high-risk areas and, as necessary, compulsorily acquire or subdivide land
• ensure there is appropriate project management, monitoring, evaluation and reporting of recovery implementation and associated civil engineering and public works at both a state and local level
• develop effective information flow and consultation mechanisms which ensure a clear voice in crisis but also a broader engagement process during the rebuilding phase, so all those affected in a disaster are supported, consulted and informed throughout the recovery and reconstruction process
• in line with the Government’s vision to build a more disaster-robust state, be the state’s lead agency responsible for disaster prevention. In this role, NSWRA would work collaboratively with key stakeholders (at risk communities, local government and the private, research and philanthropic sectors) to improve risk reduction and disaster adaptation particularly in high-risk areas. In particular, it should work with disaster prone communities, local government and agencies across state government to develop a State Disaster Mitigation Plan and scope, source funding for and lead special disaster-prevention and mitigation projects identified in that Plan
• contribute to Government’s objectives for the community – creating jobs, homes and a strong economy, especially in the regions, protecting the environment and building safe, caring and connected communities by:
— administering funding under disaster recovery funding arrangements and assisting local governments to achieve value for money outcomes in their reconstruction programs
— providing advice and support to local governments to maximise the effectiveness of their disaster preparedness and reconstruction programs
— coordinating disaster recovery activities that help communities recover from disasters and build their preparedness for future events.
Further, it is recommended that the NSW Reconstruction Authority be established and function under dedicated legislation [the NSW Disaster Reconstruction Act] that is modelled on the Queensland Reconstruction Authority Act. This legislation should include that:
• the Authority be allocated to a senior portfolio to maximise its convening power and its ability to respond rapidly when disaster strikes
• its CEO be a statutory appointment and be supported by an Advisory Board (maximum 7 members) comprising community, government and industry leaders with appropriate expertise and experience related to disaster response
• Special Projects be formal constructs with appropriate links to all other relevant agencies
• transition provisions transfer the activities and assets of the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation with immediate effect.
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REC324-4309 |
12 - EM agency and authority
12 - EM agency and authority
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SES and RFS back-office merger: That, to help protect life and property across NSW in storm and flood events, and to improve resourcing and NSW State Emergency Service (SES) frontline capability, Government implement, before the next storm season, a merger of the SES and NSW Rural Fire Services (RFS) back-office and corporate service functions, while maintaining their separate legislative identity, brand, uniform and volunteer membership. This ‘joined-up’ RFS/SES corporate support structure would be under the command of the RFS given its corporate and operational maturity and would be responsible for:
• placing risk at the centre of all decision making and planning for catastrophic disasters
• establishing a dedicated intelligence unit that synthesises the wealth of intelligence available to inform critical decision making, particularly for flash flooding
• establishing a planning unit to help better prepare communities, NSW combat and other agencies, and local governments about upcoming flood and storm seasons
• establishing a fulltime SES position for each high-risk catchment to ensure flood identification, response assets and supporting infrastructure is serviced, operational and ready to deploy
• designing and implementing a workforce plan to identify any capacity and capability gaps in frontline emergency staff, now and into the future
• improving the hiring standards of frontline full-time staff in operational decision-making positions
• improving the support, training and retention of both frontline staff and volunteers
• improving media protocols and identifying a designated media spokesperson during a disaster.
The newly merged model should be reviewed in 12 months’ time by the SEMC.
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REC324-4315 |
36 - Volunteers
36 - Volunteers
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The Community First Responders Program: That, to better coordinate community efforts to save life and property during a disaster, Government create a ‘Community First Responders Program’, funding appropriate community equipment and training, particularly in high-risk catchments along the east coast of NSW. This training would be delivered by combat and/or other appropriate government agencies. This program could support and empower community led initiatives such as disaster response, evacuation centres and the provision of services such as psychological first aid.
To plan for volunteerism into the future, the State Emergency Management Committee (SEMC) commission a review of volunteerism in NSW, acknowledging it is essential to the state’s emergency response to protect life and property. This review needs to recommend a way forward for emergency volunteer agencies to respond to declining formal volunteerism and to make better use of Community First Responders.
Further, to ensure Indigenous communities are included in emergency planning and preparation, emergency management processes incorporate the needs of Indigenous communities including for evacuation procedures and centres by:
• developing an Indigenous first responders program working with Aboriginal communities in flood affected regions to understand what is needed, and resourcing this program appropriately, and
• ensuring Aboriginal Community Liaison Officers (ACLO) form part of the Local Emergency Management Committees and are present at evacuation centres during a disaster to better serve Indigenous communities.
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