Victoria Prepared: An Action Plan
Message from the Deputy Premier
Victoria's emergency management framework is nearly 30 years old and no longer meets the needs of our State. Our recent experience of natural disasters includes: droughts, bushfires and floods. These events have resulted in a devastating loss of lives, destroyed many properties and caused widespread economic loss. They have caused significant ongoing consequences for the community.
These extreme events were too big for any one agency to manage alone. Our emergency management arrangements must ensure that all agencies respond to these events in a coherent and organised manner, using the best and most qualified personnel available.
The release of a Green Paper on Victoria's crisis and emergency management arrangements – Towards a More Disaster Resilient and Safer Victoria - is the first step in a process of major reform to Victoria's emergency management arrangements, across the spectrum of planning, preparation, response, relief and recovery.
This reform is a once-in-a-generation opportunity and will create an emergency management system in which the emergency service organisations and relevant Government agencies:
- share a common understanding of emergency management;
- train and exercise together;
- work to common operating standards;
- share and use the same operational picture; and
- rely on equipment and systems that work together.
This vision will guide future Government investment.
The community has a critical role to play in its own safety. Therefore, the Victorian Government aims to assist communities to become more resilient. Households, businesses and community organisations need to be informed, fully and effectively engaged in planning for emergencies, and better equipped and prepared to act.
The Government also recognises the need to strengthen our relief and recovery arrangements to assist communities to regain their feet as quickly as possible after major emergencies. The Government has already taken steps to improve emergency service delivery. Further measures will be taken before the next fire and flood season. Some of these key measures are summarised in this paper.
In undertaking these reforms, the Victorian Government aims to ensure that Victoria is fully prepared for future emergencies and able to recover more quickly from their impacts. The Government seeks to build a greater capacity to protect homes, businesses and livelihoods, and to minimise damage to our communities and infrastructure. Most importantly, we want to be much better placed to save lives and to reduce the personal trauma and hardship that can accompany severe emergency events.
These reforms are vitally important to Victoria's future. We encourage all Victorians to be part of this opportunity to make Victoria a world leader in how we prevent, mitigate, respond to and recover from emergencies.
Peter Ryan MLA
Deputy Premier
Towards a more Disaster Resilient and Safer Victoria
For large-scale events we need to enhance our capacity for planning, preparedness, prevention, response and recovery.
The Green Paper details a range of issues that need to be resolved, discusses these, raises questions and proposes options for reform.
The Green Paper focuses on two key concepts:
- emergency service organisations and Government agencies working with communities to take action to plan and prepare for disasters; and
- making an "all hazards, all agencies" approach to managing large-scale disasters a reality.
The issues and concepts raised in the Green Paper are not intended to be exhaustive and the Government is interested in hearing about other matters that may affect Victoria's ability to prepare for, mitigate, respond to and recover from emergency events.
The Green Paper is designed to challenge current thinking and pose provocative questions about the practical options for reform.
The Paper groups 32 options for consideration in four major areas needing reform. These are:
- oversight and co-ordination of how the system operates;
- our capacity to deal with large-scale events;
- service delivery performance; and
- government working with communities to build resilience.
Some of the options proposed in the Green Paper which will be of broad interest are highlighted next.
Capability
Establish common training and exercise programs for large-scale and complex emergency events.
[Option 10]
Create a standard model for large-scale relief, recovery and reconstruction.
[Option 11]
Service delivery
Streamline emergency management legislation and ensure that roles and responsibilities reflect reality, capacity and expectations.
[Options 12 and 13]
Co-locate emergency service organisations in the same building.
[Option 15]
Establish common regional boundaries for emergency management agencies.
[Option 18]
Update legislation in line with municipal councils' capabilities and to reflect the support they require, including in emergency planning.
[Options 22, 23, 24 and 26]
Resilience
Adopt the New Zealand model of community information.
[Option 30]
Publish a Victorian risk register for the community's use.
[Option 31]
Consider new ways of building community resilience.
[Option 32]
The process
The Victorian Government will be seeking feedback on this Green Paper until 14 November 2011. Following this, feedback will be reviewed and further information sought where necessary. To download a copy of the Green Paper or access information on how to make a submission, see: www.dpc.vic.gov.au. Please contact Information Victoria on 1300 366 356 if you would like a printed copy of the Green Paper mailed to you.
Mr Neil Comrie is expected to present his Final Report to Government on the Review of the 2010-11 Flood Warnings and Response (Victorian Floods Review) by 1 December 2011. These two processes will inform the development of policy proposals on how to reform Victoria's emergency management arrangements.
These proposals will be released in the form of a White Paper in the first half of 2012. The White Paper will lead to major amendments to Victoria's laws and policies governing emergency management. While this review is underway, the Victorian Government will continue mplementing recommendations from the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission.
It will also identify short-term measures to improve emergency management arrangements in preparation for the next fire season, and it will consider short-term responses to the Final Report of the Victorian Floods Review.
Victoria's Action Plan
What has been done?
In response to the recommendations of the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission, and the Victorian Floods Review Interim Report, the Government has already:
- Released in May 2011 the State's Plan for how it will implement all 67 of the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission's recommendations and made substantial progress in delivering on these commitments (including the following actions):
-
- appointed the Fire Services Commissioner to promote and lead reform in the fire services to deliver improved operational performance and ensure the three fire services act as an integrated force in response to large-scale fires;
- significantly enhanced its community education and engagement programs on bushfire safety and survival;
- developed new systems to improve the speed, accuracy and range of sources of information and warnings to the community on bushfires;
- established the Bushfire Safety Policy Framework to support and improve local bushfire safety planning and provide a range of safety options for individuals to choose from to maximise their chances of survival in a bushfire;
- increased the level of planned burning on public land towards the target of 390,000 hectares per annum; and
- appointed a new Emergency Services Commissioner, Mr Michael Hallowes, who is responsible for monitoring and reporting on the performance of the emergency services
What will be done?
Immediate actions
Before the end of this year, the Government will introduce legislation to:
- clarify the responsibilities of the Minister and the Chief Commissioner of Police in emergencies;
- clarify VicSES' ability to delegate powers and other measures to facilitate response to emergencies; and
- require emergency agencies to assist in the response to large scale emergencies in addition to their specific hazard responsibility.
The Fire Services Commissioner will work with the emergency service agencies to establish standing emergency management teams to provide 'surge capacity' to respond to natural hazard emergencies across Victoria. These teams will have deep technical and incident management expertise and will support and mesh with local Incident Management Teams to enable a swift and effective emergency response.
The Fire Services Commissioner will work with the emergency services to adapt major incident control centres and management systems for use in response to all natural hazard emergencies (focussing on flood risk zones as a priority).
The fire services and Fire Services Commissioner will roll out a program of exercises across regional Victoria in October and November in preparation for the 2011-12 fire season (Project Belenus). These exercises will involve a broad cross-section of emergency management practitioners and other stakeholders such as emergency broadcasters, volunteers and the community.
In addition, the emergency service agencies will conduct two further exercises focusing specifically on flood scenarios, and community drills/rehearsals.
In the 2011-12 Budget, Government invested in and will deliver:
- $6.3m over two years to repair damaged and destroyed stream gauges and flood warning equipment and reduce flood warning gaps identified in the early 2011 floods;
- $12.1m for the development of FloodZoom, a web-based flood prediction and warning system; and
- record funding of $38m over four years for the Victoria State Emergency Service, for additional support programs and new and upgraded equipment and facilities.
Now is the time for change, and change will happen. The Victorian Government wants to gather the views of the Victorian community and emergency management stakeholders on how we can better prevent, mitigate, respond to and recover from emergencies. Your participation in the consultation process is strongly encouraged.
Last updated on Monday, 12 September 2011