Gary Humphries (ACT, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Materiel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

asked the Minister representing the Attorney-General, upon notice, on 8 November 2011:

In regard to Emergency Management Australia briefings to state and territory emergency services agencies:

(1) What sort of information is being provided in these briefings and can copies of any material be provided; if not why not.

(2) Has the department received any feedback on these briefings; if so, can copies of such feedback be provided; if not, why not.

(3) Do the briefings include any information about Emergency Alert, particularly in light of the issues in the recent use of Emergency Alert in the Mitchell chemical fire in the Australian Capital Territory.

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Attorney-General has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's question:

(1) The Pre-Season briefings were conducted in each State and Territory over the period 30 September 2011 to 14 October 2011. The Director General of Emergency Management Australia chaired the briefing and led discussion on the Australian Government arrangements including timely Australian Government assistance to jurisdictions. Support is achieved through effective service delivery coordinated through the Australian Government Crisis Coordination Centre and working within the

Australian Government Crisis Management Framework. Discussion also included the importance of information sharing, the deployment and utilisation of Liaison Officers and joint planning and prioritising of resources. Included in the briefing was updated information on the provision of financial assistance under the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment and the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements.

Australian Government agencies involved in the Pre-Season briefings were the Bureau of Meteorology, Geoscience Australia, Department of Human Services and the Department of Defence.

The Bureau of Meteorology provided an overview of the weather outlook for the relevant jurisdictions and included an Australian weather outlook highlighting the prospect of a return of La Nina which in turn will increase the likelihood of higher than expected rainfall, increase chances of cyclones and severe storms.

Geoscience Australia provided an overview of the mapping capability available and the services which could be offered during an event. The ability to provide emergency service agencies services information such as baseline geographic information, hazard detection alerting products (Sentinel hotspots, earthquake and tsunami alerts), disaster mapping and impact analysis (event specific exposure data and modelling) was highlighted.

Humans Services informed of the current processes in place for the provision of services to the community in relation to assistance during significant events. The delivery of a range of Australian Government disaster recovery payments and services to individuals and communities affected by domestic and off-shore events, which includes: Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment, Funeral / Memorial Assistance, Income Recovery Subsidy and Social Work / Case Management Assistance.

The Australian Defence Force presented information on the arrangements currently in place for the provision of assistance by Defence during times of emergencies. Information was also provided on tasks that Defence can undertake during emergency response (lift and mobility, communications, situational awareness, coordination, shelter, health and welfare, weight of numbers).

This year's briefings included facilitated scenario-based discussion exercises between Emergency Management Australia, Defence and the states and territories. These exercises were used to refine communication and information sharing arrangements, identify capacity constraints in the most common types of emergencies if concurrent major disasters struck and identify likely support that would be requested of the Commonwealth.

The presentations delivered can be provided, but would be better suited if delivered as part of a briefing.

(2) Jurisdictions have provided verbal feedback following the briefings, indicating that they were well received. There is a consensus that yearly pre-season briefings provide a useful vehicle to share information between jurisdictional and Australian Government agencies.

(3) The briefings are about the provision of services and support from Australian Government to jurisdictions during emergency events and for jurisdictions to discuss their capability for response. Jurisdictions briefed on their various methods of communicating with the public and their awareness campaigns, but Emergency Alert was not specifically discussed at these presentations.