With Cyclone Alfred now having passed through the north of the state, we have the luxury of looking back on the emergency response secure in the knowledge the worst-case scenarios didn’t eventuate.
Having witnessed first-hand the work across government, industry and civil society as the preparations for the cycle and ensuring rain and flooding were put in place I think it’s fair to say we have all learnt from previous mistakes.
Whereas in 2022 the response to support communities was slow, reactive and disjointed, there was a concerted effort to bring people together and work on a coherent and cohesive plan.
Everyone involved was committed and worked incredibly hard to prepare for and then manage the disruptions: from the federal, state and local governments to energy companies to supermarkets to telcos, the commitment to supporting affected communities was obvious.
As these contingencies were put in place the NSW Reconstruction Authority and police worked with local communities on the ground extremely well. I want to shout out to my predecessor Joanna Quilty and Mal Lanyon at the Authority for recognising our value.
All this said I still can’t help thinking there are structural flaws in the way we approach disasters, as a crisis that requires top-down leadership and intervention, rather than a partnership which starts from an engaged and resourced community.
Large city-based agencies are contracted to fly in to establish Evacuation Centres, while cash-strapped community groups are too often left on the sidelines where their granular understanding of local conditions really should be driving the response.
NCOSS project partner Elly Bird who established Resilient Lismore after the 2022 floods, is mapping out a different model; where communities guide the first responders and then lead the reconstruction.
But the sad reality is that organisations like Elly’s are still forced to survive project to project, rather than have the security of ongoing funding that would allow them to build their reach and capacity to lead in these responses.
It’s good to know that the health and well-being of communities is being factored into the next stage of the recovery and NCOSS and our members will have a seat at the table.
As we face the reality of more frequent and severe natural disasters (and a special shoutout to the Trump Administration’s decision to walk away from the global climate consensus) we need to regard the community sector not just as service providers but risk mitigators.
For me the iconic image of the past few weeks has been of communities working to fill sandbags preparation of the storm. Sand-bagging is what NCOSS members are doing across the state, except for us the rain is always falling and the river always rising.
ABOUT NCOSS:
The NSW Council of Social Service (NCOSS) is the peak body for the social services sector in NSW. With over 250 members and a wider network of organisations and individuals who share our values, we advocate to alleviate poverty and disadvantage in NSW. For more information about NCOSS, go to https://www.ncoss.org.au/
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