2016 Resilient Australia Awards
| The Resilient Australia Awards recognise and
promote initiatives across the nation that support and strengthen
community disaster resilience. Organisations that
have an innovative project to make communities safer, more resilient
and better prepared for disasters, are encouraged to enter.
The
Resilient Australia Awards also has a photography category in which
individuals and copyright holders submit a photograph depicting what
disaster resilience means to them.
The awards are an Australian Government initiative sponsored by the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s
Department, in conjunction with states and territories.
The State Emergency Management Committee (SEMC) is the Western Australian awards convener on behalf of the
Minister for Emergency Services.
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The 2016 State Award Ceremony
was held on the 4 October 2016 at the Constitutional Centre of Western
Australia. Finalists were invited to attend the ceremony. The
Minister for Emergency Services, the Hon. Joe Francis MLA announced the
winners.
The 2016 winners
The winners from the Chamber of Commerce Industry WA, Bureau of Meteorology, Office of Bushfire Risk Management, WA Health and photographer Jason Harris with the Minister for Emergency Services Hon. Joe Francis MLA.
Image courtesy of Kate Drennan Photography.
The 2016 People's Choice winning photograph - Westen Australia
The photography category was judged by a people's online voting system. The winning photo "By Sea and By Air" was taken by DFES photographer Jason Harris. This photo depicts the Jurien Bay Volunteer Marine Rescue Service conducting a training exercise
with the RAC Rescue helicopter on June 29 2016.
The 2016 award winners:
Resilient Australia Business Award:
Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA for “Regional
Business Resilience Project” (State winner)
The Regional Business Resilience project sought to
increase local business community awareness of
risk (specifically local hazard and risk profiles) and
empower these businesses by educating them on how
natural hazards may impact on their business, how to
do risk assessments of local hazards, and how to create
risk management procedures and action plans.
The project aimed to help business owners to
better understand their role and responsibilities as
individuals, employees, employers and members of the
community. |  |
| | Minister Joe Francis MLA with Jennifer Low (Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA). Image courtesy of Kate Drennan Photography.
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Resilient Australia Government Award:
Department of Health and Bureau of Meteorology
for “Regional variation in vulnerable population to
heatwave in Western Australia” project (State winner)
Heatwave has been identified as a significant risk in
Western Australia, and anecdotally it is reported that
deaths associated with heat are higher than all other
emergencies.
This project has given Western Australia an indication
of vulnerability and resilience to heatwave across a
number of key population groups. In addition we now
have a geographical summary of heatwave vulnerability/
resilience detailed at the local government and district
emergency management level.
The results from the project will be used in the
development of a heatwave pre-warning system in WA
to benefit the whole community. Specific and targeted
health education materials will be developed to address
the response to heatwave for different communities. |  |
L-R: Tony Spicer, Prof. Tarun Weeramanthri, Dr Andy Robertson and Dr Grace Yun (Department of Health) pictured with Minister Francis. Image courtesy of Kate Drennan Photography.
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Resilient Australia Government Award:
Office of Bushfire Risk Management and the
Department of Fire and Emergency Services
for “Guidelines for preparing a BRMP and the
implementation of the bushfire risk management
system (State highly commended)
The Guidelines for Preparing a Bushfire Risk
Management Plan (BRMP), was released in December
2015 by OBRM, supporting a coordinated approach
to the management of bushfire risk at the local
government level across Western Australia to protect
people, assets and other things of local value.
The Guidelines provide a foundation for the bushfire
risk management planning program led by DFES,
which supports 16 priority local governments to
develop and implement an integrated bushfire risk
management planning framework in their local area. |  |
The DFES and Office of Bushfire Risk Management teams with Minister Francis. Image courtesy of Kate Drennan Photography.
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