PERSPECTIVES FROM THE SECTOR

In this edition, AFAC CEO Rob Webb interviews Dr Margaret Moreton, recently appointed Executive Director of the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR).

ROB WEBB AFAC

What are your first impressions and initial reflections since stepping into the AIDR Executive Director role?

I have been involved with AIDR since its inception, but have had an outsider’s view of the role and the work of AIDR.

I was curious to see how things would look once ‘the lid was lifted’ and I had an insider’s view. It is exciting to see the exceptional performance of the team, working with a broad range of stakeholders, producing high quality products and services, and supporting one another. I am also impressed by the partnerships we have and the strong sense of goodwill between partners as we work to enhance community resilience.

In addition to our planned and contracted deliverables, I hope to expand our reach and our priorities, and grow the business.

What was your journey before joining AIDR, and what do you want to bring from that journey into your new position?

Before joining AIDR, I spent over 30 years working in social policy with the Australian Government and a decade working in the disaster resilience field as an independent advisor and consultant.

My PhD focused on disaster resilience and analysed the views of key leaders in disaster resilience and recovery, and, most importantly, the lived experience of community leaders and members in four affected communities. Most recently I also worked with philanthropy and the corporate sector to build disaster resilience.

This all combines to give me a broad set of contacts and perspective on the state of disaster resilience in Australia. I am by nature a relationship builder and by choice an advocate for community-led engagement. I will bring all of this (and more) to the role.

What has your team been working on that you would like to celebrate, and what are you looking forward to achieving in 2023?

There is so much to celebrate and be proud about, in the achievements of the AIDR team.

We recently hosted the Resilient Australia Awards National Ceremony to showcase and recognise resilience work occurring across Australia.

The team does a wonderful job of amplifying the success of governments, NGOs, and everyday Australians through this awards program. We also coordinate the Australian Disaster Resilience Conference each year, bringing the sector together to share innovative projects and successful approaches to building resilience.

Our work with the National Emergency Management Agency, Australian Red Cross, Natural Hazards Research Australia, and many others continues to influence our thinking and action in relation to disaster resilience, across the entire sector.

I’m particularly proud of education and young people programs supporting great outcomes for children and young people—particularly through school programs and lesson plans. During 2023, I hope to add key work focused on Indigenous disaster resilience, the work of the disability sector, and further work to support children and young people.

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You are passionate about bringing diverse voices to the table to discuss resilience. How can we open up the conversation to enhance community resilience?

We are working hard to open up this conversation. The guiding theme of our 2023 conference is hearing from new voices and including new perspectives in the conversation, and I encourage stakeholders to submit abstracts and to share their experiences or views through the conference.

We have also showcased a variety of innovative and diverse projects through the Resilient Australia Awards— with the finalists and the winners for 2022 being announced in Hobart prior to Christmas—and I hope to further promote these perspectives and experiences even more widely.

I have become involved in several advisory committees and innovative projects focused on community-led approaches and the perspectives of diverse groups, which will help to make our conversations more open and inclusive.

We often hear that ‘resilience is everybody’s business’. What are the different ways that AIDR is supporting communities/ organisations/governments to enhance their resilience?

We deliver services and products designed to support everybody in this effort.

A great place to start is the AIDR Knowledge Hub, our extensive and open-source online platform that is regularly updated with resources and research related to disaster resilience.

Our Handbook Collection is also available online and spans a number of themes supporting individuals, groups, organisations, and the various levels of government as they put this knowledge into action. During 2022 we developed a community-facing page on our website, and we have plans in place to enhance this resource and further support community-led resilience building efforts.

Our regular webinars and online presentations—promoted on our website and through our newsletters— continue to be well attended. We support a number of networks and communities of practice, such as the Community Recovery community of practice and the Disaster Resilience Education Network.

We also work with numerous partners and organisations, supporting efforts to enhance and celebrate the contribution and leadership of Indigenous groups, children and young people, teachers, universities, the Australian Red Cross, AFAC, and the National Emergency Management Agency. Through our involvement with these organisations, we build and enhance collaborative approaches reflecting humanitarian, emergency services, and government policy perspectives.

What are the challenges in the resilience-building space? How can we meet them?

There are many challenges that we all face in our efforts to continue to strengthen resilience to extreme weather and other hazards, and to mitigate the potential disasters they cause, including:

„ the increasing intensity, frequency, and compounding and cascading nature of these events. Communities, and the organisations who support them, often cannot recover from an event before the next one occurs. This increases the challenges of planning, preparation, response, and recovery. It also increases the

Incidence Of Fatigue And Stress For Everyone

„ the emergency management sector is fully stretched as it deals with this situation. We need to continue to find ways to expand and develop the workforce in this sector and across all levels of government and the NGO sector

„ fundamental issues such as insurance and land use planning are now in the spotlight. These issues are complex, and it will require collaboration from a range of government, business, and other sectors of society to resolve the challenges we face

„ new ‘players’ are entering the disaster resilience field. Philanthropy and corporate Australia are now actively involved in programs to support community and business resilience. Existing stakeholders, such as AIDR, will need to engage effectively with these groups

„ the consequences for communities of all these challenges can be overwhelming. They will need support to make any changes required, to face the future.