@article {bnh-8259, title = {Assessing community resilience for emergencies in local government policy - Maroondah City Council and Knox City Council}, number = {617}, year = {2021}, month = {10/2021}, institution = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

Exposure to hazards may result in emergencies or disasters that have the potential to overwhelm the capacity of communities to respond and recover effectively. In terms of natural hazards, an increase in the incidence of extreme weather events linked to climate change is expected to result in greater disaster losses in the future. Resilience-based approaches have been adopted in Australia and overseas to deal with this problem.

Resilience is a term that is used across multiple disciplines, including in the physical and material sciences, psychology, ecology, environmental science and more recently, in emergency and disaster management (Alexander, D.E. 2013). Therefore, it has many definitions, several of which reflect its significance as the guiding principle for emergency and disaster management in Australia,

{\textquoteleft}Resilience is the ability of system, community or society exposed to hazards to resist, absorb, accommodate, adapt to, transform and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner, including through the preservation and restoration of its essential basic structures and functions through risk management{\textquoteright} (United Nations Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction, 2019), or

The definition developed for the 100 Resilient Cities Project in Melbourne:

{\textquoteleft}Resilience is the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses and systems within a city to survive, adapt and grown no matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience{\textquoteright} (Mulligan et al, 2016, p.10).

A definition of resilience has also been developed as part of the Australian Disaster Resilience Index (ADRI) project:

{\textquoteleft}Resilience is the capacity of communities to prepare for, absorb and recover from natural hazard events and to learn, adapt and transform in ways that enhance these capacities in the face of future events{\textquoteright} (Parsons, 2016 p.6).

The National Strategy for Disaster Resilience was adopted in 2011 by all levels of Australian Government (Commonwealth of Australia, 2011). This marked a policy shift away from an emphasis on dealing with the aftermath of disasters toward a stronger focus on disaster preparation and planning, and the reduction and management of hazards. In 2018, a National Disaster Risk Reduction Framework (NDRRF)[i] (Commmonwealth of Australia, 2018) was introduced to guide disaster risk reduction activities for greater resilience. Importantly, the NDRRF deals with the increasing problem of disasters by considering the whole system and its interdependencies.\  In doing so it incorporates sustainability and climate change adaptation goals.

While State Governments play the major role in emergency management, the hazards, risks and the nature and severity of disaster impacts vary according to highly localised social, economic and environmental factors (Cutter et al, 2008). The adverse impacts from natural disasters that are invariably experienced at the local level may be sustained for many years afterwards. Local Government is the level of government that is closest to the community and, as such, it maintains a long-term commitment to managing local issues associated with emergencies and disasters. This role is integrally linked to local government{\textquoteright}s broader responsibility for the planning and provision of the majority of services and infrastructure in their constituent communities.\  There are 597 local government areas in Australia (Australian Local Government Association, 2020) with 79 in Victoria (Victorian Local Government Association, 2020.) Therefore, the services provided by local government and the policies and plans that shape them have a profound influence on the quality of life and the wellbeing of the Australian population as a whole. Local government is in a unique position to strengthen community resilience for emergencies, both through its local emergency management policies and plans and also, and perhaps more pervasively, through opportunities to positively influence the determinants of resilience through its broad range of council policies and plans.

In order to explore some of these opportunities, Yarra Ranges Council and the Maroondah and Knox City Councils asked the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre (BNHCRC) to evaluate their policies in terms of resilience. They were seeking answers to the question: To what extent do our council policies support resilience for emergencies or disasters? This project, titled Assessing Community Resilience for Emergencies in Local Government Policies (ACRE) was developed to examine the alignment between existing local government policies and the characteristics that enable community resilience. Maroondah and Knox City Councils were chosen as case studies. As a starting-point, councils were interested in evaluating their policies in relation to the Community Reslience Framework for Emergency Management (Emergency Management Victoria, 2017), developed by the Victorian State Government.

The idea that social resilience is intrinsic to resilience for emergencies or disasters is a central message in the Community Resilience Framework for Emergency Management (ibid). It provides policy guidance to encourage local government to embed resilience into its everyday activities, not only to improve the general health, wellbeing and prosperity of their communities, but as a way of highlighting how local communities can play their part in improving their ability to plan, prepare for, and to withstand and recover from adverse events.

In order to explore their full potential for strengthening resilience, councils also sought to evaluate their policies more broadly. The two councils{\textquoteright} policies were assessed against resilience information found in the academic literature. This research complements the Community Resilience Framework for Emergency Management (ibid) and adds to the body of evidence about local government{\textquoteright}s existing contribution and inherent potential to enhance community resilience for emergencies.

}, keywords = {community, council, emergencies, Local government, Policy, resilience}, issn = {617}, author = {Susan Hunt} } @article {bnh-8276, title = {Assessing community resilience for emergencies in local government policy: summary}, number = {618}, year = {2021}, month = {10/2021}, institution = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

The Yarra Ranges Council, Maroondah City Council and the Knox City Council partnered with the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre to evaluate Maroondah and Knox policies to see where and how they align with and incorporate resilience. The Assessing community resilience for emergencies in local government policy (ACRE) project also highlighted some strategic issues that are potentially relevant for local government and disaster resilience policy more broadly.

All levels of the Australian Government adopted the National Strategy for Disaster Resilience in 2011 (NSDR) and its implementation is ongoing. The NSDR aims to shift national policy away from the traditional focus on disaster response toward planning and prevention to reduce the risk of natural disasters and the severity of their consequences. The National Disaster Risk Reduction Framework was launched in 2020 and builds on the NSDR and references resilience.

Not only that, but a resilience-based approach will improve the {\textquoteleft}capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses and systems within a city to survive, adapt and grow not matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience{\textquoteright} (Mulligan et al, 2016). Local government is a key partner in achieving these goals because of its proximity to the community and the array of assets, services and programs it manages that are vital to the well-being of local communities. Local councils also have a legal responsibility to develop and maintain and review policies in critical areas, including for disasters and other emergencies. This provides opportunities to build the resilience of communities by pivoting local government policies and programs toward approaches that are proven to support resilience. In order to do this, Maroondah and Knox City Councils sought, as a first step, to better understand how their existing policies are compatible with resilience, the extent to which resilience was incorporated in policies and what areas can be improved.\ 

}, keywords = {community, council, emergencies, Local government, Policy, resilience}, issn = {618}, author = {Susan Hunt} } @mastersthesis {bnh-8310, title = {Implementing disaster resilience policy in the Australian Federation}, volume = {Doctor of Philosophy}, year = {2020}, month = {12/2020}, pages = {329}, school = {Australian National University}, address = {Canberra}, abstract = {

Australia adopted the National Strategy for Disaster Resilience in 2011. This officially set it on a path to change the attitudes and behaviours of all sectors of society to share responsibility for disaster risks. This would require a shift away from the traditional emphasis on disaster, response, relief and recovery toward prevention, preparation and planning, and risk mitigation. Eight years later, disaster resilience policy continues to be implemented at all levels of government as well as influencing resilience-based approaches in the Not-for-Profit and business sectors. Much progress has been made in disaster resilience research, especially in the area of measurement, including the development of indicators that can potentially inform evaluation of the effectiveness of disaster resilience policy. However, there is shortage of research and a lack of awareness about the significance of policy implementation and governance for achieving successful policy outcomes. This thesis seeks to address this gap and investigates whether the implementation of disaster resilience policy in Australia reflects good practice and how current practice is shaped by the characteristics of the Australian Federal (multilevel) system of government. The methodology involves three parallel linked avenues of inquiry that includes the development of a Provisional Disaster Resilience Policy Implementation Framework (the Provisional framework) to guide implementation, the application of the Provisional Framework to a number of case studies of implementation to identify principles and practices relevant to multi-level governance systems that will enhance disaster resilience, and the evaluation of the Provisional framework to incorporate these findings.

A key research outcome is the Disaster Resilience Policy Implementation Framework that confirms the inclusion of the Policy Domains of Social Capital, Community Competence, Economic Development, Information and Communication, with the addition of a fifth and complementary Policy Domain, Subsidiarity. Subsidiarity is an organising principle that is closely associated with federalism and states that {\textquoteleft}that any particular task should be decentralized to the lowest level of governance with the capacity to conduct it satisfactorily{\textquoteright} (Marshall, G.R., 2008, {\textquoteleft}Nesting, subsidiarity, and communitybased environmental governance beyond the local scale{\textquoteright}. International Journal of the Commons, 2(1) p.80). This has implications for practice that have fundamental regard to the operation of disaster resilience within a system consisting of component parts that must work together to synergise disaster resilience efforts. For this system to work effectively activities must be coordinated using effective feedback mechanisms and facilitated by open and shared access to information, devolved to the appropriate level with approaches that nurture capacity, and with roles and responsibilities that are negotiated and clearly defined through an authentic process of stakeholder engagement.

}, keywords = {disaster, governance, Policy, resilience}, url = { http://hdl.handle.net/1885/216714}, author = {Susan Hunt} } @conference {bnh-4798, title = {How can business share responsibility for disaster resilience?}, booktitle = {AFAC18}, year = {2018}, month = {09/2018}, publisher = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, organization = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Perth}, abstract = {

In Australia, business makes a significant contribution to disaster relief and recovery. Even so, there are unexplored opportunities to enhance the role of business in disaster resilience, particularly through partnerships with government. This paper proposes measures to strengthen partnerships between government and the business sector to enhance national disaster resilience. The extent that state, regional and local level disaster plans engage business in disaster relief and recovery is described and ways to formalise these relationships to enhance the role of business are suggested. Business has a relatively less prominent involvement in disaster resilience. The capacity to strengthen disaster resilience by influencing business practices in disaster prevention, preparedness and risk mitigation is outlined and discussed.

}, author = {Susan Hunt and Michael Eburn} } @conference {bnh-3876, title = {Implementing disaster resilience policy in the Australian Federation}, booktitle = {AFAC17}, year = {2017}, month = {09/2017}, publisher = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, organization = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Sydney}, abstract = {

Australia committed to reorienting its disaster management system to emphasise disaster prevention, preparedness and risk mitigation when it adopted the National Strategy for Disaster Resilience (NSDR). Since then the notion of resilience has penetrated the Australian disaster management system to the extent that many, if not most, disaster management activities are now described in terms of resilience.

While there is broad consensus about the necessary elements of disaster resilience policy, these have generally been expressed in Australia as high level and principles-based. To build a more disaster resilient nation, it is therefore important to understand not only what needs to be done, but how to do it within the context of Australia{\textquoteright}s federal system and its disaster management arrangements.

This research investigated implementation of disaster resilience policy in Australia from the perspective of Social Capital, Community Competence, Information and Communication and Economic Development {\textendash} policy domains identified as essential for creating community disaster resilience. A combination of literature study and empirical methods was used to examine if, and how, policy objectives linked to these domains underpin the implementation of disaster resilience activities at different levels of government and in the business and community sectors.

The results point to a general need to plan disaster resilience implementation more thoroughly, including ensuring it is better informed by evidence. In addition, consideration should be given to the opportunities and limitations on disaster resilience outcomes posed by the characteristics and policy mechanisms of Australia{\textquoteright}s \ federal system.

Furthermore, not only do relevant policy objectives for supporting disaster resilience need to be more carefully identified, selected and applied, but more attention needs to be given to the principle of subsidiarity to ensure successful implementation within our federal system.

}, author = {Susan Hunt} } @article {bnh-2557, title = {Building adaptive capacities for disaster resilience: what role for government?}, journal = {Australian Journal of Emergency Management}, volume = {31}, year = {2016}, month = {01/2016}, chapter = {31}, abstract = {

\ Natural disasters have always occurred regularly in Australia and governments have developed public policy responses for dealing with loss and damage resulting from disasters. In early 2011, Australian governments at all levels adopted the National Strategy for Disaster Resilience (NSDR) (Commonwealth of Australia 2011). The NSDR offered a new paradigm that called on all sectors of the community to adopt resilience-based behaviours in the face of the inevitability of natural disasters. Instead of being overly dependent on government and emergency services organisations, people were encouraged to become more self-reliant and share responsibility by gaining awareness, knowledge and taking action to reduce their risks. While there is a general consensus on the types of high-level policies needed for resilience, there is less information about how to translate disaster resilience policy into action. Addressing this gap depends in large part, on appropriate implementation of government policy to foster disaster resilience, including in a multi-level system of government, like in Australia. This paper, citing a lack of guidance for resilience policy implementation, proposes a resilience policy implementation framework that could be applied by practitioners. The theoretical basis for the framework consists of four networked adaptive capacities for resilience. Other elements include actions that support the development of these capacities and federal policy mechanism. The framework is tested and refined using four case studies corresponding with the four adaptive capacities and using data collected from five resilience initiatives operating within each tier of government and in the business and not-for-profit sectors.

}, author = {Susan Hunt} } @conference {bnh-2097, title = {Implementing policy for enabling disaster resilience in the Australian federation: what role for government? - non peer reviewed extended abstract}, booktitle = {Adelaide Conference 2015}, year = {2015}, address = {Adelaide, Australia}, abstract = {

Research proceedings from the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC \& AFAC Conference in Adelaide, 1-3 September 2015.\ 

}, author = {Susan Hunt} }