Page 918 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 20 March 2012
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The ESA mapping and planning support group completed 11 deployments during this time comprised of a total 33 members. MAPS volunteers operated from Red Cross headquarters in Brisbane and provided specialist mapping services, including mapping of evacuation centres, locations of isolated and displaced people, storm and flood impacts and infrastructure damage. In January this year, again following requests through the Queensland Red Cross, the ESA’s mapping volunteers returned to Queensland to provide further specialist mapping support as part of the Red Cross Queensland major incident management team in Brisbane.
The MAPS group completed four deployments during this time. A total of nine members assisted the Queensland Red Cross. MAPS volunteers operated from Red Cross headquarters in Brisbane and assisted by providing specialist mapping, including mapping of evacuation centres, storm and flood impacts and infrastructure. We have received nothing but positive feedback by all agencies in Queensland and the receiving agency because of the dedicated work undertaken by our MAPS volunteers.
As recently as 17 March the ESA received a further request for assistance from their colleagues in New South Wales who are still preparing for and responding to the relentless progress of flood waters along the Murrumbidgee River corridor which is now, as members would be aware, reaching the township of Hay in New South Wales. On Monday this week, five volunteers and one task force leader were deployed to the township of Hay and they are due to return on 25 March. In addition, tomorrow at 6 am a further 20 ACT SES volunteers and one task force leader will also deploy to the area in the immediate vicinity of Hay to assist with the flood operations in that area. They are due to return to Canberra on 27 March.
When our environment is so obviously and recently affected by rain and flood waters, it is easy to overlook the range of other volunteer emergency management works going on behind the scenes. I would like to pay special commendation to the work undertaken by our community fire unit program which continues to improve the ability of neighbourhoods on the urban interface to engage with emergency services to protect life and property along that interface.
Our community fire unit volunteers complement the work of ACT Fire and Rescue and the ACT RFS in providing emergency response to nominated areas of high bushfire risk. In addition, our emergency service volunteers provide numerous hours of their time to various support roles and community education events. It is appropriate that we acknowledge this contribution today as well. We see them offering crowd and traffic support for major events, at field days, at major community events activities such as Australia Day Live, the Multicultural Festival, new year’s eve, the Royal Canberra Show, the Rally of Canberra, Summernats and, most recently, Skyfire.
As minister, I have had the pleasure of attending many functions, community education events and launches over the past 12 months and have witnessed firsthand the commitment of our volunteers and emergency services in ensuring that our community remain well informed and educated about how they can assist them in keeping themselves and their properties safe and, of course, in raising the profile of emergency preparedness in our community.
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