Book of Abstracts 2013 - Australian and New Zealand Disaster ...

flood affected areas of Brisbane and Ipswich. The response to the survey was very encouraging with nearly 1,300
households responding. The survey covered a range of topics including preparation in the days leading up to the flood
inundation, evacuation behaviour, economic impacts and subjective well-being. It also included the reconstruction
undertaken and associated recovery in the days, weeks, and months following the flood event. The paper examines the
survey data obtained and focuses on vulnerability and reconstruction. It discusses the composition of vulnerable
households (for example people with disabilities, no access to a motor vehicle, single parents with young children),
household well-being after the flood event (for example physical, emotional and financial stress) and building fabric
issues (for example mould or warped timbers) during the reconstruction phase. Also examined are the steps taken to
mitigate against future flood events. The paper compares two different socio-economic areas and looks at any
differences in recovery between the two areas. The survey analysis can point to what householders might experience
following the January 2013 flooding in Queensland and NSW. © Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)
2013.
Dr Simon Lambert
Lecturer, Lincoln University
Co Author - Melanie Shadbolt, Maori Reasearch Manager, Bioprotection Research Centre
Indigenous Insights on Disaster and Emergency Management
Threats to life, homes, businesses and the environment are ever present in the form of natural hazards. Indigenous
Peoples possess great insight into these hazards with truly ancient wisdom accumulated through unique longitudinal
studies evidenced by their successful occupation of their territories. Yet this knowledge has been almost universally
marginalised through the processes of colonisation, epistemological racism, and a lack of capacity in the minimal
research spaces that are available. This session takes a first step in bringing this knowledge to the attention of disaster
managers, first responders, researchers, policy makers and community leaders. We seek to collectivise our various
experiences in mitigating the effects of disasters to the benefit of our own and other communities. We further wish to
highlight reasons behind actual and perceived vulnerability of Indigenous communities and work towards improving
their inherent resilience to recurring disasters.
Mr Greg Linsdell
Senior Lecturer, Charles Sturt University
Unprecedented but not Unpredictable - Why Leaders Fail to Act
Using compelling case studies this paper will discuss several of the countless incidences where leaders have failed to
act on risks that were predicted based on the observation of trends or work of strategic forecasters. In every case this
inaction resulted in deaths that could arguably have been avoided. Explanations grounded in organsational behaviour
and psychology are tentatively explored and the inadequacy of conventional risk management approaches in relation to
"catastrophic" predictions will be discussed in this paper and presentation.