Vol. 13 Issue 3. 2019
• Latest Events • Emergency Law with Prof. Michael Eburn • Friendships & Career in the Emergency Sector • Technology changing Police Surveillance • Natural Disasters & Mental Health • Click image to read more......
• Latest Events • Emergency Law with Prof. Michael Eburn • Friendships & Career in the Emergency Sector • Technology changing Police Surveillance • Natural Disasters & Mental Health • Click image to read more......
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<strong>Vol</strong> <strong>13</strong>. <strong>2019</strong><br />
THE EMERGENCY<br />
Strong bonds & rewarding careers<br />
SERVICES INDUSTRY<br />
Technology<br />
changing the<br />
face of Police<br />
surveillance<br />
The impact<br />
of natural<br />
disasters on<br />
mental health
We’ve got your back.<br />
Emergency Services Health is a not-for-profit<br />
health fund that exists to enhance the physical<br />
and mental health and wellbeing of Australia’s<br />
emergency services community.<br />
We do this by providing health insurance products,<br />
support, information and services designed<br />
exclusively for the needs of our members.
We treat our members like colleagues.<br />
That’s because they are.<br />
Fire Response &<br />
Recovery Sector<br />
State Emergency<br />
Response &<br />
Recovery Sector<br />
We’re rallying for<br />
everybody working and<br />
volunteering to protect<br />
our communities.<br />
Ambulance & Medical<br />
Response & Recovery<br />
Sector<br />
Water Response &<br />
Recovery Sector<br />
Why Choose Us?<br />
Our simple products are<br />
tailored to the lifelong needs<br />
of our members.<br />
We provide top quality cover, and<br />
will stand beside our members<br />
when they need us most.<br />
Our approach is personal;<br />
we care about our members.<br />
We’re run for the benefit<br />
of members. We’re a true<br />
not-for-profit. We’re not<br />
driven by corporate investors<br />
or overseas owners demanding<br />
shareholder dividends.<br />
Who Can Join?<br />
Emergency Services Health is open to people across Australia who were<br />
or are employed (including volunteering) in emergency services, and their<br />
families. Our focus on the emergency services community means we make<br />
sure we provide the most relevant products and best quality service for the<br />
lifelong health and wellbeing of our members.<br />
For more information:<br />
PHONE<br />
<strong>13</strong>00 703 703<br />
EMAIL<br />
enquiries@eshealth.com.au<br />
VISIT<br />
eshealth.com.au<br />
Emergency Services Health Pty Ltd ABN 98 <strong>13</strong>1 093 877
Paramedics Australasia International Conference<br />
PAIC19<br />
BROADENING HORIZONS<br />
28–30 NOVEMBER <strong>2019</strong><br />
Wrest Point • Hobart • Tasmania<br />
https://www.paramedics.org/events/<br />
Photo credit: Roger Wong
CONTENTS<br />
2<br />
Editor’s Note<br />
Latest Events<br />
4<br />
6<br />
8<br />
12<br />
16<br />
20<br />
24<br />
28<br />
31<br />
• <strong>2019</strong> Frontline Mental Health<br />
Conference<br />
• Hawthorn hosts Emergency<br />
Services Match<br />
Emergency Law with Professor<br />
Michael Eburn<br />
Friendships and Career in the<br />
Emergency Services Sector<br />
Technology changing Police<br />
Surveillance<br />
Natural Disasters and Mental Health<br />
Language Barrier in heath care<br />
How a bushfire can destroy a home<br />
Female leadership in the NSW Fire<br />
Service<br />
<strong>2019</strong> Flu Season - what we know<br />
Emergency Contact Information<br />
Cover Image:<br />
Surf Life Saver Float<br />
VISIT OUR<br />
WEBSITE AND<br />
VIEW ONLINE
EDITORS NOTE<br />
FROM THE EDITOR<br />
We hope you have unpacked the winter woolies for<br />
this latest edition of the Australian Emergency Services<br />
Magazine. A chilling cold front recently brought<br />
snowfall across the Victorian and NSW alpine regions,<br />
sending the icy blast far and wide.<br />
In this edition, much like any other, we want to honour<br />
and pay respect to the emergency services sector. It<br />
is a large, generous and tight knit community as was<br />
demonstrated in April when volunteer lifesavers,<br />
Andrew Powell and his father Ross Powell tragically<br />
lost their lives whilst attempting to rescue a tourist near<br />
the Twelve Apostles in Victoria. Their bravery and<br />
community spirit was spoken of all over the country,<br />
This is the very core of the emergency service sector -<br />
full of courageous and self less people who put the safety<br />
and well being of others ahead of their own.<br />
Working and volunteering in the emergency services<br />
industry is certainly a life changing occupation. One<br />
where strong bonds are formed and rewarding careers<br />
are carved out. Our article in this edition about Amee<br />
Morgans and Erin Smith - who started out at ESTA,<br />
gives more insight into what a career in the emergency<br />
services sector offers.<br />
Stay warm and<br />
happy reading<br />
Emma Parker<br />
Editor<br />
Follow us on our social channels<br />
and on our new website<br />
www.ausemergencyservices.com.au<br />
DISCLAIMER<br />
The Australian Emergency Services Magazine is<br />
a community educational resource publication<br />
and does not promote itself as a charity or<br />
fund raising institution, nor solicit on behalf of<br />
charities and is no way financially supported by<br />
or associated with any government or similar<br />
institution.<br />
Distributions of the publication is Bi-Monthly<br />
and are circulated via a database of interested<br />
parties, including business, subscribers,<br />
advertisers, volunteer emergency organistations,<br />
and council libraries. A print and digital<br />
magazine is distributed to a targeted database in<br />
each State & Territory.<br />
Every effort is made to ensure that material<br />
presented in the Australian Emergency Services<br />
Magazine was correct at the time of printing<br />
and is published in good faith, no responsibility<br />
or liability will be accepted by Boothbook<br />
Media. The views and opinions expressed are<br />
not necessarily those of Boothbook Media and<br />
its employees. The content of any advertising<br />
or promotional material contained within the<br />
Australian Emergency Services Magazine is not<br />
necessarily an endorsement by Boothbook<br />
Media.<br />
Published by Boothbook Media<br />
ABN:72 605 987 031<br />
BOOTHBOOK MEDIA<br />
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MAGAZINE CONTACTS<br />
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Articles should be no more than 1000 words and be relevant to the content<br />
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Australian & New Zealand<br />
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Wednesday12 - Thursday<strong>13</strong> June | RACV ROYAL PINES resort<br />
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LATEST EVENTS<br />
<strong>2019</strong> Frontline Mental Health Conference<br />
There is a lot of positive work being<br />
done within the emergency service<br />
sector dealing with the mental health<br />
of first responders and emergency<br />
service personnel.<br />
The Australian & New Zealand<br />
Mental Health Association is hosting<br />
the <strong>2019</strong> Frontline Mental Health<br />
Conference in Townsville on Sunday<br />
20th October through to Tuesday<br />
22nd October.<br />
This premiere event is designed for<br />
all professionals working on the<br />
frontline of disaster and emergency<br />
management – from paramedics,<br />
police and firefighters, through to<br />
defence force workers and volunteers.<br />
This conference will feature lived<br />
experience speakers through to<br />
mental health professionals and<br />
emergency service professionals.<br />
It aims to provide a platform for all<br />
opinions, experiences and insights,<br />
to help break the stigma of seeking<br />
support for mental health when<br />
working on the frontline.<br />
First responders are at high risk of<br />
developing mental health conditions<br />
linked to stress and traumatic events.<br />
The Frontline Mental Health<br />
Conference has sourced some of<br />
Australia’s most influential experts<br />
in mental health, experienced in<br />
providing specialised service and<br />
support to workers regularly exposed<br />
to disaster, emergency, stress and<br />
trauma.<br />
The speaker line-up will give you the<br />
chance to hear from fellow workers<br />
in the front line, sharing their<br />
experiences in dealing with issues and<br />
instances that can severely impact on<br />
mental wellbeing.<br />
Attending the conference will provide<br />
you with a library of resources,<br />
including all presenter podcasts and<br />
presentation slides. This will ensure<br />
you are equipped with everything you<br />
need to continue your educational<br />
journey long after the conference has<br />
ended.<br />
It will be an opportunity to discover<br />
research, insight and treatment<br />
techniques from mental health<br />
experts and to meet with fellow<br />
industry workers.<br />
To find out more about the<br />
conference you can head to their<br />
website to register your interest as an<br />
attendee or a speaker. There are early<br />
bird rates available.<br />
<strong>2019</strong> Frontline Mental Health<br />
Conference - Townsville<br />
www.frontlinementalhealth.com.au
LATEST EVENTS<br />
When Hawthorn takes on<br />
Collingwood on Friday 5 July at<br />
the MCG, emergency management<br />
personnel will be the focus.<br />
The Emergency Services Match is an<br />
initiative of Hawthorn Football Club<br />
and aims to raise awareness of the<br />
mental health challenges faced by<br />
emergency management personnel, as<br />
well as celebrating their contributions<br />
to the community and raising<br />
money for the Emergency Services<br />
Foundation.<br />
Nearly 40 percent of emergency<br />
services employees are diagnosed<br />
with a mental health condition,<br />
compared to 20 percent of all adults<br />
in Australia.<br />
Footy fans who are also emergency<br />
services personnel can get behind the<br />
initiative by purchasing an Emergency<br />
Services Membership, which provides<br />
access to the Emergency Services<br />
Match and one other Hawthorn Footy<br />
Club game.<br />
All proceeds from the memberships<br />
go to the Emergency Services<br />
Foundation.<br />
Every day, our emergency service<br />
workers, both paid and volunteer,<br />
respond to over 7000 calls for help<br />
from 000 here in Victoria.<br />
They see, and do things, that many of<br />
us find hard to imagine – and so often<br />
they respond with their heart in their<br />
mouth in anticipation of what they<br />
will be faced with when they arrive at<br />
the scene – especially when they are<br />
working close to home in their own<br />
small communities and see children<br />
and others harmed reminding them<br />
of their own families at home.<br />
In recent years there has been a<br />
growing awareness of the impact<br />
that this work has on people, and<br />
how exposure to danger and trauma<br />
impacts their mental health and<br />
wellbeing.<br />
Hawthorn Football Club Hosts<br />
the Emergency Services Match<br />
A national survey conducted by<br />
Beyond Blue reflects the collective<br />
voices of the 21,000 individuals who<br />
shared their information to provide<br />
ground breaking evidence into the<br />
mental health and well-being of<br />
emergency service personnel.<br />
The research found:<br />
• One in three employees<br />
experience high or very high<br />
psychological distress compared<br />
to one in eight Australian adults<br />
• One in three volunteers report<br />
being diagnosed with a mental<br />
health condition in their<br />
life compared to one in five<br />
Australian adults<br />
• Over half employees surveyed<br />
experienced a traumatic event<br />
in the course of their work that<br />
deeply affected them<br />
• Employees who have worked<br />
more than ten years in police and<br />
emergency services are almost<br />
twice as likely to experience<br />
psychological distress and<br />
six times more likely to have<br />
symptoms of PTSD compared to<br />
those with less than two years’<br />
service<br />
• Employees and volunteers report<br />
suicidal thoughts over two<br />
times more often than adults in<br />
the general population and are<br />
three times more likely to have a<br />
suicide plan<br />
These results reveal a workforce<br />
that is deeply impacted, both by the<br />
nature of the work that they do, and<br />
the pressures of the environments in<br />
which they work.<br />
Support the Emergency Services<br />
Foundation at:<br />
www.esf.com.au
AUSTRALIAN EMERGENCY LAW with Professor Michael Eburn<br />
A DISCUSSION ON<br />
THE LAW THAT<br />
APPLIES TO OR<br />
AFFECTS AUSTRALIA’S<br />
EMERGENCY<br />
SERVICES AND<br />
EMERGENCY<br />
MANAGEMENT<br />
PHD<br />
Barrister<br />
Leading expert in Law<br />
relating to Emergency<br />
Management &<br />
Emergency Services<br />
Follow Michael Eburn<br />
Facebook- facebook.com/EburnM/<br />
Twitter - @EburnM<br />
For his latest articles on Emergency<br />
Law go to:<br />
www.emergencylaw.wordpress.com<br />
Prevent or Respond ?<br />
A question for Emergency Services<br />
The mantra is Prevent, Prepare,<br />
Respond and Recovery.<br />
Preventing an emergency is better<br />
than responding to one; but equally<br />
we want resilient communities where<br />
individuals and communities take<br />
responsibility for managing their<br />
own risk. But that still leaves the<br />
emergency services to respond if and<br />
when the residual risk manifests.<br />
So where does the role of the<br />
emergency services sit when it comes<br />
to ‘prevent’? That is the essence of<br />
today’s question that comes from<br />
Adelaide. My correspondent has<br />
noticed:<br />
A large tree is growing in one of<br />
the private residences, right on the<br />
edge, literally, of a lane – there is no<br />
footpath. This tree has a diameter<br />
at the base of abut 1.5 metres and a<br />
height of, maybe, 30 to 40 metres – I.e.<br />
a ‘significant’ tree. A broken branch<br />
was lying across two other branches<br />
at a height of 15 to 20 metres. The<br />
butt of the branch was about a metre<br />
into the lane on the tree side and the<br />
branch extended across the lane and<br />
finished about 2 to 3 metres over the<br />
first-floor open car park area of a<br />
business on the other side. It had been<br />
there for some time because the leaves<br />
were dead.<br />
I advised the resident in the house<br />
and she said that she would inform<br />
the owner (she is renting). I advised<br />
the business on the other side and the<br />
receptionist said that she would notify<br />
the council, which I had intended to<br />
do, as well.<br />
Jan 29, <strong>2019</strong><br />
As an SES volunteer, I also called it in<br />
to the SES reporting line. In Adelaide,<br />
these calls go the MFS call centre. After<br />
I explained the situation, the call-taker<br />
said that it was not their responsibility;<br />
it was the responsibility of the landowner.<br />
I knew that it was too high for<br />
SES to handle, but the MFS has aerial<br />
units that would reach it and I thought<br />
that they may respond.<br />
I suspect that it is the responsibility of<br />
the land-owner, but is this the case?<br />
Would it constitute enough of a risk for<br />
emergency services to be involved?<br />
The problem is, in essence, that the<br />
emergency services legislation says<br />
very little about what the emergency<br />
services do. It may be axiomatic that<br />
fire brigades respond to fires so if<br />
there is a fire everyone knows that<br />
it’s the fire service job. And the fire<br />
brigades have specific duties and<br />
powers with respect to preventing<br />
fires (see Fire And Emergency<br />
Services Act 2005 (SA) ss 71-95A and<br />
ss 105A-105K (relating to the Country<br />
Fire Service)). But for other hazards<br />
the issues are not so clear.<br />
The South Australian State<br />
Emergency Service has a number<br />
of functions relating to dealing<br />
with emergencies, including ‘to<br />
assist the State Co-ordinator, in<br />
accordance with the State Emergency<br />
Management Plan, in carrying out<br />
prevention, preparedness, response<br />
or recovery operations under the<br />
Emergency Management Act 2004’ (s<br />
108(1)(b); emphasis added); and ‘to
deal with any emergency— (i) where<br />
the emergency is caused by flood or<br />
storm damage’ (s 108(1)(d)).<br />
Emergency is defined (s 3) as:<br />
… an event (whether occurring in<br />
the State, outside the State or in and<br />
outside the State) that causes, or<br />
threatens to cause—<br />
(a) the death of, or injury or other<br />
damage to the health of, any person;<br />
or<br />
(b) the destruction of, or damage to,<br />
any property; or<br />
(c) a disruption to essential services<br />
or to services usually enjoyed by the<br />
community; or<br />
(d) harm to the environment, or to<br />
flora or fauna;<br />
A dead tree limb hanging over a lane<br />
threatens to cause death or injury<br />
should it fall on someone, may<br />
damage property and would certainly<br />
disrupt ‘services usually enjoyed by<br />
the community’ if it fell and blocked<br />
the lane.<br />
If this lane was moved to New South<br />
Wales, the NSW State Emergency<br />
Service is to ‘to protect persons<br />
from dangers to their safety and<br />
health, and to protect property from<br />
destruction or damage, arising from<br />
floods, storms and tsunamis’ (State<br />
Emergency Service Act 1989 (NSW) s<br />
8(1)(aa)). Removing a dead limb that,<br />
if it falls during a storm, may cause<br />
injury and would block a road would<br />
‘protect persons from dangers to their<br />
safety and health’. But I don’t think<br />
anyone would seriously expect that<br />
the SES in either SA or NSW would<br />
respond to this job.<br />
The answer is however that there is<br />
no clear legislated line. It would be<br />
quite consistent with the Act for the<br />
services to see a hazard and seek to<br />
remove it but there does have to be a<br />
line. The SES are not going to clean<br />
someone’s gutters as that will reduce<br />
the risk of damage due to storm; nor<br />
are the fire brigades going to check<br />
domestic electricity installations<br />
as that will prevent fire and every<br />
adopts the PPRR mantra. The line<br />
is drawn in effect by the emergency<br />
services. They have been created<br />
by government with a broad range<br />
of functions and it is then up to the<br />
Chief Officers to determine what they<br />
do and what they do not do.<br />
They only have limited resources and<br />
have to ensure that they can do what<br />
is clearly their role which is ‘respond’<br />
to the emergency. This reasoning in<br />
part explains why, as has been said<br />
here before, there is no legal duty on<br />
the emergency services to respond<br />
and why the allocation of resources<br />
by government to agencies such as<br />
the SES and then within the SES<br />
cannot be challenged in court. If<br />
the Chief Officer assigns the bulk<br />
of the budget to response, some to<br />
community education and none to<br />
removing obvious hazards from trees<br />
across public lanes, that cannot be<br />
challenged in court. That is his or her<br />
call as to how the service is to operate.<br />
What follows is that, in my view, it<br />
would not be inconsistent with the<br />
Fire and Emergency Services Act<br />
2005 (SA) for either the Metropolitan<br />
Fire Service or the South Australian<br />
State Emergency Service to respond<br />
to this notification of a threat to life<br />
and property. There is nothing in<br />
the Act to say that they must attend,<br />
and nothing to say they must not. It’s<br />
really up to them to decide how they<br />
allocate their resources.<br />
Even if the tree limb fell it’s not clearly<br />
anyone’s responsibility. Council own<br />
the lane and like any landowner can<br />
chose to call the emergency services<br />
or not. If there is a person trapped<br />
under the tree then it’s going to<br />
trigger an emergency response but if<br />
it’s just on the road, the council, the<br />
owner, a bystander or the SES may<br />
choose to remove it. If it fell on a<br />
person or car it would be impossible<br />
to sheet legal responsibility to the<br />
emergency services for failing to<br />
remove it when they knew of it (see<br />
No duty to prevent a disaster and no<br />
duty to rescue (December 26, 2018)<br />
and see also State of NSW v Tyszyk<br />
[2008] NSWCA 107 discussed in<br />
NSW Police owed no duty of care<br />
to the family of fatal accident victim<br />
(December 1, 2017)).<br />
Legal responsibility for the tree, in<br />
terms of who will have to pay if it<br />
does fall and cause injury or damage,<br />
is the tree owner – see Liability for<br />
dangerous trees (April 28, 2015).<br />
This article originally appeared on<br />
the blog Australian Emergency Law<br />
(https://emergencylaw.wordpress.com/)<br />
and is reproduced with the permission<br />
of the author.<br />
As a blog post it represents the author’s<br />
opinion based on the law at the time it<br />
was written. The blog, or this article,<br />
is not legal advice and cannot be relied<br />
upon to determine any person’s legal<br />
position. How the law applies to any<br />
specific situation or event depends on<br />
all the circumstances.<br />
If you need to determine legal rights<br />
and obligations with respect to any<br />
event that has happened, or some<br />
action that is proposed, you must<br />
consult a lawyer for advice based on<br />
the particular circumstances. Trade<br />
unions, professional indemnity insurers<br />
and community legal centres can all be<br />
a source for initial legal advice.
FRIENDSHIPS FORGED AND<br />
CAREERS MADE IN THE<br />
EMERGENCY SERVICES SECTOR<br />
Almost 20 years ago, Amee Morgans and Erin Smith started at the<br />
Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA) (then Intergraph)<br />
as triple zero call-takers. Since then, they have continued working across the<br />
sector and are still close friends. Tania Willett from ESTA interviewed them<br />
about their personal experience and the different career paths and leadership<br />
roles that this sector has to offer.
Both women now have PhDs in<br />
emergency services; Amee is back<br />
at ESTA as Executive Director<br />
Operations Support and Erin is<br />
Course Coordinator and Senior<br />
Lecturer in Disaster Response at<br />
Edith Cowan University. For Amee<br />
and Erin, joining ESTA was a positive<br />
life-altering experience that led them<br />
down the path of emergency services.<br />
Both have worked in triple zero<br />
call-taking, research, policy and<br />
education.<br />
They talked recently about their<br />
experiences, the friendships and<br />
bonds that are created in the sector<br />
and the different career paths<br />
emergency services offers.<br />
Take us back to where it all<br />
started. How did you get into the<br />
emergency services sector?<br />
Amee: My interest in emergency<br />
services has always been present.<br />
I grew up with my dad being a<br />
The emergency services sector is filled<br />
with people that are all the same sort of<br />
person - community focused and their<br />
valued alignment is very strong; selfsacrifice<br />
and doing things that are<br />
difficult for the greater good<br />
Amee Morgans<br />
paramedic. When I had nearly<br />
finished my degree in psychology, I<br />
got a part-time job in an ambulance<br />
crisis-counselling unit, which<br />
opened me up to the challenges that<br />
emergency services workers face. I<br />
knew I wanted to use my skill set in<br />
the emergency services sector, which<br />
led to me taking a job as a triple zero<br />
call-taker.<br />
Erin: When I first started at ESTA,<br />
that was my springboard into an<br />
emergency services career. As a triple<br />
zero operator, the emergency services<br />
world really opened up to me but the<br />
pivotal moment for me was when<br />
the 9/11 terrorist attacks happened.<br />
I was working for ESTA during 9/11<br />
and it really made me think - `what<br />
are our emergency services people<br />
thinking watching this unfold?<br />
How is this going to influence our<br />
sector in Australia?’ Since then I’ve<br />
completed a PhD in disaster response<br />
and have interviewed more than 100<br />
paramedics in Melbourne, London<br />
and New York about how 9/11<br />
changed them and their perspective<br />
on the work that they do.
Erin Smith Course Coordinator and Senior Lecturer in Disaster Response at Edith Cowan University and Amee Morgans Executive Director Operations Support ESTA<br />
I believe you and Amee also<br />
worked on a research paper<br />
together around paramedics’<br />
perceptions; can you talk a bit<br />
more about that work?<br />
Amee: Yes, in 2009, Erin and I<br />
worked on a research paper titled<br />
‘Paramedics’ perception of risk and<br />
willingness to work during disasters’.<br />
Paramedics, as emergency healthcare<br />
workers and frontline responders<br />
are expected to be both willing and<br />
able to respond when disaster strikes.<br />
In summary, this research looked at<br />
whether the willingness to work is<br />
directly influenced by paramedics’<br />
perception of risk.<br />
Erin: In terms of methods, a total of<br />
58 Victorian paramedics participated<br />
in this study and a total of 12 focus<br />
groups were conducted throughout<br />
the state, with each group facilitated<br />
by the use of three different<br />
emergency services scenarios. We<br />
then analysed each groups’ reactions<br />
to those scenarios.<br />
It’s clear from your careers<br />
and research that you’re both<br />
passionate about the wellbeing of<br />
emergency services workers. How<br />
important is this to the sector as<br />
a whole?<br />
Erin: A lot of my work to date<br />
looked at the long-term impacts on<br />
first responders after disasters. For<br />
example, with my research involving<br />
9/11, I followed the paramedics and<br />
their families over 15 years to see<br />
the mental health impact that 9/11<br />
had. The emergency services sector,<br />
because of the nature of its work,<br />
is one that can have high levels of<br />
anxiety and stress and other mental<br />
health issues. It’s important that as a<br />
sector we continue to address these<br />
issues and ensure that our people are<br />
getting the right help before, during<br />
and after disasters.<br />
Amee: The 2009 Victorian bushfires<br />
was when I saw the mental health<br />
consequences on those from my<br />
own family who work in emergency<br />
services; my sister works in triple<br />
zero, one brother is a police officer<br />
and my other brother is a firefighter.<br />
To see the impacts on my own family<br />
really drove home how important<br />
looking after your wellbeing is in<br />
this sector is. Both Erin and I, in<br />
our roles, are looking at trying to<br />
make the workforce a healthier place<br />
for emergency services workers by<br />
looking at how we can set up better,<br />
how we can manage things better and<br />
how do we recover better. If people
are confident and competent, we will<br />
be less likely to have mental health<br />
injuries across the sector.<br />
You both forged a strong<br />
friendship over the past 20 years.<br />
What have you noticed about<br />
friendships and bonds in the<br />
sector?<br />
Amee: The emergency services sector<br />
is filled with people that are all the<br />
same sort of person - community<br />
focused and their valued alignment<br />
is very strong; self-sacrifice and<br />
doing things that are difficult for<br />
the greater good. I think because it<br />
takes a certain sort of person to be<br />
an emergency services worker and<br />
stick with it for the long haul,; strong<br />
bonds are created because we all get<br />
each other and have been through<br />
experiences that nobody else can<br />
really understand. It’s also a small<br />
world in this sector - everybody<br />
knows everybody. I know whole<br />
families in the sector. There are always<br />
touch points.<br />
Erin: I know for Amee and I we<br />
developed a lovely friendship during<br />
our time working at triple zero<br />
because we supported each other. We<br />
weren’t just your typical workmates –<br />
we heard things that you wouldn’t be<br />
exposed to in another job role.<br />
What do you both see when you<br />
look at the future of the sector?<br />
Erin: I see there being lots of growth<br />
in terms of the types of roles we will<br />
have. Even though we have many<br />
different career paths in emergency<br />
services that people can take now,<br />
such as education, logistics and<br />
recovery work, I think there will be<br />
more targeted courses, and we’re<br />
certainly seeing that now in the post<br />
grad area; for example, there are<br />
courses such as wildness medicine<br />
and tactical medicine.<br />
Amee: I hope to see boundary-less<br />
services and a greater ability to<br />
transition between sectors and roles.<br />
When people reach the end of their<br />
career as a first responder, it would<br />
be good to see that they can transfer<br />
into other roles within the emergency<br />
services sector.<br />
Tania Willett<br />
Corporate Affairs Adviser<br />
ESTA - Emergency Services<br />
Telecommunications Authority
BIG BROTHER IS<br />
WATCHING:<br />
how new technologies are changing<br />
police surveillance<br />
When we think of<br />
surveillance, we tend<br />
to imagine traditional<br />
surveillance tools like CCTV systems<br />
run by local authorities. The use of<br />
CCTV has certainly increased since<br />
I was a young constable on the Gold<br />
Coast in the early 1990s. From a<br />
CCTV network of 16 cameras when<br />
they were first introduced to the city<br />
precinct, the network has grown to<br />
more than 500 cameras today.<br />
But surveillance is much more than<br />
just CCTV. It now includes things<br />
like private home or business security<br />
systems, police body-worn cameras<br />
(BWC) and the use of helicopters<br />
and drones. And we all have the<br />
capacity to conduct surveillance and<br />
gather evidence using the technology<br />
contained in our mobile phones.<br />
These new technologies are changing<br />
the way police approach surveillance.<br />
Rather than using surveillance tools<br />
reactively to catch criminals caught<br />
in the act on camera, police are now<br />
proactively seeking out criminals<br />
in the process of offending and<br />
recording the evidence on the spot.<br />
CCTV helps solve crime,<br />
not prevent it<br />
Most studies show that CCTV by<br />
itself does not necessarily prevent<br />
crime, but it does assist in responding<br />
to and solving crime.<br />
In the Boston bombing case, police<br />
used footage and images from state,<br />
public and private sources to identify<br />
the suspects. CCTV is also proving<br />
crucial in identifying the bombers<br />
who staged the recent coordinated<br />
attacks in Sri Lanka.<br />
Two studies released by the Australian<br />
Institute of Criminology last month<br />
focused on the use of CCTV by<br />
police. The first showed that where<br />
police requested and used CCTV<br />
footage, there was an increase in the<br />
rate of matters being solved. The<br />
second study showed CCTV footage<br />
is highly valued by law enforcement<br />
personnel, with 90% of investigators<br />
using the footage when it was<br />
available. Two-thirds were able to use<br />
it for the reason they had requested it.<br />
New tools, new capabilities<br />
We are now seeing a move from<br />
reactive surveillance to proactive<br />
surveillance.<br />
Police body worn cameras (BWCs)<br />
are an example of this. Every police<br />
service in Australia is now using<br />
BWCs. Rather than just recording<br />
a criminal event by chance, BWCs<br />
enable police to actively seek out<br />
those committing offences, and
ecord the evidence against such<br />
offenders.<br />
Queensland Police requires its<br />
officers to record whenever the<br />
officer is acting in the performance<br />
of his or her duties. The device must<br />
be recording prior to, and during,<br />
the exercising of a police power or<br />
applying a use of force.<br />
This requirement can be problematic<br />
since the officer must physically start<br />
the recording. In the shooting matter<br />
of Justine Damond in the United<br />
States, officers were criticised for<br />
having their recording devices turned<br />
off during the shooting.<br />
Some services have attempted to<br />
deal with this issue, such as Western<br />
Australia Police for instance, by<br />
having the BWC automatically begin<br />
recording when an officer draws their<br />
firearm.<br />
Even traditional CCTV is becoming<br />
proactive with the introduction of<br />
mobile CCTV cameras that can<br />
be moved as required to areas of<br />
community concern.<br />
Many police services are using drones<br />
for tasks such as crowd management,<br />
surveillance and target acquisition.<br />
Queensland and Victoria are just are<br />
two states that are committed to the<br />
use of drones for policing purposes.<br />
In 2017, Queensland Police had a fleet<br />
of ten drones.<br />
Facial recognition enables ‘predictive<br />
policing’<br />
Facial recognition software was<br />
once the thing of Hollywood movies<br />
like Mission Impossible. It’s now a<br />
reality, with the Council of Australian<br />
Governments (COAG) agreeing to<br />
share biometric data, such as drivers<br />
licence details and passport photos,<br />
between government agencies.<br />
Facial recognition software<br />
was used by police during<br />
2018 Commonwealth games in<br />
Queensland. And the Queensland<br />
government has indicated police will<br />
continue to use facial recognition<br />
tools – although confusion surrounds<br />
when or how it will be deployed. The<br />
ABC has reported that the facial<br />
recognition system was so rushed that<br />
it lacked the data to operate effectively<br />
during the Commonwealth Games.<br />
Facial recognition adds a predictive<br />
policing capability to traditional<br />
CCTV systems. In essence, predictive<br />
policing or pre-crime policing is<br />
an attempt by law enforcement to<br />
disrupt criminal activity by the early<br />
identification of criminal threats.<br />
For example, Operation Nomad saw<br />
a South Australian police visiting<br />
suspected and convicted arsonists<br />
when automated number plate<br />
recognition alerted them to suspects<br />
driving in fire danger zones. The<br />
operation was credited with the<br />
reduction of bushfire related arson.<br />
Keeping a watch on big brother<br />
Surveillance is changing from being<br />
static, fixed and reactive to being<br />
flexible and proactive. The enhanced<br />
capabilities helps law enforcement<br />
fight crime, rather than just solve it.<br />
The Coalition government promised<br />
A$20 million to increase the number<br />
of CCTV cameras across the country.<br />
Under the proposal, up to 2,600<br />
cameras would be installed at 500<br />
“crime hot spots”.<br />
While this is a largely positive<br />
move, we must ensure that there<br />
is accountability and transparency<br />
in the use of these technologies,<br />
and ensure they serve the purposes<br />
for which they were intended. An<br />
effective governance regime is<br />
essential to instill public confidence in<br />
the use of these technologies.<br />
Article first published on The Conversation<br />
Terry Goldsworthy<br />
Associate Professor in Criminology<br />
Bond University<br />
www.cityfordrockdale.com.au<br />
273 – 291 Princes Highway Arncliffe NSW 2205 wdawson@cityfordrockdale.com.au <strong>13</strong>00 852 632
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Radical circumstances<br />
(bushfires and natural<br />
disasters) flush out the<br />
mental illness in society. Whenever<br />
there’s a disaster, there’s a rush on<br />
hospital admissions for psychiatric<br />
problems. But on the whole, the<br />
illness is already there.<br />
Emergencies naturally make<br />
fodder for delusions and the<br />
emergency efforts, for mania.<br />
Obviously, there are direct mental<br />
health consequences – a small rise<br />
in post-traumatic stress disorder<br />
inevitably follows disaster. This<br />
correlates with the severity of the<br />
consequences of the disaster (loss<br />
of family, friends, animals and<br />
property).<br />
And there’s usually a big rethink,<br />
with about a third of those affected<br />
leaving the area permanently. But,<br />
for the most part, this isn’t driven<br />
by mental health issues, it results<br />
from the very real fears about<br />
whether living in a fire (or other<br />
disaster) zone is worth it.<br />
Resilience and weakness<br />
In terms of mental health, the real<br />
effect of disasters is surprising.<br />
When handled well (as they<br />
have been in the recent efforts),<br />
disasters are an opportunity for<br />
communities and people who are<br />
directly involved to galvanise, and<br />
this appears to inoculate against<br />
mental illness by strengthening<br />
social bonds, and feeding a sense<br />
of purpose and meaning.<br />
Another surprise is the flipside<br />
– an inexplicable rise in the<br />
mental illnesses that affect the<br />
elderly. Those who are frail and<br />
can’t get involved may feel they<br />
are ultimately only a burden.<br />
Such people suffer terribly from<br />
mental illness as a result of<br />
disasters. The big rise in mental<br />
health admissions after a bushfire<br />
happens in this group – its first<br />
presentations of dementia and<br />
senile degeneration is many times<br />
higher than with any other mental<br />
illness.
Natural Disasters<br />
Impact Mental<br />
Health<br />
Jan Golembiewski<br />
Researcher in<br />
Environmental<br />
Determinants of<br />
Mental Health<br />
University of Sydney
The complexity of social,<br />
environmental and psychological<br />
dynamics during an emergency<br />
cannot be underestimated. With<br />
normalcy going with the first<br />
evacuees, the strength of “all that is<br />
good” becomes the new foundation.<br />
As the National Strategy for Disaster<br />
Resilience points out, the power of the<br />
community (people you never met<br />
before come out of the woodwork to<br />
help), and the abiding dedication of<br />
the emergency services can be truly<br />
inspiring. And this is just the thing<br />
for building physical and mental<br />
resilience.<br />
A useful way to understand this<br />
effect is through a theory called<br />
salutogenics. The theory rests on<br />
a relative sense of coherence that’s<br />
built by fostering three things –<br />
manageability, comprehensibility and<br />
meaning.<br />
Conversely, the sense of coherence is<br />
depleted by anything that rattles your<br />
ability to cope – not only a lack of<br />
resources required to manage; a lack<br />
of knowledge needed to comprehend<br />
circumstances, or a lack of meaning<br />
in life, but more general forces like the<br />
entropy of age and time.<br />
While emergencies inevitably attack<br />
the ability to manage, they allow for<br />
meaning by providing clear answers<br />
to life’s big question – what are you<br />
here for? Getting involved in an<br />
emergency effort gives the answer –<br />
I’m not a parasite, I’m here to save<br />
people. I’m a contributor.<br />
The formation of beliefs like these<br />
has been shown to assist in the<br />
widest gamut of health outcomes,<br />
not only in mental health. Recent<br />
research has also identified the<br />
effect of improved meaning and<br />
comprehensibility in conditions as<br />
diverse as heart disease and cancers.<br />
Surprising as it is, disasters can<br />
actually improve health if people<br />
find a way to get meaningfully<br />
involved in the disaster response<br />
effort.<br />
Perceiving is believing<br />
Reading this, you might think a<br />
bushfire is a wonderful thing. But<br />
there’s a big caveat – in emergencies,<br />
the perceptions of those involved<br />
are critical. Good interpersonal<br />
connections create meaning,<br />
but the lack of structure within<br />
emergency situations also provides<br />
opportunities for selfishness<br />
and even criminality. And these<br />
inevitably lend themselves to<br />
atrocious outcomes (consider<br />
Hurricane Katrina).<br />
Good information improves<br />
comprehensibility, but in an<br />
emergency, information may be<br />
hard to come by and is frequently<br />
manipulated. What’s more, people<br />
<br />
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might not have the heart to be honest<br />
when it matters most.<br />
An under-promise allows low<br />
expectations to be exceeded, and<br />
this allows for a powerful message of<br />
hope and the belief that everything<br />
ultimately works out well. On the<br />
other hand, disappointment is easily<br />
taken as betrayal.<br />
Disaster victims should be expected<br />
to make unreasonable demands.<br />
Victims may, for instance, extract<br />
promises that are difficult or<br />
impossible to keep. Who, after all,<br />
wants to deny someone who is<br />
desperate and might have his life in<br />
danger? Who wouldn’t prefer to lie<br />
and say, “don’t worry. Everything will<br />
be fine”?<br />
But a hastily made guess that<br />
“someone will be there to help in<br />
a couple of hours” can start doing<br />
damage at 120 minutes and one<br />
second. The reason is because<br />
the promise suddenly becomes<br />
questionable, and at this point,<br />
comprehensibility collapses and<br />
meaning starts to erode. What could<br />
be more destructive mentally?<br />
Article first published on The Conversation<br />
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IS LANGUAGE A<br />
BARRIER IN A<br />
HEALTH CARE<br />
SETTING?<br />
Almost one quarter of the Australian population speaks a<br />
language other than English at home. But health services<br />
in Australia are largely delivered in English only.<br />
We know Australians from culturally<br />
and linguistically diverse backgrounds<br />
are less likely to access health<br />
services, which leads to poorer health<br />
outcomes. One major reason for<br />
this is the language barrier between<br />
health-care providers and consumers.<br />
Access to interpreters in health care<br />
should be seen as a basic human right.<br />
Interpreters benefit both patients and<br />
practitioners<br />
Interpreters are a vital bridge between<br />
health services and consumers.<br />
Interpreters enable consumers to be<br />
fully informed about their health<br />
condition and options for treatment.<br />
They also give consumers a voice<br />
to express themselves freely in<br />
their dominant language. This<br />
means people can share exactly<br />
what they need to say to healthcare<br />
professionals and can ask the<br />
questions they want answered.<br />
Research has found the use of<br />
professional interpreters improves<br />
the experience of medical care<br />
for patients with limited English<br />
proficiency.<br />
The use of professional interpreters<br />
significantly reduces the risk of<br />
communication errors that can lead<br />
to negative clinical consequences.<br />
Errors could include gaps in<br />
information about patient allergies,<br />
and instructions around the use<br />
of prescription medicines being<br />
misconstrued.<br />
But failure to provide access to<br />
interpreters in health settings can<br />
literally be a matter of life or death.<br />
Particularly in an emergency, if a<br />
patient and their loved ones are<br />
unable to communicate details<br />
about the patient’s medical situation<br />
to the treating doctors, this may<br />
impact whether the patient receives<br />
appropriate and timely treatment.
In one case in the United States, a<br />
hospital acted on advice provided by a<br />
Spanish-speaking family with limited<br />
English proficiency when admitting<br />
their son. A court found language<br />
confusion contributed to delayed<br />
diagnosis of a brain haemmorhage,<br />
which resulted in the patient<br />
becoming a paraplegic.<br />
But not everyone is given access to an<br />
interpreter<br />
Despite the benefits of using an<br />
interpreter, a recent study in a Sydney<br />
hospital found although interpreters<br />
were required in 15.7% of admissions,<br />
just <strong>3.</strong>7% of patients were actually<br />
provided with an interpreter.<br />
A person who needs an interpreter<br />
may not get one because they’re<br />
deemed not to require the service,<br />
because an interpreter can’t be<br />
sourced within the required<br />
timeframe (for example, in emergency<br />
situations), or because there’s no<br />
interpreter available in the language<br />
or dialect required by the patient.<br />
The use of interpreters in regional,<br />
rural and remote Australia may be<br />
even lower given the lack of available<br />
interpreters in those areas.<br />
When health professionals and<br />
consumers don’t speak the same<br />
language, delivering health services<br />
without an interpreter raises a<br />
number of ethical issues.<br />
For example, if a person is unable to<br />
understand what is being said to them<br />
by a health-care practitioner, they<br />
can’t give their informed consent.<br />
Proceeding with any treatment<br />
without informed consent is in breach<br />
of the code of conduct of all health<br />
professions in Australia.<br />
Family members as interpreters<br />
The Australian government funds the<br />
provision of professional interpreters<br />
in health-care settings free of charge.<br />
But professional interpreters are<br />
not always on hand when they are<br />
needed. This often results in the use of<br />
family members as interpreters.<br />
This practice is fraught with issues<br />
and in some instances this can do<br />
more harm than good for both the<br />
interpreter and the patient.<br />
Relatives don’t have formal training as<br />
interpreters and may not be familiar<br />
with the medical terminology being<br />
used or how to translate it.<br />
Family members may add their own<br />
interpretation or opinion in the<br />
delivery of the message, thereby not<br />
delivering the message intended by<br />
the health-care practitioner or the<br />
patient.
In many migrant families, children or<br />
young adults have the best knowledge<br />
of English in the family and so are<br />
often called upon to be the interpreter.<br />
The use of underage interpreters<br />
raises further ethical issues as they<br />
are tasked with interpreting sensitive<br />
health information about a loved one.<br />
So caution is needed when using<br />
family members as interpreters.<br />
How can the use of interpreters be<br />
increased and improved?<br />
There are some key actions that<br />
should be taken to improve healthcare<br />
experiences and outcomes<br />
for people with limited English<br />
proficiency.<br />
First, training for both interpreters<br />
and health-care professionals is<br />
essential to develop skills for effective<br />
collaboration.<br />
Second, there should be additional<br />
time allocated for appointments<br />
where interpreters are used. This<br />
is because each sentence must be<br />
said twice during the exchange of<br />
information and time is needed for<br />
briefing and debriefing about the<br />
session.<br />
Third, health services need to collect<br />
accurate information to determine<br />
whether an interpreter is needed. A<br />
person may present with functional<br />
English but still require an interpreter<br />
for ease of communication given<br />
the complex terminology and the<br />
seriousness of medical conversations.<br />
And finally, professionally trained<br />
interpreters must be available in the<br />
languages and dialects required. There<br />
are more than 300 languages spoken<br />
in Australia and many have multiple<br />
dialects.<br />
Investment in interpreting services<br />
is essential to ensure the provision of<br />
equitable, high quality health care to<br />
all Australians. In a country where<br />
interpreters may improve care for one<br />
quarter of the population, we can’t<br />
afford not to.<br />
Article first published on The Conversation<br />
Sarah Verdon<br />
Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer<br />
in Speech and Language Pathology,<br />
Charles Sturt University
How a<br />
Bushfire<br />
can destroy<br />
a home<br />
Ten years after the devastation of Black Saturday,<br />
building design has largely been unrecognised as an area<br />
worthy of research. We have advanced our knowledge<br />
of the materials used in the construction of homes in<br />
bushfire-prone areas but we continue to use the design<br />
model of the suburban home.<br />
This needs to change. An initial<br />
starting point is to consider the way<br />
previous bushfires have damaged and<br />
destroyed buildings.<br />
Elements of a bushfire<br />
A bushfire has five different elements:<br />
smoke, wind, embers, flames, and<br />
radiant heat (the latter two are collectively<br />
called the “fire front”).<br />
Smoke and wind are usually present<br />
throughout a fire, but are particularly<br />
high when the fire burns at its most<br />
intense levels. Depending on the type<br />
of vegetation burning, isolated flying<br />
embers may arrive hours before a fire<br />
front. Intense ember attacks usually<br />
occur 15-30 minutes before a fire<br />
front arrives, and may persist for up<br />
to 8 hours after the fire front moves<br />
on.<br />
Radiant heat at a level that makes it<br />
impossible to survive outside will<br />
persist during the passage of the fire<br />
front, which may last anywhere between<br />
2 and 15 minutes. However, if<br />
consequential fires are ignited by the<br />
main fire front, the radiant heat may<br />
remain at non-survivable levels for<br />
much longer.<br />
The smoke of a bushfire reduces visibility<br />
and can turn a bright day into<br />
night. A change in wind direction can<br />
renew a threat residents thought had<br />
already passed them.<br />
How will a bushfire attack your<br />
home?<br />
Most people would expect that the<br />
most destructive element of a bushfire<br />
is the fire front, but rather surprisingly<br />
that’s not the case. Ember entry<br />
and associated spot fires, rather than<br />
direct flame contact, accounts for 75-<br />
80% of homes destroyed by bushfires.<br />
Embers can be large strips of burning<br />
bark, or a tiny spark as small as a pinhead,<br />
and depending on wind speed<br />
these can travel up to 10 kilometres<br />
ahead of the fire front.<br />
Australian research over the past
75 years has revealed more than 20<br />
different parts of a house and its<br />
surrounding area that are vulnerable<br />
to bushfire attack. Much of this<br />
knowledge has now been incorporated<br />
into a recently updated Australian<br />
Standard: Construction of buildings<br />
in bushfire-prone areas.<br />
These guidelines aim to reduce the<br />
vulnerability of each part of a house,<br />
and thus make the structure as a<br />
whole more resistant to bushfire<br />
damage. The Standard applies across<br />
Australia for new homes and renovations.<br />
The known building ignition points<br />
The known weak parts of a building<br />
are referred to as the “building ignition<br />
points”. Several are considered<br />
below:<br />
Roof cavity<br />
In domestic homes the roof cavity is<br />
the large open space under the roof<br />
and above the ceiling. Embers in this<br />
space can cause fire to spread rapidly,<br />
making the whole building vulnerable<br />
to ceiling collapse.<br />
Any gap in the roof, such as a poorly<br />
secured tile, can allow flying embers<br />
to enter. The burning crown of a<br />
nearby tree, pushed onto a roof by<br />
high-speed winds, can also ignite the<br />
house.<br />
When people choose to shelter in<br />
their bathrooms they often forget<br />
the ceiling is particularly vulnerable<br />
there. It’s difficult to access a roof cavity<br />
with a fire hose, and extinguishing<br />
embers and fire invariably damages<br />
electrical wiring, plasterwork, and<br />
home contents.<br />
Regular inspection and maintenance<br />
of roof elements can help reduce ember<br />
entry. Avoiding trees close to your<br />
house, and removing any overhanging<br />
branches, can also help reduce this<br />
bushfire risk.<br />
Gutters<br />
Overhanging trees can cause compacted<br />
leaf litter to build up in gutters.<br />
During a bushfire flying embers land<br />
in this material, catch alight and<br />
spread flames to combustible parts<br />
of the roof structure such as wooden<br />
facia boards, rafters, roof battens, and<br />
eaves.<br />
It’s a good idea to clear out your<br />
gutters each year as part of seasonal<br />
bushfire preparation. Some people<br />
choose to wait until a bushfire is approaching<br />
to do this, but going onto<br />
your roof for the first time in semidarknes<br />
while embers are flying at<br />
you can put you at risk, and endanger<br />
your life.<br />
If you’re building a new structure you<br />
can consider extending the roof line<br />
and having a water collection system<br />
on the ground to remove the need for<br />
gutters.<br />
Vents and weep holes<br />
Together vents and weep holes allow<br />
for fresh air to pass through a building<br />
and for excess moisture to leave,<br />
reduce condensation and mould. They<br />
are necessary for our comfort and<br />
health, and maintaining the integrity<br />
of a building.<br />
However in a bushfire these types of<br />
external openings can allow flying<br />
embers to enter the building and<br />
start spot fires. Having steel or other<br />
non-combustible mesh with small<br />
holes in front or behind vents and<br />
weep holes can reduce the bushfire<br />
risk while still allowing air and moisture<br />
to pass through.<br />
Subfloors<br />
Often houses constructed in bushfire-prone<br />
areas are built on a sloping<br />
block of land. The area under the<br />
building (the subfloor) is left open<br />
rather than being enclosed, and<br />
combustible materials are often stored<br />
there. The danger is similar in scale<br />
to embers in the roof cavity. When<br />
embers or flames take hold in this<br />
subfloor area they can spread under<br />
the entire building and allow the fire<br />
to move up.<br />
Plants and mulched garden beds next<br />
to the home<br />
Garden beds and timber steps near a<br />
house are a potential danger during<br />
a bushfire. Plants with dense foliage<br />
can burn intensely and cause radiant<br />
heat damage, cracking and imploding<br />
nearby windows and glass doors.<br />
Garden beds which have been<br />
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ecently mulched can trap flying<br />
embers and spread fire to timber<br />
subfloors. It’s much better to have<br />
a non-combustible paved area next<br />
to your home, with pots containing<br />
either succulents or plants with<br />
thin foliage.<br />
Deciding whether to stay and<br />
defend a home or leave early is a<br />
difficult and contentious choice.<br />
Hopefully, knowing more about<br />
some parts of your house which<br />
are most vulnerable to bushfire attack<br />
will make that decision easier.<br />
Article first published on The Conversation<br />
Douglas Brown<br />
Casual Academic<br />
Western Sydney University<br />
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FIRING UP THE LEADERSHIP PIPELINE FO<br />
Words By<br />
Angela Calabrese<br />
www.executivecentral.com.au<br />
Image: Shutterstock
R WOMEN AT FIRE AND RESCUE NSW<br />
How do you maintain the momentum for an ambitious gender parity program<br />
in a 6,800-strong organisation that has been exclusively male for decades<br />
and only recently reached 17 women in its senior ranks?<br />
The organisation in question, Fire and Rescue NSW says part of the answer<br />
has been a highly successful, tailored program of empowerment and<br />
confidence-building for its women leaders.<br />
The Women Leading @ Fire + Rescue<br />
NSW program was an initiative of<br />
Wayne Phillips, Chief Superintendent,<br />
Organisational Development People<br />
and Culture, Fire and Rescue NSW,<br />
who said he wanted to increase the<br />
confidence of female leaders in order<br />
to build the leadership pipeline.<br />
The Women Leading program was<br />
developed and delivered over six<br />
months in 2018 by Executive Central<br />
Director Reyna Matthes.<br />
“Fire and Rescue NSW recognises<br />
the benefits for both our existing<br />
workforce and the communities<br />
we serve to build an inclusive<br />
environment and culture within our<br />
organisation. There are many facets<br />
that form an inclusive workplace and<br />
this program focuses on building<br />
capacity in our existing women<br />
so they may act as role models for<br />
those within and attraction beacons<br />
for those women who may be<br />
considering Fire and Rescue NSW<br />
as a career,” Chief Superintendent<br />
Phillips said.<br />
“At the very least, Fire and Rescue<br />
NSW recognises that career<br />
advancement appears to be difficult<br />
for women due to cultural and<br />
confidence issues and this course was<br />
seen as a way to build confidence in<br />
its women to achieve whatever their<br />
goals are.<br />
“There are still not many women<br />
progressing through the ranks. Just<br />
one of the reasons for this lack of<br />
progress is women’s confidence and<br />
knowing when they can go for a<br />
promotion. So, we decided that for<br />
the 17 most senior women in NSW,<br />
we needed to organise coaching and a<br />
networking opportunity so they could<br />
become empowered.<br />
“We chose Executive Central because<br />
they had a tailored leadership<br />
program specifically for women.<br />
Executive Central had delivered<br />
the Women Leading programs in<br />
similar organisations to ours and it<br />
had a good track record for what we<br />
needed.”<br />
In relation to key outcomes, Chief<br />
Superintendent Phillips said: “We<br />
were looking for higher engagement<br />
from our senior women, more trust<br />
in the organisation to develop women<br />
and to increase the representation of<br />
women in leadership.”<br />
While currently under evaluation,<br />
informal feedback from participants<br />
has been positive. “I had informal<br />
feedback along the way that the<br />
participants felt we had really invested<br />
in them and their leadership,” he said.<br />
“Building the pipeline for women in<br />
the organisation is one of the reasons<br />
we went down this path but it’s only<br />
one part of the pie. We are also<br />
building a more flexible and inclusive<br />
workplace for everyone – men and<br />
women. This is a public-sector-wide<br />
trend,” Chief Superintendent Phillips<br />
added.<br />
What participants said about the<br />
Women Leading program<br />
Tracey Spindler, Leading Station<br />
Officer, Forestville, said: “The things<br />
that were of value, more than I had<br />
anticipated, were the connections and<br />
contacts that I made with other senior<br />
female colleagues. There are very few<br />
crews where there’s more than one<br />
female on shift.<br />
“This important aspect was enhanced<br />
by the program structure: three<br />
two-day sessions with overnight stays<br />
and each one followed by a one-onone<br />
coaching session with Women<br />
Leading coach Reyna Matthes. It’s<br />
the most perfect balance of group<br />
work and individual focus. We got<br />
the chance to explore things together<br />
and then, as an individual, get more<br />
specific and really make the program<br />
about ‘me’.
“We were able to connect and<br />
develop those friendships – it’s<br />
difficult normally because we’re<br />
in different parts of the state, on<br />
different platoons and shifts. We were<br />
able to really talk about and discuss<br />
challenges, experiences and put our<br />
vulnerabilities on the line. Personally,<br />
I was able to move forward and feel<br />
acknowledged by Fire & Rescue.<br />
Learning New Skills<br />
“The big take away for me was the<br />
focus on ‘strengths-based leadership’<br />
– that was pretty potent. We got<br />
to explore strengths even further,<br />
recognising our strengths and how<br />
to apply them – that really was a big<br />
deal. I feel it has given me confidence<br />
as a leader.<br />
“Particularly useful was the Career<br />
Map work (a roadmap for career<br />
management). I think that 20 years<br />
ago, if someone had sat with me and<br />
talked to me about my career map, I<br />
would have taken on a leadership role<br />
much earlier.<br />
“Six or so months after the program,<br />
I’m feeling more confident because<br />
I’m focusing on my strengths and<br />
how I can incorporate them into<br />
my leadership. After the program, I<br />
worked for a time in a regional area<br />
as acting inspector where they’d had<br />
little exposure – at all levels – to<br />
female leaders. It was a huge benefit<br />
to have had this training to use my<br />
strengths to support me.<br />
“As an organisation, I think the fire<br />
service realised that we have a really<br />
tough gig – even as firefighters. It<br />
takes a lot of courage to step up as<br />
leaders, you have to be very confident<br />
– it really helped to explore what’s<br />
holding us back.<br />
“I know senior management would<br />
do anything to help us and this was<br />
a brilliant start. To (EC coach Reyna<br />
Matthes) Reyna’s credit, she really<br />
challenged us; she was very good at<br />
looking for a way forward in relation<br />
to issues that were preventing us from<br />
stepping up and moving ahead in our<br />
careers.”<br />
Zena Mehanna, Station Officer, Leichhardt, said: “When I joined there<br />
were only around 15 active women in the fire service in a workforce of<br />
3,000 people. My first station, Glebe, gave me the best experience. From<br />
my crew – I worked with some truly awesome men – to my boss, who was<br />
progressive and a true leader before his time. The reason I’m where I am<br />
today is that I had the benefit of great leadership from the start.<br />
“The interesting thing about our job is that we work with a very wide<br />
generational range. As a female station officer, I work with millennials<br />
through to baby boomers and each has to be treated differently because<br />
they come with varying experiences and exposure to female leadership.<br />
Expectations of the program<br />
“To be honest I didn’t know what to expect from the course but this<br />
turned out to be a quality leadership program for women initiated by the<br />
(fire) service.<br />
“The standout reasons for me as to why the program was successful was<br />
first and foremost the women who participated. It was an important and<br />
rare opportunity to network and offer support to each other as senior<br />
women.<br />
“The other valuable component of the program was that it really<br />
reinforced being yourself through its strengths-based leadership approach.<br />
Being able to bring the best of you to work allows you to lead effectively.<br />
You don’t have to be a man, I’ve always believed the best way we can effect<br />
change as leaders is by being ourselves.<br />
“By being one hundred percent myself it allows me to, firstly, recognise<br />
what people bring and, secondly, that I work for them, my crew. It’s the<br />
biggest lesson for me in leadership – you are not there for yourself, you’re<br />
there for the people you’re leading, to reveal their strengths and let them<br />
shine.<br />
“I’m at a point in my career where I’m at the most influential I’ve ever<br />
been. I can influence the most positive change with the people I work<br />
with. I am one hundred per cent myself and one hundred per cent<br />
confident with who I am. I try to create that environment with my crew so<br />
they can feel the same and feel safe in a learning environment.<br />
“There will be more women in the leadership pipeline at Fire and Rescue<br />
NSW, but it takes time. Lasting change is not forced, change with integrity<br />
is not forced. That’s been my experience and it’s my strongly held view as<br />
well.”<br />
“The things that were of value,<br />
more than I had anticipated, were<br />
the connections and contacts that<br />
I made with other senior female<br />
colleagues. There are very few crews<br />
where there’s more than one female<br />
on shift.”<br />
For further information on the Women Leading Program head to<br />
www.executivecentral.com.au
This Year’s Flu Season:<br />
What we know so far<br />
News reports have claimed Australia is on track for a<br />
particularly bad flu season. But it’s too early to tell if<br />
that’s the case – and it’s impossible to predict. Here’s<br />
what we know so far.
Influenza illness – or the flu – is<br />
a caused by the influenza virus.<br />
It often comes on rapidly, with<br />
a high fever, chills, muscle aches,<br />
tiredness and a dry cough. These<br />
symptoms get worse over the first few<br />
days.<br />
Most people will get better without<br />
medical care, but some people<br />
are at higher risk of dangerous<br />
complications. This includes pregnant<br />
women, children, those aged over<br />
65, people with chronic diseases and<br />
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island<br />
peoples.<br />
News reports have claimed Australia<br />
is on track for a particularly bad<br />
flu season. But it’s too early to tell if<br />
that’s the case – and it’s impossible to<br />
predict. Here’s what we know so far.<br />
What was last year’s flu season like?<br />
The World Health Organisation<br />
(WHO) classifies the severity of<br />
flu seasons based on how quickly<br />
the circulating viruses spread, the<br />
seriousness of the disease – which<br />
can be measured by the number of<br />
hospitalisations or deaths – and the<br />
impact of the illness, such as the<br />
strain on hospitals.<br />
Based on these metrics, the 2018<br />
influenza season was pretty mild. The<br />
season started late, comparatively<br />
few cases were seen in GP clinics<br />
and hospitals, it had a low impact<br />
on workplaces and hospitals, and it<br />
caused a moderate level of illness.<br />
This contrasts with 2017, which saw<br />
an early start to the season, high<br />
activity in the eastern states, a great<br />
impact on GPs and hospitals, high<br />
levels of absenteeism, and at least<br />
1,255 deaths.<br />
It’s too early to assess the <strong>2019</strong> season<br />
– this is usually done after the flu<br />
season ends. But GPs are seeing more<br />
flu-like illness for this time of year<br />
than in previous ones.<br />
Hospital surveillance doesn’t usually<br />
start until the end of April, so<br />
it’s difficult to assess activity and<br />
severity in hospitals, but emergency<br />
department presentations in both the<br />
Northern Territory and New South<br />
Wales have been high.<br />
Why is it so hard to predict?<br />
Part of the problem with predicting<br />
the influenza season is that we talk<br />
about one season, but four distinct<br />
influenza viruses cause clinically<br />
important illness in humans.<br />
These viruses are categorised into two<br />
influenza types: A and B. Influenza<br />
type A is further subdivided into two<br />
subtypes: H1N1pdm09 and H3N2.<br />
Influenza type B is further subdivided<br />
into two lineages: B/Victoria and B/<br />
Yamagata.<br />
All four of these viruses are covered<br />
by the four-strain influenza vaccine<br />
that is provided to Australians aged<br />
under 65 years.<br />
For adults aged 65 years and older, an<br />
enhanced vaccine is available which<br />
contains the two influenza A subtypes<br />
and one influenza B. This year the B<br />
strain is a B/Yamagata lineage virus<br />
because in 2018, we saw many more<br />
B/Yamagata than B/Victoria viruses.<br />
Flu viruses are continually mutating<br />
in nature, and so any immunity<br />
acquired from a previous infection or<br />
vaccine may provide little protection<br />
against the viruses that will circulate<br />
in the next season.<br />
There is also little cross-immunity.<br />
Infection with A(H1N1)pdm09, for<br />
example, won’t necessarily protect you<br />
against A(H3N2). It’s even possible,<br />
though unlikely, to be infected with<br />
two viruses at the same time or in<br />
close succession.<br />
All four of these influenza viruses<br />
rarely circulate with equal frequency<br />
during the winter months. Typically,<br />
one of the influenza A viruses will<br />
dominate.<br />
In Australia, it’s rare for influenza B<br />
to dominate. It’s even rarer for both<br />
lineages to circulate at the same time,<br />
but it happened in 2015.<br />
The burden of each of these viruses<br />
also varies. Children may be more<br />
susceptible to influenza B infections<br />
than adults, while the elderly are<br />
relatively less susceptible to infection<br />
with A(H1N1)pdm09 but are more<br />
vulnerable to A(H3N2) infections.<br />
Although deaths have been associated<br />
with all four viruses, A(H3N2)<br />
generally causes more deaths than the<br />
others, particularly among the elderly.<br />
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Unfortunately, our disease<br />
surveillance systems rarely collect<br />
information on the specific influenza<br />
viruses that patients present with<br />
in GP clinics and hospitals. That’s<br />
because influenza testing can be<br />
expensive, and knowing the strain –<br />
or if it is indeed influenza – wouldn’t<br />
necessarily alter the course of<br />
treatment.<br />
Instead, we learn which virus<br />
dominated and its likely impact.<br />
While this is useful for monitoring<br />
overall trends, it isn’t sufficient<br />
to study specific virus circulation<br />
patterns that might enable us to<br />
predict the seasons better.<br />
Influenza viruses mutate quite<br />
rapidly and circulate the globe quite<br />
efficiently thanks, especially, to air<br />
travel.<br />
That said, circulation of influenza<br />
viruses in Europe does not necessarily<br />
help us predict which viruses will<br />
circulate in Australia as there is no<br />
consistent pattern of one hemisphere<br />
leading the other in terms of virus<br />
circulation.<br />
Even within hemispheres, variation<br />
occurs. During the 2017-18 winter,<br />
influenza B viruses dominated in<br />
Europe, while A(H3N2) viruses<br />
dominated in North America.<br />
In tropical and sub-tropical regions,<br />
where there is no “winter”, there may<br />
be more than one flu season per year,<br />
or a year-round season with low rates<br />
of one virus, usually influenza B.<br />
The reasons why influenza viruses<br />
circulate at different times are unclear.<br />
They may be related to climatic<br />
factors, such as temperature and<br />
humidity and, in some locales, may be<br />
driven by tourism. But we don’t really<br />
understand the causal relationships<br />
between these factors.<br />
The good news is that with increased<br />
computing power, greater availability<br />
of high-quality surveillance,<br />
more years of data and a greater<br />
understanding of influenza virology<br />
and immunology, our ability to<br />
forecast the season is improving.<br />
Article first published on The Conversation<br />
Sheena G. Sullivan<br />
Epidemiologist,<br />
WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and<br />
Research on Influenza<br />
Rob Moss<br />
Research Fellow,<br />
Mathematical Biology and Physiology,<br />
University of Melbourne<br />
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