State Emergency Management Committee
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ANNUAL REPORT for the reporting period ending 30 June 2013 ANNUAL REPORT for the reporting period ending 30 June 2013 All correspondence regarding this report is to be directed to: Communications Coordinator SEMC Secretariat 20 Southport Street WEST LEEDERVILLE WA 6007 Telephone: (08) 9482 1700 Email: [email protected] Web: www.semc.wa.gov.au Acknowledgements The State Emergency Management Committee (SEMC) acknowledges the contribution of the member agencies, the broad range of organisations and committees who support the SEMC in its activities and contributed to the preparation of this Annual Report. The member agencies are: • Department for Child Protection • Department of Environment and Conservation • Department of Fire and Emergency Services • Department of Health • Department of the Premier and Cabinet • Western Australia Police • Western Australian Local Government Association. SEMC ANNUAL REPORT Foreword It is with great pleasure that we present to you the SEMC’s Annual Report. This report provides a summary of the emergency management activities carried out in Western Australia in 2012–2013. The SEMC worked in a very dynamic and stimulating environment and both the Committee and the Secretariat worked closely with member agencies to bring about a number of signifi cant and worthy changes in emergency management in Western Australia. Key changes include the re-formation of the Committee in July 2012, the development of SEMC’s Strategic Plan 2012–2015, which provides a blueprint for the Committee’s key objectives over the next years, the publication of the fi rst report on the State’s preparedness for large scale emergencies in October 2012 and the SEMC Secretariat’s transition to becoming a sub-department of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) from 1 July 2013. The new arrangements provide for a clearer separation of the roles of the SEMC and the State Emergency Coordination Group (SECG). This assigns the coordination of the actual response during emergencies to the SECG, allowing the SEMC to focus on preparedness including reviewing the policy framework, ensuring role clarity and focusing more on delivery of the Strategic Plan. The Secretariat provides support to the SEMC and its subcommittees as well as facilitating key projects. In this regard the SEMC continues to be well supported in its work by the Secretariat, by member agencies, by the SEMC subcommittees and by the District and Local Emergency Management Committees throughout the State. Their valued contributions to Western Australia’s emergency management are presented in this report and we would like to express our appreciation of this support, particularly the support of the hard-working staff of the Secretariat and member agencies. We look forward to working in a collaborative style with all involved in emergency management to continuously improve Western Australia’s emergency management. We hope you fi nd this report both informative and interesting, and that it will give you a greater understanding of the signifi cant work undertaken. This Annual Report is submitted to the Minister for Emergency Services in accordance with section 25 of the Emergency Management Act 2005. Ms Kerry Sanderson AO Ms Noelene Jennings Chair Executive Director SEMC SEMC Secretariat State Emergency Management Committee | Annual Report 2012 – 2013 Margaret River bush fi re: Boodji Creek. Photograph taken by Ivan Flower-Jones. State Emergency Management Committee | Annual Report 2012 – 2013 Contents The SEMC Members 2 Acknowledgement to former SEMC member 4 The SEMC Meetings 4 Record of attendance for ordinary quarterly meetings 4 The SEMC’s Strategic Plan 2012–2015 5 The SEMC’s purpose 5 Guiding Principles of the Strategic Plan 7 The SEMC Committee Structure 8 SEMC Key Achievements in 2012–2013 8 Annual Emergency Preparedness Report 8 The SEMC reconstitution and sub-department establishment 8 State-wide Risk Management Project 9 Subcommittee review 9 Season Review meeting 10 Report on Post-Incident Analysis (Noetic Solutions) 10 The SEMC Subcommittees 11 The SEMC Subcommittee Key Activities in 2012 – 2013 11 Associated groups 12 New Subcommittee Structure 12 District Emergency Management Committees 14 Compliance 14 Western Australia’s Emergency Management Districts 14 DEMC Key Achievements in 2012–2013 15 Local Emergency Management Committees 16 Compliance 16 Data collected in 2012–2013 18 State Emergency Management Framework 19 Policy and Legislation updates 20 New and/or changes to State Emergency Management Policies (SEMP) 20 Changes to Emergency Management Regulations 20 Changes to State Emergency Management Procedures 20 New and/or changes to State Emergency Management Plans (Westplans) 20 Status of State Emergency Management Plans – Westplans 21 Status of Westplans 21 Status of State Function Support Plans 22 Hazard Management Agencies – main responses and exercises in 2012 – 2013 23 Enabling Legislation 25 SEMC Membership 25 Responsible Minister 25 Acronyms 26 State Emergency Management Committee | Annual Report 2012 – 2013 1 The SEMC Members The composition of the SEMC at 30 June 2013 Back row: Mr Frank Edwards CSC, Mr Peter Conran PSM, Mr Wayne Gregson APM, Mr Terry Murphy, Mr James Sharp, Dr Andrew Robertson PSM and Dr Karl O’Callaghan APM. Front row: Ms Noelene Jennings, Ms Sue Ash, Ms Kerry Sanderson AO and Ms Ricky Burges PSM. 2 State Emergency Management Committee | Annual Report 2012 – 2013 CHAIR DEPUTY CHAIR EXECUTIVE OFFICER EXECUTIVE OFFICER Ms Kerry Sanderson AO Ms Sue Ash (from Jan 2013) (from Aug–Dec 2012) Independent Member Independent Member Ms Noelene Jennings Ms Michelle Reynolds SEMC Secretariat SEMC Secretariat MEMBER MEMBER MEMBER MEMBER (proxy) Mr Frank Edwards CSC Dr Karl O’Callaghan Mr Wayne Gregson Dr Andrew Robertson Independent Member APM APM PSM WA Police Department of Fire & Department of Health Emergency Services MEMBER MEMBER MEMBER MEMBER Mr Terry Murphy Mr Peter Conran PSM Mr James Sharp Ms Ricky Burges PSM Department for Department of the Department of WA Local Government Child Protection Premier and Cabinet Environment and Association Conservation State Emergency Management Committee | Annual Report 2012 – 2013 3 Acknowledgement to former SEMC member The SEMC acknowledges the valued contribution of Mr Keiran McNamara, Director General of the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC). Mr McNamara graduated in natural resources from the University of New England in 1976. He then spent seven years with the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service in Canberra. Mr McNamara joined CALM in July 1985 and went on to become CALM’s Director of Nature Conservation in December 1991 and its CEO in July 2001. When the then Government amalgamated CALM and the Department of Environment to form DEC in July 2006, Mr McNamara was appointed as Director General of the agency and served in that role until March 2013. The Minister for Emergency Services appointed Mr Keiran McNamara as a member of the SEMC on 24 November 2009 in recognition of the signifi cant role that DEC had in the management of fi res across the State. Mr McNamara served as a valued SEMC member until March 2013. The SEMC Meetings During 2012–2013 the SEMC met on nine (9) occasions: • Rescheduled ordinary meeting of the SEMC prior to reconstitution 3 July 2012. • Extraordinary meeting on 12 July 2012 (Cabinet Decision). • Workshop of the reconstituted SEMC on 7 August 2012. • Four ordinary quarterly meetings (4 September 2012, 4 December 2012, 5 March 2013 and 11 June 2013). • Extraordinary meeting in October 2012 (Preparedness Report). • Season review meeting in May 2013. Record of attendance for ordinary quarterly meetings Member Position/Organisation Total number Represented by Proxy/ of meetings number of meetings attended Ms Kerry Sanderson SEMC Chairperson 4 Ms Sue Ash SEMC Deputy Chairperson 4 Ms Michelle Reynolds SEMC Executive Offi cer 2 Ms Noelene Jennings SEMC Executive Offi cer 2* Mr Frank Edwards Independent Member 4 Dr Karl O’Callaghan WA Police 3 Mr Wayne Gregson Department of Fire and Emergency Services 4 Mr Kim Snowball Department of Health 1 Dr Andrew Robertson (3) Professor Bryant Stokes 0† Mr Terry Murphy Department for Child Protection 2 Mr Peter Byrne (1) Mr Peter Conran Department of the Premier and Cabinet 4 Mr Keiran McNamara Department of Environment and Conservation 2 Mr Peter Dans (1) Mr James Sharp 1‡ Ms Ricky Burges Western Australian Local Government Association 2 Ms Allison Hailes (2) * Ms Noelene Jennings replaced Ms Michelle Reynolds in January 2013. † Professor Bryant Stokes replaced Mr Kim Snowball in June 2013. Dr Andrew Robertson is the Deputy Member for Department of Health. ‡ Mr James Sharp replaced Mr Keiran McNamara in June 2013. 4 State Emergency Management Committee | Annual Report 2012 – 2013 The SEMC’s Strategic Plan 2012–2015 The signifi cant changes to emergency management in Western Australia during 2012–2013 emphasised the need to agree the direction and objectives of the SEMC. The inaugural Emergency Preparedness Report in 2012 delivered the fi rst assessment of the State’s preparedness, particularly its capacity to deal with large-scale emergencies and the progress in the emergency management sector. The report highlighted and re-confi rmed four major themes: • Shared Responsibility; • Risk Management; • Improving Coordination particularly in Response; and • Continuous Improvement. The SEMC brought together these themes in conjunction with its renewed commitment towards reviewing and continuously improving