Chapter Twelve Conclusions and the future With the formal role of the Taskforce concluding at the end of September 2003 it is critical that recovery activities are progressively integrated into the normal business of the ACT Government and community. A I3ushfire Recovery Executive, including senior representatives from across the ACT Government and the Chair of the Community and Expert Reference Group, will continue to maintain momentum and responsiveness on recovery issues. As part of this work, the Executive will continue to review lessons learnt during 2003, and to ensure opportunities for improvement are recognised and addressed. Recovering from an event such as the January 2003 fires in the ACT is a complex process which involves many phases. While for some the memory of the fires is now distant, for many others (including Government), there is still much to be done. Experience from other disasters suggests that the recovery process will go on for many years, and there will be a need for ongoing rebuilding and restoration, as well as services and support for those directly affected. PLANNING FOR THE NEXT PHASES OF THE RECOVERY Review of the Taskforce When the special arrangements were announced in January 2003, the Government put the Taskforce and Reference Group in place for an initial period of six months. This was in recognition that there was much to do, and understanding that after six months, there would be much better information about the next set of challenges, issues and activities. In June 2003, the Taskforce undertook a review to identify what the key issues were for the future, and to provide advice to Government regarding the next phases. The Reference Group also undertook a similar review of its functions and future challenges. This review identified that while there had been much progress, there was still much to do. Significant work still to occur includes: • preparing for the next bushfire season; • supporting affected households and communities through the next bushfire season, particularly taking into account key efforts such as the Christmas period, the one year anniversary and potential bushfire threats; 101 o supporting affected households and communities through inquiries and inquests; assisting people through the rebuilding process (by September 2003, there is still significant private rebuilding to occur); of th o completing and implementing the Non Urban Study; and e B o continuing the Government rebuilding and restoration program. ushf As a result of these activities, the Taskforce recommended to Government: i r e R • the continuation of the Taskforce until the end of September 2003; ec ov o the continuation of the Reference Group until the end of March 2003; er • the continuation of the ACT Recovery Centre until the end of March 2003; y • the establishment of a group of senior executives to lead the ongoing recovery process after the completion of the work of the Taskforce; and • the continuation of the Taskforce Secretariat, with its gradual movement into the Chief Minister's Department. This review confirmed the view that it was appropriate for the Taskforce to conclude its formal role at the end of September 2003. The Taskforce did identify that while it was important to ensure that recovery activities were progressively integrated into the normal business of ACT Government, there were risks in this approach, particularly in relation to ensuring a smooth transition and ongoing priority to the bushfire recovery task. Therefore, a significant process was introduced in handing over responsibility to the new Bushfire Recovery Executive. This is outlined below. Establishing the Bushfire Recovery Executive While the Taskforce was very aware of a range of activities that still needed to be completed at the end of September 2003, they also recognised the need to move through the different phases of the recovery process. Therefore, in proposing a Government Bushfire Recovery Executive, the Taskforce believed that the timing was appropriate to consider new recovery arrangements, particularly the gradual integration of recovery activities into the normal business of Government and commencement of the process of returning some functions of the recovery process back to the mainstream public service. Given that the members of the Taskforce would remain available to provide expertise and advice, the Government agreed to move to these new arrangements from I October 2003. The Bushfire Recovery Executive was tasked from this time with responsibility for the ongoing recovery process. It is their role to ensure that recovery remains a key priority of Government and that it continues with the momentum created in the initial phases. In particular, the Bushfire Recovery Executive will ensure: o there is continuity and a coherent recovery strategy; o recovery from the January bushfire remains a high priority for the Government and community; • there is a high level of responsiveness by the Government and partners in responding to recovery issues; and • organisational arrangements are in place that are adaptable and able to respond to changing priorities throughout the ongoing recovery process. It was an agreed position of the Taskforce, Government, and the Bushfire Recovery Executive that this change in arrangements did not signal a lessening of the priority of the recovery process. It did signal however, a new phase, where key executives throughout the ACT Public Service needed to become even more directly involved in driving the recovery process. To ensure a smooth transition, this Executive Group was established in August 2003, chaired by the Deputy Chief Executive of the Chief Minister's Department, and involving all ACT Government Departments and the Chair of the CERG. Through September, the Executive joined with the Taskforce at their fortnightly meetings and participated in a number of briefing and planning sessions. This provided an opportunity for the Executive to gain an understanding of future challenges, have a full hand-over of issues, and commence their forward planning process. In taking on the task of ongoing recovery, the Recovery Executive has identified key priorities in this next phase. They include: • maintaining priority and momentum; • maintaining a high level of confidence in the community; o assisting individuals through specific events associated with the bushfires; • mainstreaming services in a way that is sensitive to the needs of bushfire affected households; and o integrating lessons into the broader ACT Government. THE FUTURE PRIORITIES FOR ONGOING RECOVERY The Taskforce has been very keen to ensure that the recovery process continues to have priority, and the momentum generated to date is not lost. In moving into this next phase, the Taskforce sees that there are four key issues which are vital in the next stages of recovery. They are: o ensure that those directly affected by the fires are adequately supported, and provided with the resources to assist them fully recover; o do everything to encourage the rebuilding process to progress, and assist individuals working through the rebuilding process; o ensure that residents of the ACT are able to again enjoy the recreational and public places which are important to them; and o ensure that the Government and the whole community are prepared for the next bushfire season. Th Key activities that are still on the agenda as the recovery process moves into its next e R phase include: e port continuing to provide direct services to those affected by the fires through the ACT Recovery Centre through the next bushfire season; of th ensuring ongoing communications to affected communities, and the whole e B of the ACT community, through Community Update and local newspaper u shf advertisements to the end of March 2004; i re • progressive clean-up and restoration of public recreational areas, particularly in R non urban areas; ec ov • the implementation of the Government's decisions in response to the er Non-Urban Study; y T • significant rebuilding, both of residential and public property; and askf • supporting the community through potentially difficult periods, including a new orce bushfire season, and bushfire event, Christmas and the first year anniversary. — The Bushfire Recovery Executive has developed an action plan which will outline the A ust key areas of activity for recovery action from October 2003 to March 2004. This is r included at Appendix 10. al i an Additional work which will be occurring over the next period, and will have C a significant links to the work of bushfire recovery includes: pi t al implementation of the recommendations of the Inquiry into the Operational T Response to the January Bushfires; erri completion of the Coroner's inquiry, and the associated flow-on work; t or y implementation of the bushfire awareness campaign, and introduction of new O emergency public communication arrangements; ct ob review of the Emergency Management Plan, and its associated Sub-Plans; and er 200 introduction of a new emergency services organisational structure. 3 It should also be acknowledged that this work occurs at a time where major planning exercises of the ACT Government will also be progressively completed. This includes the completion of the ACT Spatial Plan, Social Plan and Economic White Paper. BUILDING POSITIVE LEGACIES FOR THE ACT PUBLIC SERVICE Throughout the recovery process, the Taskforce had seen the need to identify positive legacies from this event, and position the community as even stronger than before the bushfire disaster. The flexibility created through the Taskforce Secretariat and Recovery Centre structures suggested that there were also lessons to be learnt in terms of public administration. There was acknowledgment from those working within the special recovery arrangements that this was a different working environment to any previously experienced. Feedback from staff involved in the process suggested a very positive 104 work environment, and resulted in a group of highly motivated, enthusiastic and skilled staff working on the project. The Taskforce has identified a number of key management lessons that have flowed from this exercise.