The tragic bush fires in Victoria, Australia is just another reminder of how powerful self organisation can be when faced with a common and compelling purpose. In the media there has been nothing but praise for the emergency services and volunteer services that have come to the aid of the unfortunate victims of this once in a lifetime natural disaster. The shear logistics of organising support services is immense. Unlike the Cyclone Katrina exerience in the USA the government appears to have played an appropriate supporting more so than directing role. The last thing you want in an emergency is a bunch of forms to fill in and a team of lobbyists in tow!
Of course what we are seeing with the emergency services is the essence of governance through networks. Its unfortunate that we often need to have a literal "burning platform" to achieve the levels of co-operation we all desire, but amazing when you see it in operation and the power of what can be achieved.
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2 comments:
Laurie - the fire authorities and emergency services are in fact arms of state government - just like Education & Health departments. So their operationsin the field are how a government supports/directs the management of an emergency. For many years the various State Government State Emergency Services agencies have had well developed Displans (Disaster Plans) in place - these are put together on an interagency basis and are covered by state legislation and clearly indicate who has authority to direct and do what in the various levels of emergency
eg
http://www.oesc.vic.gov.au/emergencymanual-AE40-9F6C-B5AA5D05F26F84B8
These sort of Displans came into play in the Illawarra during the 1998 floods and Christmas 2001 Bushfires. So key staff in local councils are part of these emergency management planning & implementation processes and the local authorities provide support in line with the Displan. Basically the politicians know to stand back and let the professionals get on with the job. However the politicians also know that it is important to provide support to their local emergency services. There is usually a good network relationship between senior officers of various local authorities - and they all pitch in to help a fellow local government area or region experiencing a crisis. Also the huge amount of community social capital comes into play - Salvation Army and Lions Clubs etc providing meals and drinks etc for those in the field. Also many organisations like my employer have policies for releasing employees who are emergency services volunteers called to serious emergencies. Having planning for all of this in place ahead of an emergency sure helps. Based on my previous 12 years in local government I found that while there might be teething problems in the early hours of an emergency - it is amazing how everything starts to integrate together. Afterwards there is a huge focus on learning from previous emergencies and sharing the knowledge to better manage future ones.
L - Bravo. Yes, self-org os so important in these matters. As they say, 'lead, follow or get-the-hell-out-of-the-way.' -j
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