Vol. 10 Issue 5. 2018

Nov - Dec 2018 Vol 10
Climate Change
and our National
Security
Surveillance
Helps the
Homeless
El Nino Alert
A Long Hot Summer Ahead

IF IT DOESN’T ADD UP,
SPEAK UP.
CALL THE
NATIONAL SECURITY HOTLINE
1800 123 400
Even if you think it’s probably nothing, the smallest piece of information
can be valuable. Calls to the National Security Hotline have already
contributed to investigations. If something doesn’t add up, speak up
by calling the National Security Hotline.
Authorised by the Australian Government, Capital Hill, Canberra.

CONTENTS
Editor’s Note
2
Latest Events
Black Hawk Helicopter - Shutterstock
• Red25 Emergency Services
Challenge Winners
• Resilient Australia Awards
• ESTA wins Risk & Resilience
Award
Drought Follow-up
El Nino Alert
Prepare for Bushfire Season
ACT Bushfire Tool
Climate Change and our National
Security
When to call 000
Cyclist Road Toll - Drivers at Fault
Emergency Contact Information
Surveillance Helps the Homeless
Copycat Crimes
3
4
5
8
10
12
14
18
23
26
29
30
33
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EDITORS NOTE
It’s almost Summer
Welcome to another edition of the
Australian Emergency Services
Magazine. There is so much going
on in this sector at this time of
year it is hard to keep up with it
all.
As we lead into the Summer in
Australia we know how fraught
this season is with the potential
for different natural disasters.
From bushfires, summer storms,
flooding and cyclone season, and
of course the continuing drought.
Along with this it is the season for
summer holidays, family and work
celebrations.
The reliance on our emergency
services agencies and personnel
becomes greater over this summer
season and it seems the season is
getting longer every year. As we
saw last year, cyclone season was
having an impact right up to the
end of April.
The prediction of a long hot
summer from the Bureau of
Meteorology and an El Nino alert
doesn’t bring much relief for our
farmers, nor does it ease concerns
for potential bushfires over the
course of the summer.
Information about the El Nino
alert can be found in our article
from the Bureau of Meteorology.
There is also some great news
when it comes to battling
bushfires. In an Australian first,
the ACT Emergency Services
2
Agency (ESA) has developed a
first of its kind Auto Bushfire
Attack Level (BAL) Tool, in
partnership with, Esri Australia,
a leading GIS technology firm.
The tool was launched at the
AFAC in Perth in early September.
This tool has the potential to be
groundbreaking when it comes to
bushfire preparedness.
From all of us at The Australian
Emergency Services Magazine,
have a wonderful Christmas with
your family and stay safe,
Until next year, happy reading,
Emma Parker
Editor

LATEST EVENTS
Who took the title in 2018?
The Red25 Emergency Services
Challenge 2018 has now wrapped.
Thank you to all of the generous
people who gave blood during the
challenge.
In 12 short weeks, personnel from
Emergency Service organisations
across the country gave a total of
10,656 donations, saving up to 31,968
lives!
The results show that a little healthy
competition goes a long way.
On behalf of Australian patients,
thank you!
The challenge is over, but the need
remains.
Although it’s fun to have a short
competition, the need for blood is
year-round. Register to your Red25
group and donate regularly. As a
member, your donations will count
towards your group’s annual tally year
round.
www.donateblood.com.au
Award Winners
Highest number of donations made by a Red25 group in their state of origin
STATE ORGANISATION DONATIONS
VIC Victoria Police 1246
NSW NSW Police Force 1115
QLD QLD Police Service 674
SA South Australia Police (SAPOL) 574
WA St John Ambulance WA 299
TAS Tasmania Police 203
ACT Australian Federal Police (AFP) 194
NT NT Police Fire and Emergency Service (PFES) 89
Highest year on year growth
ORGANISATION
NT Police Fire and Emergency Services (PFES) 225%
Highest number of donors vs Red25 members
(Must have a minimum of 20 members)
ORGANISATION
NT Fire and Rescue 56.5%
Highest number of new donors
(Must have a minimum of 20 members)
ORGANISATION
Victoria Police 128
PERCENTAGE
PERCENTAGE
NEW DONORS
3

LATEST EVENTS
Jurisdictional winners
announced for 2018 Resilient
Australia Awards
Congratulations to the jurisdictional
finalists of the 2018 Resilient Australia
Awards.
National winners will be announced
at the national ceremony in Brisbane
on November 8.
Government Award
Ambulance Victoria – GoodSAM
Community Responder Project (VIC)
Mineral Resources Tasmania –
Tsunami inundation modelling in
Southeast Tasmania (TAS)
Wollondilly Shire Council – Activate
Wollondilly (NSW)
Business Award
Centre for Disability Research
and Policy, University of Sydney –
PREPARE NSW: Person-Centred
Emergency Preparedness (NSW)
Community Award
Inner Sydney Voice – Building
Disaster Resilience in Social Housing
Communities (NSW)
Unit – truwana patrula nayri (Cape
Barren Island Good Fire) (TAS)
Tathra Surf Life Saving Club – Tathra
Surf Club Bushfire Recovery 2018
(NSW)
Tumbulgum Community Association
– Resilience Post Floods 2017 (NSW)
Western Australian Council of
Social Services – Disaster Resilient
Community Organisations (WA)
School Award
Moreton Bay Regional Council,
Queensland Fire and Emergency
Services and Queensland Police
Service – My Resilient Community
(QLD)
Shire of Cranbrook – ‘Spring into
Preparedness: Family Fire Safety –
Get Prepared’ (WA)
Territory Intelligence and
Coordination Centre – submitted by
Senior Sergeant Dean Elliot (NT)
Wide Bay Regional Organisation of
Councils – Burnett River Catchment
Flood Resilience Strategy (QLD)
Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee
Aboriginal Corporation in
partnership with the Queensland
Reconstruction Authority –
Minjerribah (North Stradbroke
Island) Bushfire Management Plans
(QLD)
Southern Grampians Glenelg Primary
Care Partnership – Balmoral Fire
Connect (VIC)
St John Ambulance – First Aid in
Schools – Remote Indigenous Access
Project (NT)
Tasmania Fire Service Bushfire Risk
4
Dixons Creek Primary School –
Firestick Project (VIC)
Invermay Primary School,
Launceston Big Picture School
and The Holographic Lounge –
Floodscapes (TAS)
Mindarie Primary School –
coordination of the ‘Art of Resilience’
conference (WA)
Warrimoo Public School – Getting
Bushfire Ready at Warrimoo Public
School (NSW)

LATEST EVENTS
ESTA team winning the 2018 Victorian Department of Justice and Regulation – Risk and Resilience Awards.
ESTA WINS RISK AND
RESILIENCE PARTNERSHIP
AWARD
ESTA was nominated and won the
risk and resilience partnership award
for working with other emergency
services agencies and the Bureau of
Meteorology (BOM) on surge event
modelling and management.
Executive Director Operations
Support, Dr Amee Morgans said,
“Winning an award based on our
partnerships reflects ESTA’s leadership
and innovation in the sector.”
The Emergency Services
Telecommunications Authority
(ESTA) provides the critical link
between the Victorian community
and the state’s emergency services.
It provides Victoria’s 24-hour
emergency call-taking and dispatch
services for police, fire, ambulance
and the Victorian State Emergency
Service (VICSES).
A key challenge in service delivery
has been the ability to predict
consequences of storm-based
surge demand. This affects not
only ESTA’s service delivery, but
creates an opportunity to enhance
agency response and sector surge
management. As Dr Morgans stated,
‘Accurate surge demand forecasting
enables ESTA to activate additional
staff earlier, provide notification at
sector level and deliver better services
5
to the community.’
Since July 2017, ESTA has been
investing in improvements to
better forecast surge demand and
its consequences for emergency
services agencies and the Victorian
community.
Improvements have focused on
improving foundational knowledge
beyond service delivery, combining
knowledge and expertise between
agencies and linking to operational
planning across agencies. Initiatives
included, but were not limited to;
• BOM training for ESTA staff,
which focused on thunderstorms

LATEST EVENTS
and severe weather
• combining data and analytics
with other agency partners to
improve consequence prediction
for storm surge
• improvement of ESTAs Critical
Incident Resource Protocols
(CIRP) to extend from weather
only events to include a range
of disaster and surge scenarios
including thunderstorm asthma,
and
• extended hours of the scheduling
team to optimise multi-agency
trained staff to respond to storm
based surge
ESTA now has access and the
ability to interpret a range of new
BOM reports and translate this into
forecasting triple zero demand for
each emergency service.
A huge congratulations to the ESTA
team on winning such an award
and improving the emergency
response outcomes for the Victorian
community. Along with BOM and
other emergency service agencies,
the win is a great reflection of the
incredible work they do each and
every day for those in need.
6

Drought Follow-up
We must look past shortterm
drought solutions and
improve the land itself
With drought ravaging
Australia’s eastern states,
much attention has been
given to the need to provide shortterm
solutions through drought relief.
But long-term resilience is a vital
issue, particularly as climate change
adds further pressure to farmers and
farmland.
Our research has found that helping
farmers improve the rivers, dams,
native vegetation and trees on their
land increases productivity, the
resilience of the land to drought, and
through this the health and wellbeing
of farmers.
Now is the time to invest more
8
heavily than ever in vital networks in
regional Australia, such as Landcare
and natural resource management
groups like Local Land Services and
Catchment Management Authorities.
Growing pressures on agricultural
land
Some researchers suggest that up

Drought Follow-up
to 370 million hectares of land in
Australia and the Pacific is degraded.
This diminished productivity across
such a large area has significant
implications for the long-term
sustainability of agricultural
production.
Australia also has one of the
worst records for wildlife diversity
loss, including extensive loss of
biodiversity across much of our
agricultural land. The problems of
degradation and biodiversity loss are
often magnified under the pressure of
drought.
The good news is that there are
ways to strengthen the resilience
of the farmland. One key approach
is to invest in improving the
condition of key natural assets on
farms, like shelter belts, patches of
remnant vegetation, farm dams, and
watercourses.
When done well, active land
management can help slow down
or even reverse land degradation,
improve biodiversity, and increase
profitability.
Better lands make more money
Many studies have shown improving
the natural assets on an farm can
boost production, as well as avoid the
costs of erosion and flood control.
For example, restored riverbank
vegetation can improve dry matter
production in nearby paddocks,
leading to greater milk production in
diary herds and up to a 5% boost in
farm income.
Similarly, shelter belts (tree lanes
planted alongside paddocks) can
lower wind speeds and wind chill, and
boost pasture production for livestock
by up to 8%, at the same time as
providing habitat for biodiversity.
Our own long-term work with
farmers who invested in their
natural assets prior to, or during, the
Millennium Drought in New South
Wales suggests these farmers are
currently faring better in the current
drought.
Investing in resilience for the longhaul
Well-supported and resourced
organisations like Landcare groups
are pivotal to supporting effective
land management, which improves
degraded land and helps farmland
(and farmer) through tough times.
However, Landcare and other natural
resource management agencies have
been subject to major budget cuts
over the past decade.
They are also a key part of the social
fabric of rural communities, bringing
together landowners to exchange
ideas and support each other. Indeed,
the Australian Landcare model is so
well regarded globally it has been
adopted in 22 other countries.
This drought is a critical decision
point. The need to invest in
maintaining and improving our
vegetation, water and soil has never
been more apparent than it is now.
We have a chance to determine
the long-term future of much of
Australia’s agricultural land.
David Lindenmayer
Michelle Young
Australian National University
Traumatic Stress Clinic
Sydney Australia
()
02 8627 3314
9
@

Australia moves to El Nino
alert and the drought
is likely to continue
The chances of an El Niño developing
late in 2018 have increased and this
week the Bureau moved to El Niño
ALERT. This means that model
outlooks and observations indicate
there is approximately a 70% chance
that El Niño will develop in the
coming months. Current patterns
in the Pacific are similar to the early
stages of past El Niño, with warm
water shifting east towards South
America.
We’re also seeing indications a
positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD)
has likely started, in which warmer
waters near Africa drag moisture away
from Australia. El Niño and positive
IOD events typically mean belowaverage
spring rainfall in central and
southern Australia, and a drier start
to the wet season in Queensland and
the Northern Territory.
The development of either would
favour continued dry weather,
and increase the likelihood that
widespread drought relief will be
delayed until 2019. Higher than
average temperatures, heatwaves,
and more severe bushfire weather are
also more likely during El Niño and
positive IOD events.
A dry year so far
September 2018 was a very dry
month, adding to low rainfall seen
across many parts of Australia so far
this year. September 2018 was not
only the driest September in 119 years
of record for Australia, but it was also
the second-driest for
any month of the year
(behind only April 1902).
Rainfall for the year to date has
been exceptionally low over the
mainland southeast, with much of
the region experiencing totals in the
lowest 10% of records for January–
September.
Many locations in eastern New South
Wales, eastern Victoria, and southeast
Queensland have received about 400
mm less rainfall than they usually
would have by this time of the year.
Much of southern Australia has
experienced a persistent rainfall
decline spanning several decades,
which is adding to drought stress by
drying the landscape.
10

Southwest Western Australia has
experienced significantly lower cool
season (April to October) rainfall
since the mid-1970s, compared to
observations since 1900, while for
the southeast the drop has been more
recent, emerging in the mid-1990s.
These rainfall declines have been
linked to circulation changes in the
southern hemisphere influenced by
the increase in greenhouse gases.
These rainfall changes have also
been accompanied by much larger
reductions in streamflow, particularly
in the southwest of Australia where
high flows have become much less
frequent.
11
And it’s also been
unusually warm
Low rainfall has also been
accompanied by very high daytime
temperatures so far this year. Of
course, Australian temperatures are
warming in line with global trends,
but in individual years variations
which are likely to be largely natural
(such as droughts) may add to or
subtract from the broader trends.
Historically, droughts have often
brought hot conditions, and
this has been borne out in 2018.
Maximum temperatures for January
to September were the warmest
on record for the Murray–Darling
Basin and New South Wales, with
neighbouring regions also much
warmer than average.
These extremely warm days,
combined with extremely low rainfall,
have caused an intense drying of
the Australian landscape in 2018,
resulting in an early start to the
bushfire season in New South Wales
and Victoria, where damaging fire
were observed as early as late winter.
So how might the year end?
Like all Australians, the Bureau hopes
farmers and those suffering through
drought get the rainfall they need, but
unfortunately, the outlook indicates
dry conditions are likely to continue
for some time.
Large parts of southern and eastern
Australia are likely to see a drier
than average end to the year, though
odds favouring drier than average
conditions tend to moderate as
we head towards summer. Most of
the country is likely to see a dry
October, though local heavy falls can
occur against a backdrop of broadly
suppressed rainfall.
While some parts of New South
Wales and southeastern Queensland
have received very welcome rainfall
in the first days of October, rainfall
has been below average over much
of over eastern Australia for so long
(since early 2017) that this rainfall
event hasn’t been enough to break the
drought.
Looking at temperature, outlooks
show a very high chance of warmer
than average days and nights through
to the end of 2018. Considering
the year so far has already been
very warm, this means 2018 has
the potential to rank as another
significant warm year. Seven of
Australia’s ten warmest years have
occurred since 2005, with just one
cooler than average year in the last
decade (2011), highlighting how
warmer than average temperatures
now dominate Australia’s climate.
Skie Tobin
Catherine Ganter
Robyn Duell
Australian Bureau of Meteorolgy

AUSTRALIAN FIRST TECHNOLOGY
TO REDUCE BUSHFIRE RISK
The ACT Emergency Services Agency (ESA) has
developed a first of its kind Auto Bushfire Attack Level
(BAL) Tool, in partnership with, Esri Australia, a leading
GIS technology firm. The tool was officially launched at
the AFAC – Fire and Emergency Management Conference
in Perth in September.
The Bushfire Attack Level Tool has the potential to be
used throughout Australia and globally to increase
bushfire preparedness and prevention for emergency
services authorities, government agencies, planners,
builders and property owners. ACT ESA Commissioner
Dominic Lane said the tool has set a global benchmark for
bushfire preparedness.
“We know that on the worst of the worst days, Mother
Nature will always beat us in relation to the impact of
fire on the community, therefore it’s important we take
all of our information, all of our resources and all of
our technology and combine that together and use it
collaboratively,” Commissioner Lane said.
• Emergency Services can use the BAL tool to
individually assess 16,000 properties in just one hour,
which would be an extremely time and resource
intensive task if done manually.
• Could be an essential guide in the planning and
approval process for new dwellings in bushfire prone
areas by assisting planners when assessing vacant land
and positioning of structures to minimize the risk of
damage in a fire.
• Would enable Emergency Service Authorities to
potentially quantify the impact of policy changes by
quickly calculating the number of properties that
might be affected, simply by modelling different
options and assumptions.
• The tool uses location-based analytics technology
combining 3D LiDAR modelling with additional
layers of information including vegetation maps,
building footprints and the slope of land to provide a
multi-layered analysis of risk factors.
What is this new tool and how does it work?
• Provides assessments at the individual-property level
to give residents an understanding of the bushfire
risk to themselves, their property and their family
enabling them to make informed decisions on their
level of risk.
• Helps Emergency Services develop effective bushfire
management and mitigation strategies and targeted
community education about bushfire preparedness.
12
Each year ‘disaster-level’ bushfires cost Australia
an average $77 million. Having such a tool shared
collaboratively across states would have a huge impact
upon the ability to combat this type of disaster and the
financial cost. Esri Australia Public Safety Expert Mark
Wallace said, “The benefits for government agencies
come from the ability to share and collaborate between
agencies and other organisations involved in emergency
management such as community recovery, infrastructure
and utilities,”

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PREPARE FOR THE SEASON
Getting ready for a bush fire is easier than you think. By taking 20 minutes with your family
to discuss what you’ll do during a fire, you could save their lives, as well as your home. Many
households find that having a discussion over dinner works best as everybody is together and
focussed. There are simple things you can do around your home to prepare it for a bush fire,
like keeping the grass low and having a cleared area around your home. If there is a fire in your
area you will find its alert level on your local government website or the ‘Fires Near Me’ app.
You need to keep track of the alert level so you know what you should do. In a bush fire, it’s
important that you stay up to date on conditions in your area.
LEAVING EARLY OR PREPARING TO STAY
One of the most important
things to do before a bush fire is
to decide what you’ll do if one
should start.
If you plan to leave for a safer
place - where will you go and
how will you get there? Your safer
place could be with friends and
family, and may not be far away.
Know where you will go and
never ‘wait and see’.
Decide to stay only if you are well
prepared. Before you start, ask
your household:
• Is your home well prepared
to make it as safe as possible
during a fire?
• Are we putting anyone in our
family at risk by staying? For
example children, the elderly,
or people with asthma.
• Will we cope in an emergency
situation? In a fire, it will be
hot, smoky and physically
draining. Even trained
firefighters can find it
challenging.
If you’re not sure or aren’t
prepared, you should leave early.
DECIDE TO STAY, BUT
BE PREPARED
Defending your home from a
bush fire can be challenging
and you will need the right
equipment. Check off all the
equipment you will need in a
bush fire emergency.
Remember, while firefighters
and emergency services will
do everything they can to
help you, there’s no guarantee
that there will be a fire truck
available when you need it.
If you decide to stay with
your property, it’s your
responsibility to be prepared.
14

ARE YOU AND
YOUR FAMILY AT
RISK?
WHAT WILL YOU
DO TO KEEP
SAFE?
QUESTIONS TO ASK
YOURSELF
PREPARE YOUR BUSHFIRE
SURVIVAL PLAN
All state government websites have
downloadable copies of bushfire
survival plans. These guides will
give you checklists and points of
discussion to go over with your
household.
Look up bushfire safety on your state
government website to find out more.
When will we leave? Where will we go? How will we get
there? What will we take?
Who will we call to tell that we’re leaving and that we have
arrived safely?
What is our backup plan?
Neighbourhood safe places are a place of last resort, such
as a sports ground or local building that has been specially
identified for use during a fire.
Contact your local area to find out about
neighbourhood safe places.
IF YOU DECIDE TO
STAY ASK THESE QUESTIONS
Do we have all the equipment we need?
When there is a fire, what is our sign to start
defending our home?
Do we know what to do BEFORE, DURING and
AFTER a fire?
Do all members of our household KNOW WHAT
TO DO in all situations?
What is our backup plan?
15

EQUIPMENT CHECKLIST
FIREFIGHTING EQUIPMENT WE
WILL NEED:
A hose, or hoses, that can reach all around
the house
Water supply of at least 10,000L e.g. water
tank, dam, pool
Petrol/diesel water pump and fuel in a
safe, accessible place
Ladders to access inside the roof
Buckets and mops
Shovels and metal rakes
PROTECTIVE CLOTHING
Wide-brimmed hat
Eye protection goggles
IT’S NOT SAFE TO STAY WITH YOUR
PROPERTY UNDER SOME CIRCUMSTANCES,
LIKE:
• If the fire danger rating is Catastrophic.
• There is an Extreme fire danger rating and your home is not
specially designed or constructed for bush fires.
• Your property is not well maintained.
• You or the people in your home aren’t mentally and physically
fit and ready.
Under these circumstances, you should leave early.
Remember that bush and grass fires can move quickly and
catch you off guard. If you are caught in a fire, protect yourself
from the heat.
The safest option is to leave early before the fire reaches you.
Moistened facemask or cloth
Loose, long sleeved cotton shirt
Gloves
Long cotton pants/jeans
Sturdy leather shoes or boots
PREPARE YOUR HOME AND
PROPERTY
TRIM
Trim overhanging trees and shrubs. This can stop
the fire spreading to your home.
MOW
Mow grass and remove the cuttings. Have a cleared
area around your home.
REMOVE
Remove material that can burn around your home
(e.g. Door mats, wood piles, mulch, leaves, paint,
outdoor furniture).
ACTION CHECKLIST
Defending your home can be physically and
mentally demanding. It’s important that everyone
knows exactly what to do if a fire happens.
BEFORE
(well before the fire has arrived)
OUTSIDE:
Turn off gas mains and/or bottle
Move flammable items away from the house
Block drain pipes with socks full of sand and fill
gutters with water. Don’t get on the roof to hose it
down
CLEAR
Clear and remove all the debris and leaves from the
gutters surrounding your home. Burning embers
can set your home on fire.
PREPARE
Prepare a sturdy hose or hoses that will reach all
around your home. Make sure
you’ve got a reliable source of water.
16

Move animals to a well-grazed
or ploughed area away from the
house and wind
Patrol the house well before the
fire arrives to put out embers and
spot fires
As the fire approaches, wet the
side of the house and garden that
faces the fire
Move your firefighting equipment
to a place where it won’t burn
inside
INSIDE:
Close doors, windows and vents
Fill baths, sinks, buckets and bins
with water
Confine pets to one room
Place ladder next to roof access
hole so you can check for spot fires
Soak towels and rugs
and lay them across external
doorways
Move furniture away from windows
DURING
(as the fire is upon you)
If flames are on top of you or the
heat become unbearable move inside
until the fire front has passed
(usually 5-10 minutes)
Patrol the inside of the house,
including roof space, looking
for sparks and embers
Shelter in a room on the opposite
side of the house from the
approaching fire and ensure you
have clear access to an exit
AFTER
(immediately after the
fire has passed)
Check the house both inside and
out for fires, including roof cavity,
under the house, deck, stairs, windowsills
etc
If possible, and safe to do so, check
all your neighbours are OK
Contact relatives or friends to tell
them you are safe
Patrol your home for several
hours, looking for small fires and
burning embers

There are some simple things you
can do around your home to prepare
it for a bush fire. You need to
prepare well beforehand as leaving
it to the last minute is too late.
KNOW YOUR RISK
A bush or grass fire can happen at
any time of the year but the risk is
higher during the warmer months,
when bush, grass or scrub is drier.
You don’t have to live right near
the bush to be at risk. Even if your
home is a few streets back, you
may be at risk.
You can check for bush fire prone
areas in your area on your local
council website. Look for your
Bush Fire Prone Land Map.
There are a number of things
which can affect the way a fire
burns, including:
Slope – a fire travelling uphill
will travel faster. In fact, for every
10 degrees of slope, a fire can
double its speed. As a fire speeds
up, it becomes more intense and
more dangerous.
Vegetation – smaller items
such as twigs, branches and leaves
are known as ‘fine fuels’. These can
burn very easily. Burning bark,
twigs and leaves can also be blown
in the wind.
Weather – when it’s hot, dry
and windy, fires can be more
intense and unpredictable. Strong
winds can send a fire in different
directions and cause burning
embers to be blown through the
air.
Fires Near Me App
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State of New South Wales (NSW
Rural Fire Service).
17

Senate report:
CLIMATE CHANGE
A CLEAR AND
PRESENT DANGER
TO AUSTRALIA’S
SECURITY
Matt McDonald
Associate Professor of
International Relations
University of Queensland
The Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade yesterday
presented its report on the national security implications of climate
change.
The report makes several findings and recommendations, noting at the
outset that climate change has a range of important security implications,
both domestically and internationally.
18

19

Tellingly, none of the expert
submissions questioned the
rationale for this inquiry,
nor the claim that climate change
challenges Australian national
security.
The report concludes that:
the consensus from the evidence (is)
that climate change is exacerbating
threats and risks to Australia’s
national security.
Significantly, it also notes that climate
change threatens both state and
human security in the Australian
context. Here are some of the key
security implications.
Sea-level rises and natural disasters
are key challenges
The report emphasises the risks posed
by rising sea levels and an increase
in the frequency and intensity of
environmental stress (droughts and
floods, for example) and natural
disasters such as cyclones. In turn,
it notes that these could trigger
population movements, with people
displaced by extreme weather events
or rising seas.
This, the report argues, would have
significant implications for the
Australian Defence Force (ADF).
Humanitarian assistance and disaster
relief missions involving the ADF
have increased significantly in
Australia and our region in recent
years. The report predicts that the
ADF will face even more pressure to
carry out this type of mission in the
future.
In its submission, the Department
of Defence pointed out that the
ADF was not established to provide
these roles. The report recommends
the creation of a senior leadership
position within Defence to plan and
manage disaster relief missions both
here and abroad.
Australia, and its backyard, are
particularly vulnerable
The report notes that Australia and its
region are particularly vulnerable to
the impacts of climate change.
Australia’s population is largely
clustered in coastal areas, and this is
also true of the Asian region generally
and the Pacific specifically. Pacific
island nations – as low-lying and with
limited resources for implementing
adaptive measures – are acutely
vulnerable to sea-level rises. In the
Asian region 40 million people were
displaced by natural disasters in 2010-
11 alone.
The report argues that Australia’s
obligation to its neighbours in the
region, acknowledged in recent
statements on the Pacific, will create
significant pressure on Australia
and its defence force to manage the
implications of climate change. It
recommends sending even more aid
to the Pacific region to help build
climate resilience.
Defence needs to plan ahead
20

While the report acknowledges
Defence efforts, a key finding is the
urgent need for Defence to plan for a
climate-affected world.
Future deployments associated
with disaster relief and population
movement, for example, will require
urgent Defence planning to ensure
personnel have the right training,
resources and equipment. Australia’s
forces will need to be trained
and equipped for the likely everincreasing
number of humanitarian
assistance and disaster relief missions
in particular.
The report notes that Defence
acquisition will need to account
for temperature rises in future
decades. This includes ensuring that
equipment is fit for purpose in the
long term. It will need to be able to
withstand higher temperatures and
potentially to run on different types
of fuel.
The committee also recommends that
Defence establish its own emissions
reduction targets regarding energy
use.
While more mundane, the
management of existing infrastructure
and real estate in the context of
climate change, already the subject of
Defence assessments, is also crucial.
Defence is Australia’s largest land
owner, and much of its infrastructure
and resources will be exposed to
higher temperatures and sea levels.
The report recommends that Defence
release existing risk assessments of
assets’ exposure to climate change.
The issue cuts right across the
government
While many of the recommendations
are specifically for the Department of
Defence, a core theme of the report is
the need for a “whole of government”
response. Besides adapting to climate
change, the government needs to
take action to limit the extent of the
problem in the first place. This means
that all departments, all levels of
government, and society as a whole
need to work together to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. The need
to commit to mitigation efforts is a
surprising, but welcome, finding of
the consensus report.
As the report points out, to deal
with future disruption both here and
abroad, Australia will need to build
resilient societies that can adapt to
change. This poses challenges to
urban planning, aid programs and
health services as much as to Defence.
The report makes several
recommendations aimed at fostering
this type of across-the-board response
from the government. Among these
are the development of a Climate
Security White Paper and the creation
of a Climate Security role within the
Home Affairs portfolio to oversee
21
domestic responses to climate change.
In both cases, these are responses to
suggestions in expert submissions
that existing measures and responses
were partial and uncoordinated.
What does all this mean?
Potentially, not much.
Recommendations of Senate inquiries
are just that, and governments have
the right to politely ignore or dismiss
them. This is more likely to happen to
reports proposed by the opposition
or, as in this case, by the Greens.
When the inquiry was announced in
mid-2017, the government described
it as unnecessary. In its response
to the report, Coalition senators
generally indicated that they felt

existing arrangements were sufficient.
It is nevertheless telling that
Australia’s Defence establishment – on
the face of it a bastion of conservatism
– is worried about climate change.
In my conversations with Defence
officials, two things are apparent.
First, they are increasingly aware
of the need to plan ahead to meet
the challenges of climate change,
including many of those noted above.
This reflects the fact that Defence is
an area in which long-term planning
and threat assessment have always
been central.
Second, they are also acutely aware
of the toxic politics of climate change
in Australia. Given its recent history,
even those in Defence who are most
convinced of the need to act are
concerned about putting their heads
above the parapet, so to speak.
Viewed in this light, it may be
that these recommendations – in
a consensus report, arising from a
Senate inquiry and based on expert
advice – provide just the basis for
mainstreaming climate consciousness
into defence and security planning. In
the process, it is possible it’s just this
sort of intervention that encourages
changes in public debate and
broader climate policy orientations.
In Australia’s rancorous history of
climate politics, stranger things have
happened.
22

When is it
ok to call an
ambulance?
23
Bill Lord
Associate Professor in Paramedicine
University of the Sunshine Coast

When would you call 000
for an ambulance? When
a fall results in a nasty
fracture? Concern that labour is
progressing so rapidly that you’ll give
birth before you can get to hospital?
Weakness from prolonged vomiting
and diarrhoea?
If you take a look at some Australian
ambulance websites, none of these
examples meet their definition of a
“medical emergency” suitable for
an ambulance response. But that
doesn’t mean you shouldn’t call for an
ambulance in these situations.
In 2016-17, Australian ambulance
services attended 3.5 million
incidents. These include cases
categorised as urgent but not a “lights
and sirens” response, as well as
transport between hospitals and other
health facilities. Only 1.1 million of
the incidents, or approximately 37%,
were classified as emergencies.
What happens when you call 000?
When someone calls the emergency
number and asks for an ambulance,
the call-taker typically takes the caller
through a computer-based script.
They attempt to define the health
problem, and determine the response
required: lights and sirens, or not.
Call-takers are not medically trained,
but use a call screening program to
identify the health problem. This
system includes non-urgent categories
such as “sick person”, which includes
complaints such as an earache, sore
throat and hiccups.
People may find it easiest to call 000
for a broad range of health problems,
particularly after hours. But the
deployment of paramedics for nonurgent
health problems reduces their
availability to respond to medical
emergencies and major incidents.
Where are we going wrong?
Media campaigns have been used to
educate the public about when it’s
appropriate to call an ambulance.
Strategies such as the Ambulance
Victoria Ambulances are for
24
Emergencies campaign includes
stories of lives saved that may have
been lost had ambulances been tied
up with non-emergency calls.
Health promotion bodies have
also highlighted the types of
problems that should be considered
health emergencies: chest pain,
breathing difficulty, altered level of
consciousness, sudden numbness, or
paralysis of the face or limb.
But attempts to define a “health
emergency” often fail to appreciate
that the definition is dynamic and
depends on context. A complaint of
weakness associated with prolonged
vomiting and diarrhoea may not be
an emergency when you have family
support and transport options. But
it may be an emergency when the
patient is an elderly person living
alone without support.
There is also a difference between
the patient’s perception of a health
emergency and a health professional’s
definition. This has been investigated

y an Australian study that found
patients cannot be expected to
accurately evaluate the urgency of a
health event. Social and emotional
cues are often used to identify
medical urgency. Understandably,
people may be poorly placed to make
rational, informed decisions about
care options during a health crisis.
Research on ambulance use in
Queensland aimed to understand why
people use ambulance services for
minor health problems. It found that
people who arrived at an emergency
department by ambulance had a
higher self-reported perception of
the seriousness or urgency of their
problem than patients who selfpresented
to hospital emergency
departments.
The ambulance users were more likely
to believe that ambulance services
were for everyone to use, irrespective
of the severity of their condition. They
were also more likely to believe that
arriving by ambulance would lead to
priority treatment at the hospital.
One possible explanation for these
findings relates to health literacy. Poor
health literacy affects the person’s
ability to interpret health advice and
navigate the health system to identify
options for unscheduled care. Low
levels of health literacy also limit the
effectiveness of interventions that are
designed to change behaviour.
Research from the Productivity
Commission found the majority of
Australians have inadequate health
literacy. The proportion is greatest for
those with chronic conditions. Even
40% of people with a health-related
qualification have inadequate health
literacy.
Where can we improve?
Taking into account the difficulties
of making crucial decisions during
a crisis situation, there are a number
strategies which may facilitate more
effective use of ambulance resources.
One alternative approach is to use
experienced clinicians to screen
emergency calls and direct the
caller to the most appropriate health
pathway.
Several Australian ambulance services
have introduced such a system, and
the outcome of this screening process
may be to dispatch an ambulance, or
initiate a home visit by a doctor, nurse
or paramedic trained to manage nonurgent
health problems.
These systems have been shown to
provide effective referral options
for cases that don’t represent
medical emergencies. Instead of
discouraging people to call 000,
they use call screening systems to
identify emergency cases, which may
include those not explicitly listed on
ambulance service websites.
If you you’re confident navigating
health information, you may find
sites such as healthdirect useful. This
service uses a web-based algorithm
to question the user about the nature
of the health problem to direct the
patient to local health services based
on the nature of the complaint. It also
provides a national phone number to
contact a registered nurse about your
health problem.
But if you’re unsure whether an
ambulance is required, it’s OK to call
000 for advice. After all, delaying a
call for a serious health problem can
lead to a catastrophic outcome.
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25

Rising Cyclist Death Toll
Mainly Due to Drivers
Peter Chambers Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Justice, RMIT University
Tom Andrews PhD Student, Law, University of Melbourne
26

Recent reporting paints a
picture of surging road
deaths and failing safety
strategies for cyclists. The
Australian Automobile Association’s
Benchmarking report records 1,222
road deaths in the year ending June
2018. And cyclist deaths in particular
remain stubbornly high, even as
average speeds, which affect road
deaths, continue to decline. If cars are
much safer than 25 years ago, why are
cyclist deaths increasing, from 25 the
previous year to 45 this past year?
Of the untimely road deaths the
AAA reports, 1,100 are due to how
drivers were driving. In Australia,
drivers are to blame for at least 79% of
accidents with cyclists. And roughly
85% of reported cyclist casualty
crashes involve another vehicle,
not a bike or a pedestrian. Driver
distraction accounts for roughly 25%
of accidents.
These stats highlight a clear pattern of
deadly harm: drivers hitting people,
because of how they’re driving, is 90%
27
of the problem on our roads.
What’s wrong with current safety
strategies?
Calls are often made to install
separation infrastructure and
high-tech sensors in cars to fix the
problem, as if the problem is cars and
bikes mixing. These calls often follow
the publication of reports or the
deaths of cyclists in ways that make
the news. Such claims are seldom met
with critical scrutiny.
Although better infrastructure is
needed and warranted, and hightech
sensors might reduce harm,
people are still being needlessly killed.
Mostly, that’s due to how people drive.
System-wide infrastructure and hightech
improvements are complex and
take years or decades to complete.
Installation has to be standardised
and comprehensive to be truly
effective. State-led infrastructure
projects are often subject to budget
blowouts. In crucial cases, the public
has been left without the promised
solution or service – regardless of
whether it was publicly or privately
led.
More deeply, calls for technical
saviours are essentially wrongheaded
because they disregard the root cause
of the problems: driver behaviour
– specifically, aggression and
inattention. Separation of transport
modes can’t fix aggression and
inattention.
Indeed, separation contributes
to irresponsibility by baking
the assumption of danger and
vulnerability into infrastructure. It
works by diminishing the need for
care and attention on the part of those
responsible for the greatest harm:
drivers.
This approach, we argue, reiterates
a stigmatising, criminogenic
understanding of bikes as
inappropriate, unsafe and unwelcome
on “our” roads. In this context, words
are not weapons, but when they create
aggressive drivers they do weaponise.

We need to focus on primary
prevention
We’re clearly failing one another here.
One way to begin responding better
is by taking wisdom and insight from
primary prevention approaches to
male violence against women. This
starts by acknowledging the root
cause of systemic instances of deadly
violence is banal, routine and excused
and explained away because of its
alignment with dominant cultural
values.
The next step is to respond in ways
that keep returning attention to the
facts from best evidence. To repeat,
whether you’re a driver, occupant,
pedestrian or cyclist, roughly 90% of
what causes death on Australia’s roads
is driver behaviour.
For cyclists, the root cause of deadly
harm is aggression and inattention.
Drivers should be held to account and
be pushed to change their behaviour
and attitudes.
So what changes are needed?
Simple inexpensive changes in
the law have been found to have
dramatic effects on driver behaviour.
These changes also work with
existing infrastructure, technology,
road conditions and our cultural
expressions of human nature.
One change that’s in line with primary
prevention and strong evidence
of success is a move to a model of
presumed liability for drivers. This
would be a hard sell in light of current
settings here, which support and
excuse deadly violence by drivers
because of the dominant motoring
culture. But it’s proven to work in the
Netherlands.
Another welcome measure is a recent
initiative to reduce urban speed
limits to 30km/h. This has just been
implemented in one of Melbourne’s
inner urban areas without too much
fuss. According to the research behind
it, you’re twice as likely to survive
being hit at 30km/h as at 40km/h.
Time will tell, but evidence suggests
this change will reduce harm and
improve traffic flows. As with moving
to presumed liability, it does so
without expensive infrastructure and
unproven gizmos, while following
the wisdom of primary prevention
by putting the onus on the root cause
rather than the victim.
Finally, we urge that this issue be
considered as one of universal access
to safe transport infrastructure. It’s
not about “cars versus bikes”; it’s
about the simple right to get where
you’re going safely and sensibly.
This shouldn’t be a privilege that’s
extended only to those with the
resources and bodies capable of
driving.
In light of this, it’s crucial we note
that cars are deadly, that 90% of the
problem is driver behaviour, and that
the motor car fails on its promise
of delivering safe, efficient urban
transport.
28

BUREAU OF METEOROLOGY
Triple Zero (000) 112 From Mobiles
www.triplezero.gov.au
State Emergency Service (SES) 132 500
General Warnings 1900 969 922 www.bom.gov.au
Cyclone Warnings 1300 659 212 www.bom.gov.au/cyclone
Coastal Marine Warnings 1300 360 427 www.bom.gov.au/marine
Tsunami Threat Information 1300TSUNAMI www.bom.gov.au/tsunami
RADIO
EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION
POLICE FIRE AMBULANCE
ABC Local Radio
ABC Local Radio Frequency Finder
Commercial Radio Australia
www.abc.net.au/local
www.abv.net.au/radionational/frequency/
www.commercialradio.com.au
GOVERNMENT/HEALTH/ROADS
Standard Emergency Warning Signal
www.emergencyalert.gov.au
Health & Hospitals 13HEALTH www.health.gov.au
Road Closures 13 19 40 seek local/state road closure info
ELECTRICITY
Energex 13 19 62 www.energex.com.au
Ergon 13 16 70 www.ergon.com.au
PHONE
Telstra 132 203 www.telstra.com.au
Optus 13 13 44 www.optus.com.au
ANIMALS & WILDLIFE
Wildlife Hotline 1300 130 372
RSPCA 1300 852 188
Disease Watch Hotline 1800 675 888
Lost/Missing Animals
Local RSPCA website
CALL 000 IN AN EMERGENCY
29

Turning ‘big brother’
surveillance into a
helping hand to the
homeless
Surveillance evokes fear of a “big
brother” state watching our every
move. The proliferation of closedcircuit
television (CCTV) cameras in
our cities and the emergence of big
data have only deepened this fear.
Marginalised groups such as people
sleeping rough feel the impact most
acutely, as their lack of shelter exposes
them to constant surveillance.
Our recent research investigated the
role of surveillance in coordinating
responses to homelessness in Cairns.
Homelessness occurs here at twice the
national rate.
For rough sleepers, being surveilled
can result in unwanted questioning
by police, being moved on, or even
being arrested. We found, however,
that surveillance was also used to
coordinate genuinely supportive
responses by local social services.
Researchers have linked surveillance
of the homeless to efforts by public
and other agencies to ensure city
centres are attractive spaces for
consumers, tourists and private
investors. We found surveillance in
Cairns is largely directed at reducing
the impact of homelessness on the
city’s image. This can result in people
who are homeless being excluded
from safe and familiar areas where
they have ready access to support.
However, other researchers point out
that responses to homelessness are
30
diverse and multifaceted. Genuine
attempts to help the homeless often
exist alongside exclusionary practices.
Despite this, little research has been
done on how surveillance practices
may interface with these more
supportive initiatives.
We argue that the exclusionary effects
of surveillance on the homeless are
not a fait accompli. It is important to
challenge these negative effects and to
harness the potential for surveillance
to contribute to social justice.
A tool to manage ‘antisocial
behaviour’
Driven by concerns about the fragility
of Cairns’ tourism-dependent

economy, surveillance is indeed used
to manage and clear public spaces of
people seen as disrupting the city’s
image as safe and inviting. People who
are homeless are disproportionately
surveilled.
Public debate on homelessness in
Cairns often centres on “antisocial
behaviour” by so-called “itinerant”
Indigenous people from remote
communities who sleep rough in
the city. Local media, politicians and
business owners publicly lament the
impact on local commerce and efforts
to promote Cairns as a welcoming
place for visitors.
Acting on these concerns, local
police, council and social service
personnel work together to manage
the behaviour of people sleeping
rough. They do this either through
enforcement – move-ons, seizing
alcohol, arrest, and so one – or
through efforts to remove the
homeless from public view, such as
taking them to the police watch house
or local sobering-up facility.
Surveillance plays a key role in
coordinating these activities.
Information on the location and
behaviour of homeless people is
gleaned from council-operated CCTV
cameras and foot patrols and passed
on to police and other agencies.
Help with access to services and
resources
31
Yet homelessness in Cairns is not
only seen as a problem of antisocial
behaviour. Community activists
and social services highlight the
social and economic forces driving
homelessness. These range from
unaffordable housing and barriers
to accessing mainstream health and
welfare services, to racism and the
ongoing legacy of colonisation.
Indeed, even local politicians and
council staff acknowledge that
responses that move people on do not
resolve the issues underlying their
homelessness, which call for different
approaches.
Reflecting these alternative views,
Cairns has some important programs

that help people overcome the
practical, institutional and socioeconomic
barriers to exiting
homelessness. For instance, the
Cairns Street to Home program helps
rough sleepers get into permanent
housing. It also provides them with
health care and (re)connects them
to mainstream health and welfare
institutions.
Importantly, these initiatives are
supported by the same surveillance
practices that coordinate the more
disciplinary and exclusionary
responses.
CCTV camera operators provide
the location of rough sleepers to
outreach workers seeking to engage
new clients and support existing ones.
The council also uses its surveillance
capacities to help service providers
locate rough sleepers who have no
fixed address and often no phone
in urgent situations, such as when
they have a limited time to accept a
social housing offer or are overdue for
psychiatric medications.
Using surveillance for progressive
ends
Our research shows that, as well
as contributing to the policing and
displacement of homelessness,
surveillance can help overcome
barriers that people face to accessing
the resources they need to end their
homelessness. This suggests that while
surveillance comes with inherent
dangers, such as the exclusion of
marginalised groups, these are not
necessary or essential functions.
Australian cities have invested
extensive public resources in
surveillance infrastructure. Greater
effort should be made to harness these
public assets to achieve positive social
outcomes, such as enabling people
who are homeless to find housing.
Andrew Clark
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Cameron Parsell
Associate Professor
School of Social Science
University of Queensland
32

WHAT ARE COPYCAT CRIMES
AND WHO COMMITS THEM?
33

Last week, authorities urged
consumers in Queensland, NSW and
Victoria to throw away strawberries
from two Queensland brands after
needles were discovered in punnets
purchased at a Woolworths.
Since then, the localised fruit
tampering has mushroomed into a
major health scare. Needles have been
discovered in six different brands of
strawberries, as well as apples and
bananas, across six states.
New Zealand’s two largest food
distributors also pulled Australian
strawberries from supermarket
shelves.
And on Wednesday, Prime Minister
Scott Morrison announced harsher
penalties for those tampering with
fruit, increasing the maximum prison
sentence from 10 to 15 years.
As the tampering has spread, a word
has repeatedly popped up in media
coverage: “copycat”. Police have yet
to identify the culprits behind any of
the incidents or a possible motive, but
they haven’t discounted the possibility
of copycat crimes being committed.
What is a copycat crime?
Crimes that are inspired by a
previous act are commonly referred
to as copycat crimes. The offenders
typically incorporate some aspect of a
previous crime into their own actions,
such as how they choose or approach
their victims, or the methods they
use.
In some instances, crimes with basic
similarities are also described as
copycat simply by virtue of their
proximity in time.
To determine whether an incident
may really involve copycatting,
however, involves at least three steps:
Establish that a different person or
people are indeed responsible for
similar crimes.
Differentiate between an increase in
reporting and an actual increase in
the criminal behaviour.
Establish whether offenders had any
knowledge of the original crime.
With regard to the ongoing fruit
tampering in Australia, it has yet to
be established if different people are
responsible for the crimes, though
the geographically widespread
nature of the cases makes it unlikely
that a single individual or group is
responsible.
On the second point, the risk of
injury to consumers and the rarity of
food tampering in general means that
cases of this type are unlikely to go
unreported.
And if more than one person is
involved, the third point might
be assumed due to the media
saturation of stories about sabotaged
strawberries.
The key characteristic of true
copycat behaviour is the presence
of media exposure describing
the original crime. But the
motivation behind the
criminal behaviour is also
important.
Being inspired to
commit a crime by
the behaviour of
someone else is
generally referred
to as a “contagion
effect” rather
than a copycat
crime, although
the public tends
to use these descriptors
interchangeably.
Many theorists working in this area
are careful to note that while media
depictions of criminal behaviour can
be copied, they are unlikely to cause
criminality.
In other words, someone who wasn’t
already motivated to commit a
crime wouldn’t suddenly become
motivated to do so just because he or
she saw something in a newspaper. A
contagion effect is therefore rare.
A copycat crime involves a person
using real life or fictional media
34
depictions to inform the specifics of
their existing criminal behaviour or
future plans. For example, at least
three spree killings committed by
young couples around the world have
been linked to the film Natural Born
Killers. The couples used methods
similar to those in the movie and
provided justifications similar to
those of the fictional offenders.
Who perpetrates copycat crimes?
The available
research on
copycat crimes
generally
discusses
the impact
of media on violent behaviour more
generally. The evidence suggests
that those who watch violent films
and television or play violent video
games are more likely to learn specific
techniques for violence, understand
when violence is accepted by society
and develop attitudes supportive of
aggressive behaviour.
Although many people have the
potential to be influenced by the
media, those viewing violent content
in childhood may be particularly
susceptible to aggressive behaviours,
especially if they also have models of
violence in their lives.
There appear to be some personal

characteristics that make people more prone to
copycat behaviour, too. For instance, those who have
an avid interest in crime reporting, as well as those
who favour video games and the internet over other
types of media, are generally more susceptible to
copycat crimes.
A person’s criminal history is also thought to influence
whether he or she will attempt a copycat crime.
Other factors also include low self-control, high
innovativeness, disinhibition and a propensity for
sensation-seeking.
We specialise in all hydrodipping of automotive
professional equipment and instruments
Why do people perpetrate copycat crime?
Research on copycat crimes has found a catalyst
effect by the media. This means copycat criminals
are already motivated to commit an offence, and use
media coverage of a previous crime for instructions or
ideas.
The underlying motivations are therefore likely
to be as various as general criminal motivations,
including revenge, thrill, hatred, concealment of other
criminality, material gain or jealousy.
In the case of alleged copycat food tampering, this
means that motivations would differ from perpetrator
to perpetrator.
For example, someone may be motivated by a desire
to exact revenge on employers or ex-employers. Their
motivation might be to make a political statement
about the rights and treatment of farm workers, to
conceal another crime, to profit financially by suing
fruit companies or supermarkets, to gain attention or
bragging rights, or perhaps, because of the excitement
the behaviour involves.
Plastics Metals Fibreglass Wood
Spray Painting and Repair
0468 535 993
canberrahydrographics@gmail.com
76 Hoskins Street Mitchell ACT 2911
CUMBERLAND
PROPERTIES
Since so little is known about what causes copycat
crime, preventing and predicting it is difficult. This
means that if copycat fruit tampering is happening in
Australia, it is likely to persist or even increase for a
period of time until someone is caught or the media
saturation dies down.
In the meantime, the risk to the public and impacts on
struggling farmers will, unfortunately, continue.
Claire Ferguson
Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, School of Justice,
Queensland University of Technology
02 9909 3666 0412 444 666
mark@cumberlandproperties.com.au
PO Box 440 Neutral Bay NSW 2089
35

APPS TO HELP
YOU IN AN
EMERGENCY
TECHNOLOGY IS FOREVER CHANGING AND IN MOST CASES TRYING
TO IMPROVE OUR ACCESS TO INFORMATION. WE HAVE PUT
TOGETHER THE TOP APPS IN AUSTRALIA THAT ARE FOCUSED ON
KEEPING YOU SAFE AND INFORMED
Fires Near Me App - Developed by the NSW Rural Fire Service it will
provide information about bushfires from participating fire agencies across
Australia. The app finds your location using a map and will give relevant information
around you. It also allows you to choose a location. The app also
provides information on total fire bans.
The Emergency+ app is a free app developed by Australia’s emergency
services and their Government and industry partners.
The app uses GPS functionality built into smart phones to help a Triple Zero
(000) caller provide critical location details required to mobilise emergency
services
Emergency AUS App - delivers warning and incident information issued
by official agencies across Australia. Providing you with real-time access to
official warnings, incident reports and public Sensory Observations to aid
in better decision making during emergencies and disasters. By bringing
together emergency information from over 25 emergency service agencies
and accessing observations submitted by the public
Triple Zero Kids Challenge App - Start playing and learn about what happens
when you call Triple 000. The online game is designed for children of
kindergarten and primary school age and consists of a number of safety scenarios.
The game is available in seven languages including English, Arabic,
Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, Hindi and Dinka.

A gift for living
If you’re aged 50-74 you’ll be sent a free bowel cancer screening kit. The kit is simple to use and
can detect bowel cancer before any symptoms appear. Around 80 Australians die of bowel cancer
every week, but if detected early, up to 90% of cases can be successfully treated. So be sure to
complete and return your kit. It’s a gift that could save your life. If you’re over 74 talk to your GP.
By 2020 people aged 50-74 will receive a kit every two years.
australia.gov.au/bowelscreening
1800 11 88 68
Authorised by the Australian Government, Capital Hill, Canberra.