AESM Vol 17, Issue 1 2020

VOL 17: Isssue 1, 2020 

As the Smoke Clears 

REGENERATION AND RECOVERY

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FEATURE 

CONTENTS 

FEATURE 

Women in the 

Emergency 

Services 

“ 

The Day the 

Sun Didn’t 

Rise 

Surf Life Saving 

NSW 

At 3am on the morning 

of 31 December 2019, 

surf lifesaver Cheryl 

McCarthy received a 

phone call that began 

the longest and most 

complex emergency 

callout of her volunteer 

career. 

21 

“ 

A closer look at the 

number of women joining 

the various Emergency 

Services fields and their 

experiences from within. 

27 

FEATURE 

Bushfire Recovery 

a Marathon not a 

Sprint 

The research from 

previous natural disasters 

suggests there is a long 

road ahead for survivors 

of the current bushfire 

crisis. 

15 

Supporting the 

Wellbeing of our 

Volunteers 

How the fires have 

impacted the well-being of 

the thousands of Australian 

volunteers who have 

responded to devastated 

communities. 

19 

36 

The Vulnerability of 

our Veterans 

Why are army veterans 

at higher risk of suicide, 

homelessness and prison? 

The numbers are alarming 

and the lack of support for 

our veterans in many areas 

is clear. 

www.ausemergencyservices.com.au 

BNHCRC Disaster 

Inquiries Database 

Australia’s emergency 

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disasters in one place. 

33

THE REGULARS 

• Editor’s Note 

4 

• Recent Events 

The National Emergency Medal 

ESTA Emergency Response 

Resilient Australia Awards 

CFA-VFBV Firefighter State Championships 

• Emergency Law with Dr Michael Eburn 

• Through the Lens - with Photojournalist Blair Horgan 

• Let’s Talk Mental Health with A/Prof Erin Cotter- Smith 

• The Good, The Bad & The Ugly Paramedic 

• In the Spotlight - Uniforms 4 Kids 

• Emergency Breaks - Gold Coast, Queensland 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

11 

25 

31 

39 

41 

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AESM APP 

Stay connected and up 

to date on all the latest 

emergency services news 

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our dedicated App on both 

Apple IOS and Google 

Android platforms 

LET’S TALK MENTAL HEALTH 

Associate Professor Erin Cotter-Smith 

Course Coordinator of the School of 

Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan 

University. Research Consultant at The 

Code 9 Foundation. Well-Being Team Co- 

Lead, The Australian Red Cross. 

EMERGENCY LAW 

Dr Michael Eburn - PHD, Barrister 

and leading expert in law relating to 

emergency management & emergency 

services. 

THE GOOD, THE BAD & 

THE UGLY PARAMEDIC 

Tammie Bullard is a paramedic and 

sessional lecturer based in Western 

Australia. Author of The Good, The Bad 

& The Ugly Paramedic 

MAGAZINE CONTACTS 

Editorial Content 

press@ausemergencyservices.com.au 

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT 

EMERGENCY BREAKS 

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3 


EDITOR’S NOTE 

Welcome to the latest edition of the Australian 

Emergency Services Magazine for 2020. 

As we go to print it would seem that the worst bushfire 

season in history is behind us. As a nation we have 

been united in grief as so many of our fellow Australians 

have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods. The brave 

members of the largest volunteer fire service in the 

world are finally able to stand down and rest after the 

most exhausting season to date. The country salutes 

these incredible men and women who will no doubt feel 

the effects of this experience for many years to come. 

The land is starting to regenerate and communities 

are slowly seeing the funds to help repair and recover. 

This process is going to take time as the damage done 

by the fires was not just to the landscape. Let’s stay 

united through this process to not only continue to 

support those who have been affected but also to 

the volunteers in our communities who are vital to 

providing this support. 

From drought to fires and now to floods. We live in a 

land of extreme weather and the summer season is the 

busiest for all of our emergency service personnel. 

Please stay safe, listen to your local alerts and look after 

each other. 

Emma Parker 

Editor 

www.ausemergencyservices.com.au 

DISCLAIMER 

The Australian Emergency Services Magazine 

is a community educational resource 

publication and does not promote itself 

as a charity or fund raising institution, nor 

solicit on behalf of charities and is no way 

financially supported by or associated with 

any government or similar institution. 

Distribution of the publication is Bi-Monthly 

and is circulated via a database of interested 

parties, including business, subscribers, 

advertisers, volunteer emergency 

organistations, and council libraries. A 

print and digital magazine is distributed to a 

targeted database in each State & Territory. 

Every effort is made to ensure that material 

presented in the Australian Emergency 

Services Magazine was correct at the time of 

printing and is published in good faith, no 

responsibility or liability will be accepted by 

Boothbook Media. 

The views and opinions expressed are 

not necessarily those of Boothbook 

Media and its employees. The content of 

any advertising or promotional material 

contained within the Australian Emergency 

Services Magazine is not necessarily an 

endorsement by Boothbook Media. 

Published by Boothbook Media 

ABN:72 605 987 031 

BOOTHBOOK MEDIA 

DIGITAL MEDIA & MARKETING 

WANT TO CONTRIBUTE? 

We are always looking for new 

and relevant content that 

our readers will enjoy. If you 

would like to be featured in 

the magazine there are many 

options. You may have a story 

you would like to share, or 

perhaps be featured in our “In 

the Spotlight” regular column. 

Please submit all articles or 

expressions of interest to the 

Editor for consideration at: 

press@ausemergencyservices. 

com.au 

Articles should be no more than 

1000 words and be relevant 

to the content within the 

Australian Emergency Services 

Magazine. 

www.ausemergencyservices.com.au 4

RECENT EVENTS 

PM 

ANNOUNCES 

RECOGNITION 

FOR COURAGE 

AND BRAVERY 

WITH THE 

NATIONAL 

EMERGENCY 

MEDAL 

Australia’s brave fire, police, 

ambulance and emergency services 

volunteers and workers, along with 

Defence Force personnel and reservists 

and overseas personnel, will be eligible 

to receive a medal in recognition of 

their service and sacrifice during the 

current bushfire season. 

The National Emergency Medal will 

be awarded to eligible emergency 

responders who have given sustained 

or significant service during the 2019- 

20 bushfires. 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said 

while his priority was to help people 

and communities rebuild and recover 

from the bushfire disaster, it was also 

important that recognition was given. 

“Today as we reflect on what makes 

our country the best place in the world, 

we also honour those Australians 

who have battled this devastating 

fire season, many of whom will be 

on fire grounds today protecting our 

communities from danger,” the Prime 

Minister said. 

“The response to the bushfire 

situation has been unprecedented 

with thousands of volunteer and paid 

responders working around the clock, 

day and night, week after week to 

protect property and save lives. 

“Their courage has been extraordinary, 

and it’s a spirit which we must honour 

and celebrate this Australia Day 

and one which we will now formally 

recognise through the National 

Emergency Medal. 

“We will continue to do whatever 

it takes to support fire affected 

communities right across Australia to 

help them rebuild, recover and become 

even stronger.” 

Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister 

and Cabinet Ben Morton said while 

the detailed criteria for the National 

Emergency Medal will be determined in 

the coming months after consultation 

once the current crisis has passed, it 

is important that we acknowledge the 

extraordinary efforts and the sacrifice 

of our emergency services volunteers 

and personnel. 

“It is fitting we honour our emergency 

service personnel and volunteers for 

their selflessness, bravery, courage and 

sacrifice - Australia thanks you for your 

service,” Mr Morton said. 

The Governor-General, His Excellency 

General the Honourable David 

Hurley AC DSC (Retd), agreed to a 

recommendation from the Morrison 

Government that the 2019-20 

bushfires be declared a nationally 

significant emergency for the purposes 

of the Medal. 

The National Emergency Medal 

recognises service in response to a 

nationally‐significant emergency. Events 

must be declared by the Governor- 

General under the National Emergency 

Medal Regulations 2011, including 

specific criteria for the award. 

At the conclusion of the ongoing 

response to the bushfires, the National 

Emergency Medal Committee will 

provide further advice, as required 

under the Regulations, to enable the 

formal declaration of the Medal for 

the 2019-20 bushfires including the 

specific criteria for eligibility. 

The National Emergency Medal was 

established in 2011. More than 

15,000 medals have been awarded 

to responders and volunteers to the 

2009 Victoria bushfires that included 

Black Saturday and the Queensland 

floods that occurred over December to 

January 2010-2011, including Cyclone 

Yasi. 

5 


RECENT EVENTS 

During Victoria’s ongoing bushfire 

emergency, there has been an 

incredible effort by so many people in 

so many roles that work hard to keep 

our communities safe. We all work as 

one in the emergency services sector 

and we all have a critical role to play. 

ESTA manages call-taking and dispatch 

for police, fire, ambulance and VICSES 

for Victoria and, during an emergency 

such as the recent bushfires, it is a 

joint effort with all services playing 

a vital part. ESTA’s role is to provide 

the critical link between the Victorian 

community and the emergency 

services. 

Our people have worked together 

with the rest of the state’s emergency 

services in many ways, including 

being the first point of call for the 

community, providing situational 

and safety information to emergency 

services and getting units to the 

scene via our dispatchers. Between 

21 November 2019 and 19 January 

ESTA received 431,330 calls compared 

with 394,389 in the same period over 

2018-19. 

During the bushfire emergency, ESTA 

has had an Emergency Management 

Liaison Officer (EMLO) at the 

State Control Centre, who acts as 

the intelligence link between our 

emergency communication centres 

and the state. The EMLO allows for 

early identification and intelligence of 

potential major incidents and provides 

real-time feedback to the state about 

ESTA’S ROLE IN THE 

EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO 

THE ONGOING VICTORIAN 

BUSHFIRES 

what is happening with the units on 

the ground and on the emergency 

communication floor. With ESTA 

providing call-taking and dispatch for 

all service lines, the EMLO is able to 

have a multi-agency perspective and 

inform the big picture. 

There have been many dedicated 

people at ESTA and across the whole 

emergency services sector that 

have been working hard to deliver 

consistent services to Victorians 

during the bushfires. 

As this unprecedented bushfire 

season continues to affect the state 

and the country, I have been humbled 

by the camaraderie among the sector 

and the community, with so many 

people seeking different ways they can 

support one another, the community, 

animals, emergency services 

colleagues and first responders. 

By Executive Director Operations, 

Patrick Berry 

This has been a very challenging time 

for Australians and our thoughts are 

with the families of those who have 

lost their lives and everyone else 

affected by these bushfires. 


RECENT EVENTS 

SUBMISSIONS OPEN 

FOR THE RESILIENT 

AUSTRALIA AWARDS 

IN FEBRUARY 

The Resilient Australia Awards 

celebrate initiatives that build 

whole of community resilience to 

disasters and emergencies around 

Australia, as well as images capturing 

resilience in action. The awards 

recognise collaboration and innovative 

thinking across all sectors. 

Now in its 21st year, the awards 

recognise outstanding contributions 

in each state and territory in six 

categories: community, business, local 

government, government, school and 

photography. The program recognises 

a wide range of initiatives; with past 

projects centred on risk assessment 

and mitigation; education, training 

and research; and community 

engagement, as well as response and 

recovery. 

The Resilient Australia Awards is a 

nation-wide program to recognise and 

promote initiatives that strengthen 

community disaster resilience. Since 

2000, the awards have showcased 

innovation and exemplary practice 

across Australia; celebrating 

achievements that might otherwise go 

unseen, and inspiring others to build 

greater disaster resilience in their own 

communities. 

Entries in the 2020 awards must 

relate to projects or initiatives 

commenced after 1 January 2018 or 

demonstrate significant outcomes or 

enhancements since 1 January 2018. 

The Resilient Australia Awards is 

proudly sponsored by the Australian 

Government in partnership with the 

states and territories and managed 

by the Australian Institute for Disaster 

Resilience (AIDR). 

Further information on the 

program structure and submission 

requirements are contained in the 

guidelines. www.aidr.com.au 

The Resilient Australia Awards Is a 

two-tiered program. Submissions are 

judged in the state or territory they 

are submitted from, with winners from 

each state and territory considered for 

national awards. 

STATE AND TERRITORY AWARD 

CATEGORIES 

Business Award 

Open to businesses and the private 

sector including, tertiary colleges and 

universities. 

Community Award 

Open to communities, community 

based or focussed organisations, and 

non-government organisations. 

Government Award 

Open to state and federal government 

agencies 

Local Government Award 

Open to local governments and local 

government associations. 

Photography Award 

Open to individuals and groups. 

Submissions will not be accepted 

without the permission of the 

copyright holder. 

School Award 

Open to all public and private preschool, 

primary and secondary 

schools only. 

School-related projects managed by 

businesses and the private sector 

should be entered into the business 

award category. 


community groups should be entered 

into the community award category. 


governments should be entered into 

the government or local government 

award category. 

7 


RECENT EVENTS 

VFBV State Championships are 

one of CFA’s proudest and longest 

traditions. They have been running for 

almost 150 years with the first State 

Championship held in Melbourne 

in 1874. State Championships have 

continued every year since 1873. The 

event goes on regardless of weather 

conditions or natural disasters. The 

only cancellations being due to WWI 

and WWII. 

In the 1950s, the Rural State 

Championships were developed 

to reflect the unique skills of rural 

brigades. 

The competitions started out as 

‘Demonstrations’ with the introduction 

of hose reels into the fire service in the 

mid 1800s. This was to assist in getting 

hose and other necessary equipment 

to the scene of a fire faster. 

Brigades soon find that competing 

with other brigades improved their 

training and efficiency. The State 

Championship became the peak of the 

season’s competitions conducted by 

districts and associations across the 

state. 

This year CFA-VFBV Firefighter State 

Championships will feature two 

women-only Marshall events in 

Mooroopna next month for the first 

time in the State Championship’s 147 

year history. 

FIRST WOMEN-ONLY 

MARSHALL EVENTS AT 

CFA-VFBV FIREFIGHTER 

STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS 

The Marshall event is a traditional 

event first introduced into urban 

championships in the 1890’s by a 

former Chief Officer TS Marshall. The 

event was designed to assist in the 

training of volunteers in the coupling 

and uncoupling of hoses, setting 

hydrants and fixing branches without 

using any water in the quickest time 

possible. 

The Championships will be held in 

Mooroopna on 28 and 29 March, 

2020, combining the Urban Seniors, 

Rural Seniors and Rural Juniors 

separately across the two-day event. 

Deputy Chief Officer Stephanie 

Rotarangi encouraged female 

volunteer members to get involved in 

this year’s two women-only Marshall 

events. 

“The landmark introduction of the 

women-only events is a welcome 

addition to the Championships this 

year,” Dr Rotarangi said. 

“These events will give CFA’s female 

volunteers an opportunity to showcase 

their operational and teamwork skills, 

particularly in the two-competitor 

Marshall event.” 

Acting Executive Director for 

Volunteers and Capability, Deputy 

Chief Officer Peter O’Keefe said the 

introduction of the women-only event 

is a great way to promote the skills and 

interests of the talented females within 

the CFA. 

“It’s a fantastic way to encourage all 

females within the sport to participate, 

while also providing opportunities for 

them to succeed in their own events,” 

Mr O’Keefe said. 

“The Championships is a good way of 

having fun and being involved within 

the Brigade while also enjoying some 

friendly competition among likeminded 

CFA members.” 

Female competitors have the option 

to either participate in the onecompetitor 

Marshall event or pair up 

with a fellow team mate in the twocompetitor 

Marshall event. 

Several thousand people from across 

the state are expected to attend with 

lots of activities to keep the whole 

family entertained. 

CFA people not competing are 

also encouraged to come along, 

with the event set to provide many 

opportunities to engage on training, 

health and wellbeing, community 

safety and the latest thinking on 

community services. 


AUSTRALIAN EMERGENCY LAW with Dr Michael Eburn 

A DISCUSSION ON 

THE LAW THAT 

APPLIES TO OR 

AFFECTS AUSTRALIA’S 

EMERGENCY SERVICES 

AND EMERGENCY 

MANAGEMENT 

RESISTING 

ANOTHER 

ROYAL 

COMMISSION 

January 16, 2020 

PHD 

Barrister 

Leading expert in Law 

relating to Emergency 

Management & Emergency 

Services 

Follow Michael Eburn 

Facebook- facebook.com/ 

EburnM/ 

Twitter - @EburnM 

For his latest articles on 

Emergency Law go to: 

www.emergencylaw.wordpress.com 

I have previously written on calls for 

an inquiry following the current fire 

emergency – see Next comes the 

inevitable inquiry (January 7, 2020). The 

Prime Minister continues to float the 

idea of a Royal Commission and others 

are now publicly questioning the value 

of yet another inquiry: 

Kevin Tolhurst, ‘We have already had 

countless bushfire inquiries. What 

good will it do to have another?’ 

The Conversation (16 January 2020) 

(republished on ABC News (Online) (16 

January 2020); 

‘Firefighters are urging Scott Morrison 

to rethink federal royal commission 

into bushfires’ SBS (Online) (15 January 

2020); and see also 

Michael Eburn and Stephen Dovers 

‘What sort of inquiry should come after 

these fires?‘ Pearls and Irritations (7 

January 2020). 

For commentary on the value of a Royal 

Commission see Scott Prasser, ‘How 

Royal Commissions can both help and 

hinder’ Australian Financial Review (14 

January 2020). 

I again join in these calls to reconsider 

the value of a Royal Commission. 

In research that I did with my colleague 

Prof. Stephen Dovers we looked into 

why firefighters reported concerns 

about potential liability for their 

action. We discovered that it was not 

liability (as a lawyer would use the 

term) that was the problem, it was 

the legal process that was the issue 

(‘Australian wildfire litigation’ (2012) 

21(5) International Journal of Wildland 

Fire 488-497). The legal process is 

often, if not always, adopted in modern 

Royal Commissions so it can further 

traumatise those that have been 

involved in the fires. 

In our research and published papers 

we have argued that there needs 

to be a better way to learn lessons 

without sacrificing the good will of 

those involved in the emergency. An 

inquiry, like litigation, is necessarily 

retrospective rather than a tool to help 

communities recover from the event 

(see Eburn, M., ‘Litigation for failure to 

warn of natural hazards and community 

resilience‘ (2008) 23(2) Australian 

Journal of Emergency Management 

9-13. 

In our CRC report (Learning for 

Emergency Services: Looking for a new 

approach (2017)) we said: 

After a significant hazard event there 

are pressures to call an independent 

inquiry. Hopefully the driving force is a 

desire to identify what happened and 

identify lessons that may better inform 

future practice, but the reality is that 

there are multiple ‘other’ considerations 

that influence the decision to establish 

an inquiry. Royal Commissions and 

coronial inquiries have a tendency 

to fall back on tried and true legal

ehaviour with lawyers seeking to 

protect their client’s interests; witnesses 

are required to answer questions rather 

than tell their story; fact finding and 

recommendations are limited by the 

particularities of the event, the terms of 

reference or the governing legislation. 

Each inquiry makes recommendations 

to avoid the last event, but the next 

event will not be the same as the last 

event – ‘a tendency … to spend the 

peace time studying how to fight the 

last war’. 

Recommendations are necessarily 

counterfactuals, they are predictions 

that some other approach or some 

reform will work better but the 

future possibility is being judged 

against a past, known outcome. 

What implementation of the 

recommendations will actually achieve 

is unknown until the next event and 

sometimes diligent application of one 

inquiry’s recommendations will produce 

a result that is subject to a contraryrecommendation 

after the next event. 

Identifying areas of improvement and 

making recommendations may not 

help. Recommendations may not be 

implemented, may be impracticable 

or may conflict with other social and 

policy concerns. The agency required 

to implement them may reject the 

inquiry’s balance or not accept the 

quality of the evidence that the inquiry 

relies upon. 

Royal Commissions are great when you 

want to get information from people 

who do not want to share (corrupt 

police, bankers or abusive aged care 

providers). A Royal Commission is not 

the best way to learn lessons from an 

event such as this. The government 

should avoid the temptation to call 

a Royal Commission in order to be 

seen to be doing ‘something’. There 

has been extensive research and 

action on bushfire management, the 

development of community resilience, 

fire warnings and the like. The 

Commonwealth has been part of that 

research through the Bushfire and 

Natural Hazards CRC and before that 

the Bushfire CRC. The Commonwealth 

has developed and been implementing 

policy statements such as the National 

Strategy for Disaster Resilience 

(2011) and the National Disaster Risk 

Reduction Framework (2018). 

The fact that these fires have occurred 

does not mean that there has been any 

failure in planning for or responding to 

the fires (though it may imply a failure 

in steps to prevent or mitigate the risk 

of fire). A response plan (such as the 

various state emergency management 

plans and the Commonwealth’s disaster 

plan – COMDISPLAN) are activated 

when there is a disaster. The fact that 

the disaster occurs does not mean the 

plan failed. Communities are resilient 

to fire when they are able to survive 

and recover after the fire, the fact 

that the fire occurs or that property 

or lives are lost does not meant 

that work to enhance resilience has 

failed. As Tolhurst says ’Another royal 

commission will only reiterate what we 

have known for decades’. 

This article originally appeared on the 

blog Australian Emergency Law (https:// 

emergencylaw.wordpress.com/) and is reproduced 

with the permission of the author. 

As a blog post it represents the author’s opinion 

based on the law at the time it was written. The 

blog, or this article, is not legal advice and cannot be 

relied upon to determine any person’s legal position. 

How the law applies to any specific situation or 

event depends on all the circumstances. 

If you need to determine legal rights and obligations 

with respect to any event that has happened, or 

some action that is proposed, you must consult 

a lawyer for advice based on the particular 

circumstances. Trade unions, professional 

indemnity insurers and community legal centres can 

all be a source for initial legal advice. 


11 


Rather than a long-winded background story 

on why I chose to spend time photographing 

what goes on behind the scenes with some of 

our emergency services, as a photojournalist 

my preference is to give the visual story. An 

often candid look at what goes on, and more 

importantly to show the humanity within the 

services. 

As a photographer the greatest challenge is 

trying to tell that story with limited photos, 

which is often the case when writing an article 

for a newspaper or magazine. Out of the 

thousands of photos I’ve taken how do I narrow 

it down? 

THROUGH 

THE LENS 

by Photojournalist - Blair Horgan 

A big thank you to all those people I’ve met 

over the years for giving me the opportunity 

to photograph these moments. I’ve done my 

best to keep out of the way when on a call 

out with the Tasmania Fire Service, trying not 

to get under people’s feet or in the way when 

back on station, trying not to be too invasive. 

Being allowed to spend time with members of 

Tasmanian State Emergency Service has meant 

a lot to me, as well as being able to tell their 

story. A special thank you to Shayne Andrews 

at the TFS for putting up with me and giving me 

plenty of chances to always get that better shot. 

I first started at Burnie Fire Brigade in 2016. I 

managed to pick up the nickname, the black 

cloud. Somehow, I’d be on station ready to 

get some action photos and nothing would 

happen. I’d leave and of course guess what 

would happen? However it did give me a 

chance to see what goes on behind the scenes, 

the normal everyday stuff. A chance for that 

candid photo and I got plenty of those. 

Every single person I’ve met over the years 

of taking photographs within the emergency 

services have gone our of their way to make me 

feel welcome. Be it the Tasmania Fire Service, 

career staff or volunteers, to all the different 

brigades, SES people and the different units 

(Burnie and Wynyard) and to the amazing 

people at IMU regional headquarters, thank 

you so much. What a privilege it is to be a part 

of the incredible work you all do. 


WHAT WE WERE READING 

Over the last few months we have watched the devastation of the bushfire season via 

television news and social media. Our newsfeed on both Facebook and Instagram were 

full of terrifying images of houses destroyed, families left homeless, burnt wildlife and 

exhausted firefighters and emergency services. It was through these images and stories 

that we all shared the fear, loss and heartache with those who suffered through it all. 

Here are just a couple of stories that really touched us at AESM. 

TURIA PITT RELIVES 

HER FEARS 

Fires had been raging up and down 

the South Coast for close to a 

month. People were evacuated 

from Bawley Point and Tabourie Lake. 

Milton was hit. Michael did food and 

supply runs in his boat. We watched as 

the sky went red and black days before 

Christmas. 

More fires broke out on New Years 

Eve. I watched, my mouth agape, as 

two angry plumes from the fires north 

and south of us joined together over 

Mollymook Beach. 

And then, the power went out. Mobile 

reception became spotty. Internet was 

down. Rumours swirled around town 

like the ashes that rained down on us. 

Embers in our backyards. Homes had 

been lost. Whole streets obliterated. A 

girlfriend’s panicked text about her dad 

being trapped. 

I packed my go bag and filled the bath 

with water. 

Michael cooked bacon and eggs on the 

barbecue outside. Hakavai and I read 

books on the balcony. We watched as 

the fine grey smoke settled in on our 

beloved Mollymook Beach. 

At a quarter to eight, the evening was 

quiet. Not a peaceful and serene quiet, 

but an eerie quiet. An apocalyptic quiet. 

No one on their balconies drinking 

beers. No music blaring from our 

neighbours next door, or from the 

houses across the street. No revellers 

preparing to celebrate the new year. 

And it was dark. No power. No lights. 

First of all: I’m sorry that I haven’t been 

more proactive in this time. 

It’s been a tough few weeks for me 

emotionally. I’ve had to focus on 

not letting my emotions and own 

experiences get the better of me. 

I’ve tried to not let the panic genie 

out of the bottle (because once that 

genie’s out, you’ve got zero chance of 

squashing it back in). 

And, I’m exhausted. I feel like I’ve done 

10 marathons. And we can’t relax 

because it’s only the start of summer, 

and it’s not over yet. So just like in a 

marathon, I’ve realised I have to pace 

myself. 

A lot of things have been tough. Being 

8 months pregnant with a toddler, I’ve 

felt as useful as tits on a bull. I’ve had 

recurring nightmares about running 

through flames with my son in my 

arms. It’s been difficult to sleep, eat or 

think and all I’ve really wanted to do is 

tap out, put my head in the sand and 

pretend that nothing is going on. 

I thought about leaving our small town 

of Ulladulla multiple times. Why didn’t 

I? People were stuck in their cars for 

hours. I saw terrifying footage of 30 

metre high flames on the side of the 

13 


highway at Sussex Inlet (a town just 

north of us and blocking the way out). 

And travelling south was like travelling 

into the jaws of the dragon. 

When I found out friends were planning 

on defending their property I felt like 

shaking them. “You have no idea!!!” I 

wanted to scream. You have no idea 

that a fire sounds like a thousand road 

trains coming towards you. You have 

no idea how hot it feels, and that you 

will watch your skin bubble before your 

very eyes. You have no idea that the 

smoke will feel like it’s invading every 

single one of your pores. And you have 

no idea that in those last few seconds 

where it’s almost upon you that you will 

KNOW that you are about to die. 

At the same time, I’ve felt like it’s not 

my place to flip out when people all 

around me have lost everything. I’m 

lucky - my family and I are safe and we 

haven’t lost anything. 

Friends have lost homes, precious 

belongings. Lives have been lost. 

And once “this” is all over, it won’t 

be all over for many of the local 

businesses in fire-ravaged towns. A 

lot of these places (like Mollymook, 

Kangaroo Island, Eden) rely on the 

tourist dollar for their very survival. I’ve 

been motivated by Tegan Webber’s 

#GoWithEmptyEskies campaign and by 

the legends at @buyfromthebush. 

And so this is what I’m doing. If you 

want to buy something (now, or in 

the future), check out https://www. 

instagram.com/spendwiththem/. 

Spend your money with the businesses 

in fire affected communities who need 

it. They need you. We need you. 

This is a way to put money directly 

in the pockets of the people and 

communities who need it the most, 

and need it NOW. 

Long after the threat is over and the 

choppers stop flying overhead. Long 

after summer ends and the wail of 

sirens ceases in the streets. 

Help them rebuild. Make them feel 

heard. Spend with them. 

And, if you’re a business in a fireaffected 

town, hit us up at https://www. 

instagram.com/spendwiththem/ to be 

featured. 

Much love to all of you, donating, 

spending, and doing everything you 

can. I’m blown away. 

Turia xx 

You can follow Turia Pitt on Facebook 

THE FIREFIGHTER AND THE OLD LADY 

You have to die one day. 

Those were the words this lovely 

but stubborn old lady said to me 

when I tried to evacuate her from 

an emergency level bushfire. 

She was determined not to leave 

her home and instantly the feeling 

of my heart starting to break came 

over me. I knew her home wasn’t 

properly prepared to be impacted 

by fire. 

I pleaded with her and explained 

I was a young man that would be 

deeply affected if she didnt leave 

her home, as I was the only one left 

with her at the time and I wasn’t 

going to leave her behind. 

I finally managed to say the right 

words to get her in the car along 

with her dog that attempted to 

attack me on several occasions 

as the fire was coming down the 

mountain and up her driveway at 

this stage. 

I drove her safely through the fire in 

her little Rav 4 and then went back 

to help save her home. 

Couple of days later we did a 

welfare check on her and she told 

me that I reminded her of her son 

Matthew and she was extremely 

grateful that someone cared 

enough about her to put their life 

at risk for her. 

She also told me she had lost 

all hope and was too terrified to 

leave her home behind and if it 

wasnt for my stubbornness like 

her son Matthew she would of 

stayed, which in many ways could 

of ended badly as she wasn’t very 

mobile. 

The message I’m trying to get 

across as the weather becomes 

more favourable is that material 

possessions dont mean anything 

at the end of the day when it can 

cost your life and your animals 

life. Definitely dont leave it too 

late and get complacent. 

The Austraian bush has no mercy. 

Thanks to @orange_yellow_and_ 

red for sharing this story about 

Matthew Angus. Matthew is 

owner of Angus Plumbing Services 

and is a member of the NSW Rural 

Fire Service.

BUSHFIRE RECOVERY 

WILL BE A MARATHON 

NOT A SPRINT 

AMANDA GEARING 

Journalist, author, broadcaster 

Queensland University of Technology 

15 


After reporting on the deadly 2011 Queensland flash 

flood disaster, I spent a year documenting accounts of 

heroic rescues, tragic deaths and extraordinary survival. 

Five years later, I returned for a follow-up study. I found some 

survivors had recovered, but many were far worse off. 

This research suggests there is a long road ahead for 

survivors of the current bushfire crisis. However, there are 

key lessons to be learned. 

THE INITIAL RESPONSE 

At the time of the 2011 Queensland flood crisis, the 

Australian Defence Force arrived to help. Community spirit 

was high. Australia and the world donated very generously. 

But after the first few weeks, initial assistance gave way to 

often intractable difficulties with housing, insurance claims, 

job losses and chronic physical and mental health conditions. 

Blanket media coverage of the crisis soon dwindled. And for 

many people, there simply was no return to “normal” life. 

FIVE YEARS ON 

Five years after the event, many still struggled. The journey 

was far longer and more difficult for people who: 

• lost family members during or after the disaster 

• were traumatised by a near-death experience 

• could no longer work in their old job 

• had significant health problems 

• had insurance claims that were slow, difficult or rejected. 

Those people who were most able to recover were people 

who: 

• lost possessions but who were not traumatised by the 

disaster 

• remained healthy and had insurance with companies 

that promptly paid their claims 


• were able to resume work 

• were able to repair or replace their 

homes and return to a relatively 

normal life within a few months to 

a year. 

After five years, some people realised 

they would never recover. Some said 

they would have preferred to die than 

endure the five years post-flood. 

Several survivors spoke of the “near 

miss” they had with death. For some, it 

was an incentive to live every day with 

renewed gusto. For others, the near 

miss reinforced the fragility of life and 

left them feeling more vulnerable. 

DEATH AND NEAR-DEATH 

EXPERIENCES 

Thirty-three of the rescuers and 

survivors in the disaster experienced a 

near-death experience. Five years on, 

some of them had still not attended any 

counselling and reported memories of 

near-death experiences playing out in 

their minds in an endless video-loop. 

Some became hermits, afraid to leave 

home. 

One of the rescuers told me it took 

five years to even acknowledge he had 

risked his life. 

One mother whose children were at 

risk said: 

“Life as you know it changed on that 

day. You know that one second your life 

is normal and then how quickly things 

can change. I scan all the time. I scan 

rooms for the exit. I scan terrain in case 

something happens […] which is the 

quickest way to escape?” 

LASTING PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACTS 

Two thirds of the people interviewed 

still had ongoing traumatic memories 

five years after the disaster – including 

seeing or hearing the sounds of the 

disaster, smelling the fetid aromas 

associated with floods or feeling 

anxious at the sound of helicopters. 

For some, the trauma triggers occurred 

only in the flood zone, while for others 

it could be anywhere, whcih meant 

moving away offered no respite. 

In the small town of Grantham, 

where 13 people died, witnesses 

told an inquiry into the disaster that 

counsellors changed from week to 

week (meaning survivors had to retell 

their stories again to a new counsellor). 

The service then stopped because 

townspeople didn’t want to see them. 

RETURN OR MOVE AWAY? 

Many people no longer felt safe at 

home. People who had to rebuild as 

property values fell and insurance 

premiums skyrocketed – some up to 

A$34,000/year – could not afford to 

insure their house. They feared a total 

loss of their homes next time. 

Some people who never returned 

to affected towns fared better 

psychologically than those who did go 

back. 

Some people returned initially, rebuilt, 

but then sold up and left again. Some 

told me they would not be alive unless 

they got out when they did. 

Whole communities all but disappeared 

as almost the entire population left 

town. 

NATURAL DISASTERS ARE FINANCIAL 

DISASTERS 

After a natural disaster, mortgages still 

need to be paid, even on houses that 

are uninhabitable. Accommodation 

costs mount. The risk of homelessness 

and bankruptcy increases and 

relationships can be put under 

enormous stress. 

 

 

 

 

17 


Australian Army personnel assisted citizens in the immediate aftermath of the 2011 Queensland floods 

Property values in the towns and 

districts affected by the 2011 floods fell 

dramatically and immediately, meaning 

some people couldn’t sell and move 

away. 

Several survivors were unable to 

return to their old jobs because their 

workplace had been destroyed or 

because it was too traumatic. 

One who stayed to rebuild his business 

experienced another disaster two 

years later and lost his service station 

a second time. He rebuilt again only 

to have his business destroyed a third 

time the following year. 

People who are injured at work in 

Queensland are eligible to claim on 

WorkCover, a government funded 

program that assists workers to recover 

and return to work. People injured in 

disasters, however are not eligible for 

the same type of assistance. 

Many people relied on charities for 

food, clothes and shelter for months to 

years after the flood. Some refused or 

resisted charitable help or government 

help. 

Some older people reported becoming 

dependent on their adult children for 

the first time. 

WHAT IS NEEDED 

The research suggests several possible 

ways to help natural disaster survivors 

including, but not limited to: 

• better access to publicly funded 

psychological care beyond the 

current 10 visits allowable under 

the current Medicare system, 

especially for people who have lost 

family or their home or business 

• free and well coordinated 

government-funded counselling in 

disaster zones 

• income support and emergency 

housing for people who have lost 

homes 

• government-funded funerals for 

those who die in a natural disaster 

• provision of short-term retraining 

for those who cannot return to 

their old jobs 

• the creation of a “DisasterCover” 

system to support volunteer 

rescuers or firefighters with 

access to counselling, income 

support and job security – in the 

same way that WorkCover might 

support professional firefighters. 

A legislated scheme would mean 

survivors are not at the whim of 

ad hoc emergency government 

funding or relying on public 

appeals 

• such a scheme could cover 

emergency medical, rehabilitation 

and wage costs and then claim 

them back, where possible, from 

the claimant’s private medical and 

income protection insurance 

• improved land planning around 

where it is safe to build. 

All of this sounds expensive. But the 

cost of not learning these lessons may 

be greater in the long run. 

This article was first published in “The 

Conversation” 

Traumatic Stress Clinic 

Sydney Australia 

 

 

() 

 

 

 

 

 

02 8627 3314 

 

 

 

 

 

@ 

 

 

 


SUPPORTING THE 

WELL-BEING OF 

VOLUNTEERS ON 

THE BUSHFIRE 

FRONTLINES 

WORDS: 

Associate Professor Erin Cotter-Smith 

19 


As the smoke clears, the physical 

damage from these bushfires 

will be immediately apparent. 

What will be less clear is how the fires 

have impacted the well-being of the 

thousands of Australian volunteers 

who have responded to devastated 

communities. 

Volunteers from emergency services 

and non-emergency services alike are 

pivotal to mounting an effective and 

sustainable response to a disaster 

on a scale such as this – they provide 

“the glue” that’s needed to support 

response capacity and empower 

communities in relief and recovery. 

The role of volunteers 

Since New Years Eve, thousands of 

volunteers have been deployed into 

disaster-affected communities across 

Australia. Some do an incredible 

job fighting the fires, repairing the 

damage, or distributing food, water 

and other essential supplies. Others 

play important roles in caring for the 

well-being of people impacted by the 

fires by providing immediate relief 

and psychological first aid. 

No matter the type of role, 

volunteering during a disaster can 

take a toll. 

“Put on your own oxygen mask first, 

before helping others...” 

The role of volunteers in emergency 

and disaster response is becoming 

increasingly complex. Volunteers 

from many organisations are 

exposed to trauma, loss, devastation, 

injury and even death. They may find 

themselves comforting colleagues, 

friends, and survivors in the initial 

phases of shock and grief, or even 

trying to save communities in which 

they live and work. 

They work long hours in challenging 

environments, often without respite 

and with very little opportunity for 

rest. They often end up exhausted 

and emotionally drained. 

They put aside their own needs for 

the greater good of the community, 

and at the end of the day, they often 

feel like their concerns or needs are 

not as important as the needs of 

those they “are meant to be helping”. 

And as members of affected 

communities, many volunteers often 

work close to home and experience 

the same losses and grief within their 

own families and social networks 

as the communities they are meant 

to be supporting. Basic training or 

being part of a psychological first 

aid response team is not enough to 

prepare volunteers for these types of 

complex emotional experiences. 

So what can we do to help? 

There are things that all volunteer 

reliant-organisations can do to 

help support well-being. Some 

simple measures include: 

• Provide an accessible 

range of well-being support 

services that both encourage 

volunteers to reach out when 

they need help, but also 

reach in to those who may be 

struggling 

• Create an organisational 

culture that normalises 

conversations around wellbeing 

and mental health, 

where people can talk openly 

and share problems 

• Arrange regular informal 

“drop ins” where volunteers 

can get together to talk about 

how they are going and how 

their specific deployments 

went (cross-organisational 

“drop ins” are particularly 

encouraged to promote 

broader discussions and 

sharing across different 

volunteer groups) 

• Organisations can develop 

visible mechanisms for 

showing appreciation of 

volunteers which also allow 

volunteers to recognise 

colleagues who have 

demonstrated exemplar 

behaviours during an 

emergency or disaster 

It is also really important for 

volunteers to be able to recognise 

when they are struggling or feeling 

burnt out. While “duty calls” loudly 

for most volunteers, there are times 

when stepping back can be the most 

brave and resilient action to take. 

And it’s an action that organisations 

need to actively assist volunteers in 

making. 

The number of back-to-back days 

on deployment and sequential 

shifts that volunteers undertake 

needs active monitoring. We also 

need to have processes in place for 

the well-meaning volunteers who 

have dedicated incredibly generous 

periods of their lives to organisations 

and their communities, but perhaps 

are now best suited to roles other 

than emergency deployments. 

Back in December, Former Fire 

and Rescue NSW commissioner 

Greg Mullins warned that volunteer 

firefighters were already exhausted. 

“Firefighters were full of energy but 

as the weeks and months dragged 

on they reached a point of having 

nothing in the tank”. Former Fire and 

Rescue NSW commissioner Greg 

Mullins 

While organisations need to do 

more in to facilitate programs and 

resources to support volunteer 

well-being, anyone can create 

informal well-being support networks. 

Whether it’s within our friendship 

groups, community groups, sporting 

groups, or other networks, there just 

needs to be an underlying thread of 

commitment to each other’s wellbeing. 

As we continue to deal with this 

bushfire disaster, ensuring that our 

thousands of Australian volunteers 

feel supported will make a significant 

difference to their well-being. Their 

contribution to our communities is 

immeasurable and we must never 

take them for granted. 

And you can always consider 

volunteering in your local community 

to help support the long recovery 

process ahead. Some organisations 

are taking spontaneous emergency 

volunteer registrations now. Consider 

registering your support with your 

local State/Territory peak body where 

possible. 

You can find more information at 

Volunteering Australia’s website or by 

following the link here: 


Image courtesy of Broulee SLSC

THE DAY THE SUN 

DIDN’T RISE ON THE 

FAR SOUTH COAST 

By: Surf Life Saving NSW 

At 3am on the morning of 31 December 2019, surf 

lifesaver Cheryl McCarthy received a phone call that 

began the longest and most complex emergency 

callout of her volunteer career. 

It also signalled the start of Surf Life Saving NSW’s bushfire 

response on the NSW Far South Coast. A response 

that would see teams of volunteer surf lifesavers take 

responsibility for the lives of over 7,000 people as multiple 

surf clubs setup as emergency evacuation centres. 

As the Director of Lifesaving for the Far South Coast 

Branch, Cheryl McCarthy is used to emergency callouts 

becoming more frequent and the incidents she responds 

to more unusual. She expects the unexpected and complex 

emergencies, like the recent NSW bushfires, are becoming 

the ‘new normal’ for her and thousands of volunteer 

emergency service personnel like her. 

But nothing could have prepared Cheryl and the team for 

the speed and ferocity of the bushfire emergency that 

engulfed the Far South Coast region on New Year’s Eve 

2019 and the scale of the response effort she would be 

asked to lead that week. 

Since becoming a gazetted emergency service organisation 

in 2018, Surf Life Saving NSW volunteer lifesavers have 

been tasked to critical incidents in support of other 

emergency service organisations such as Police, RFS and 

SES. And so it was that on December 31, Surf Life Saving 

NSW volunteers on the Far South Coast found themselves 

on the frontline when the call came to respond to the 

unprecedented bushfire emergency unfolding all around 

them. 

The 3am phone call Cheryl McCarthy answered was from 

the Rural Fire Service requesting Surf Life Saving’s support. 

In no time a team of volunteers had opened the Bermagui 

surf club as an evacuation centre and contacted Andy 

Edmunds to open the Broulee surf club to the north. Up 

the road in Batemans Bay, Anthony Bellette received a 

similar message from the RFS and mustered his callout 

team of 11 lifesavers to open the Batemans Bay surf club 

as an evacuation centre as residents in the area began 

evacuating to the beach. 

People, their cars and their animals began pouring in 

and within a few hours, the three surf clubs at Bermagui, 

Broulee and Batemans Bay would together be sheltering 

more than 7,000 people as bushfires raged out of control 

in the area. And it was the volunteer Surf Life Saving 

teams, led by Cheryl McCarthy, Anthony Bellette and Andy 

Edmunds that would be responsible for their welfare, 

providing those in their care with food, water, shelter and

vital medical treatment. 

To put the scale of the evacuation in 

perspective, the township of Bermagui 

normally has a population of 1,500. 

But as bushfires approached the 

area at an unprecedented speed and 

residents and tourists in a 30km radius 

of the town were told to evacuate 

to the beach, the town’s population 

quickly grew to 5,000. These evacuees 

descended on the Bermagui surf club 

as the designated evacuation centre. 

“It kind of snowballed. For a town of 

1,500, suddenly having 5,000 people 

arrive at the surf club was mindblowing,” 

said Cheryl McCarthy. 

“We had over 2,000 vehicles at the club 

which was insane. Nothing could have 

prepared us for the sheer number of 

people,” she said. 

Cheryl said that compounding the fact 

that 5,000 people were arriving at the 

club, embers from the nearby bushfires 

began falling from the sky and choking 

smoke filled the air. 

“The smoke was so thick - it was actually 

dark outside,” Cheryl said. 

“When it was still dark at 9.30am, we 

realised the sun wasn’t going to come 

up that day,” she said. 

“It was a very intense time – very 

stressful. 

“We got news that a couple of the 

people that died in the fires were 

Malua Bay - Image credit Alex Coppel 

dads and uncles of some of our club’s 

Nippers. 

“Everyone was understandably very 

upset about that and about people who 

had lost their homes. 

“We had a doctor and nurse at the club 

who were treating people for stress and 

shock. 

“We had two people with suspected 

heart attacks that we had to get to 

hospital,” she said. 

The local medical centre relocated 

doctors, nurses and equipment to the 

Bermagui surf club who slept there 

for 48 hours. They treated nearly 200 

people with breathing difficulties, 

minor burns and head injuries – mainly 

caused by people tripping over in the 

dark. 

Local businesses donated food, tents 

and oxygen cylinders to treat people 

with respiratory problems. A local chef 

swung into action and prepared what 

Cheryl suggests might have been ‘the 

best evacuation meal ever eaten’. 

Meanwhile, 80km north at Broulee, 

volunteer surf lifesaver Andy Edmunds 

had been busy managing a similar 

situation. He’d been on standby since 

3am when he received the call from 

Cheryl McCarthy and had opened the 

surf club for evacuees. 

However, unlike Bermagui, Broulee 

came under direct and significant 

ember attack with around 1,000 people 

sheltering at the surf club. 

“It was my biggest day as a Duty Officer. 

I was flying by the seat of my pants,” 

said Andy Edmunds. 

“When the fire hit Broulee and some 

of the buildings started going up, we 

called Triple Zero but no RFS crews 

were available, although there were 

some helicopters waterbombing the 

town,” Andy said. 

Thinking quickly, Andy sent the club’s 

all-terrain buggies into the streets. 

Volunteer surf lifesavers door-knocked 

and used loud hailers to evacuate 

residents who either could not walk to 

the club or had missed the evacuation 

message entirely. 

At one stage the Broulee surf club itself 

was threatened by the fires and all 

1,000 people had to be moved onto the 

beach. At the same time, people started 

arriving at the club with serious injuries. 

“We were treating some fairly major 

burns injuries and a family of six people 

presented who were all suffering from 

severe smoke inhalation. We gave them 

all oxygen and called an ambulance but 

it took two hours to arrive,” Andy said. 

Fortuitously, Surf Life Saving NSW 

had positioned volunteer liaison 

officers in the NSW Rural Fire Service 

Headquarters in Sydney at the 

beginning of the bushfire crisis. 

“We had no power and no mobile 

phone coverage. But we still had 

our surf club VHF radios and I was 

in contact with our Surf Life Saving 

liaison officer at the Rural Fire Service 

headquarters in Sydney. They were able 

to relay to us what was going on with 

the fires,” said Andy Edmunds. 

Fortunately for Broulee residents the 

weather changed just before a large fire 

front reached the town and a change 

in wind direction pushed the fires away 

from the town. 

“The only thing that saved Broulee 

was the southerly wind that came up 

the coast at the last minute. It was so 

strong that it could have stripped paint 

off your car. 

“We weren’t set up to accommodate 

people overnight so the evacuees either 

went home or were transported to the 

Moruya Showground,” Andy said. 

Fortunately, for Cheryl, Andy and 

Anthony, the George Bass surfboat 

marathon event had been called off, 

due to the bushfires. Hundreds of 

volunteer lifesavers were stranded 

23 


Image courtesy of Broulee SLSC 

along the South Coast because the 

roads were closed. Many of them 

made themselves available to assist 

with the emergency response and 

were themselves seeking shelter at the 

surf clubs. Cheryl, Andy and Anthony 

all credit the successful outcome and 

effectiveness of their bushfire response 

to the assistance they received from the 

visiting surfboat crews. 

“It was a real team effort. We had the 

George Bass surfboat crews helping 

us triage patients, providing medical 

help. They also helped marshal traffic 

and assisted with registering people as 

safe in the evacuation centre. It was an 

amazing job by everyone,” said Cheryl 

McCarthy. 

Although the southerly change reduced 

the immediate threat of the bushfires, 

the work of the volunteers wasn’t 

yet over. Broulee, Batemans Bay and 

Bermagui surf clubs all stayed open the 

next day and throughout the following 

week as Community Recovery Centres. 

With roads closed, electricity cut-off 

and all phone services out for more 

than seven days along the Far South 

Coast, the surf clubs became important 

centres for people displaced by the 

fires to have a meal, shower, collect 

groceries and use the free Wi-Fi that 

had been set up. 

“Our club became a community hub 

– a safe and trusted space for people 

to come and have a shower and a 

feed and to just talk about what had 

happened to them,” said Club Captain 

Anthony Bellette. Members of the 

public contacted Surf Life Saving in the 

weeks following to praise Anthony and 

his team for their response during and 

after the bushfires. 

Demonstrating their growing 

importance as community hubs, 

Batemans Bay, Broulee and Bermagui 

surf clubs were established as 

distribution centres for donated items 

of food, water, clothing and other 

essentials as surf clubs and the wider 

community across NSW rallied to 

provide support and transport donated 

goods to the Far South Coast. 

Reflecting on the events over New 

Year’s, volunteer surf lifesaver Cheryl 

McCarthy says that the emergency 

was “the first, and hopefully the last”, 

bushfire she’s ever had to deal with. 

It’s clear, however, that the role of 

surf clubs and volunteers may have 

changed forever. Cheryl, Andy Edmunds 

and Anthony Bellette’s response to 

the bushfires on the Far South Coast 

demonstrate how the role of surf 

lifesavers has evolved and how the 

impact volunteers can have on their 

communities now extends well beyond 

just the beach. 

Rare and Beautiful, Gemstones 

and Crystals, Exhibition and Sales 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Lets Talk Mental 

Health 

with Associate Professor 

Erin Cotter-Smith 

THE PROBLEM WITH RESILIENCE 

25 


Is it time to re-think the popular 

well-being framework that asks 

people to “reach out” when 

they are struggling? 

The tragic number of suicides 

among emergency services 

personnel suggest that the current 

framework is failing those who 

need it most. In Australia, that 

framework is largely based on a 

resiliency model, which focuses on 

people reaching out and seeking 

help. 

We often talk about the importance 

of resilience, and with good reason. 

Our resilience enables us to protect 

ourselves against experiences that 

could be overwhelming and helps 

us to maintain balance in our lives 

during difficult or stressful periods. 

But resilience as a concept 

isn’t perfect. It’s promotion can 

sometimes be an individualistic 

attempt to mitigate bigger, more 

systemic problems. It is often a 

term that supports the status quo, 

leaving traumatised individuals 

feeling personally responsible. 

So where did this concept of 

resilience come from? Psychologists 

reflecting on the observation 

that some children from tough 

backgrounds appeared to succumb 

to harmful influences while 

others seemed to thrive led to 

the terminology of “invulnerable” 

children, but eventually evolved to 

the term “resilient”. (1) 

“You’re so resilient” became an 

increasingly common compliment, 

a testament of strength and 

survival. The worrying outcome is 

that somewhere along the way, 

emergency service personnel 

struggling with mental health 

were told they needed to be more 

resilient. The problem here is the 

impact that the word resilient can 

have on someone who is struggling 

with mental health. There is an 

implied undertone of “you’re not 

strong enough” if you bend, and 

then break. 

But here’s the thing. Resilience 

is not – and never should be – a 

badge of honour for bouncing back, 

for bending not breaking. 

If we view resilience like this, what 

happens when we break? Are we 

in danger of creating feelings of 

inadequacy and failure? In a culture 

that often criticises and judges the 

burdensome, how likely are we to 

really reach out and ask for help? 

When the going gets tough, we 

need an approach to well-being that 

removes the onus on the individual. 

We need to shift our thinking from 

resilience-oriented well-being that 

suggests it’s OK to struggle so 

long as we reach out, recover and 

carry on, to a more community-ofcare 

centred paradigm that values 

reaching in and tells us it’s OK if 

we feel broken. We don’t need to 

focus purely on individual resilience; 

we also need to empower people 

through connection and active 

support. 

A community-of-care approach 

that acknowledges the need for 

self-care and inner resilience, but 

also recognises that sometimes, 

even the most basic self-care and 

asking for help can seem impossible. 

A framework that encourages 

community members to lean on 

each other, to ask each other if they 

are OK, and that opens up a dialogue 

enabling mutual support. 

Perhaps resilience is just the wrong 

word? As popular as it is, maybe it 

does a disservice to what we are 

trying to achieve in improving the 

mental health of emergency service 

personnel. This isn’t about hardiness 

or the ability to bounce back, this is 

about support and connection. It’s 

about ensuring our colleagues know 

that they are never alone. 

Or perhaps our overall approach 

to resilience is the problem? Maybe 

we need a more holistic approach 

that takes the onus off the individual 

and places it within a communityof-care. 

A community that checks in 

with each other, one that normalises 

discussion around mental health and 

acknowledges that it’s OK not to be 

OK. A community that may be made 

up of our friends, our family, our 

neighbourhood, or the organisation 

we work for. A community that 

reminds us that it’s OK to not feel 

resilient all of the time – and that 

does NOT make us weak or “unresilient”. 

Associate Professor 

Erin Cotter-Smith 

PhD, MPH, MClinEpi 

Course Coordinator 

Edith Cowan University 

Research Consultant 

The Code 9 Foundation 

Well-Being Team Co-Lead 

The Australian Red Cross 

Emergency Services Victoria 

So what is the way forward? 

We need to continue to get the 

message out that “it’s OK not 

to be OK.” We need to keep 

acknowledging that working in an 

emergency services role is tough. 

We need to keep supporting each 

other and asking: “Are you OK?” And 

we need to promote a communityof-care 

approach to well-being: 

one that encourages us all to start 

reaching in, as well as supporting 

us to reach out. 

Wishing you all good mental health. 

And for those who are bent or 

broken, you’re not weak. You’re not 

alone. You can get through this. 

References 

1 Anthony EJ and Cohler BJ (eds) (1987) The 

Invulnerable Child (The Guilford psychiatry series). 

New York: The Guilford Press. 


WOMEN IN THE 

EMERGENCY 

SERVICES 

Written by: Jess LeFanu 

The number of women joining the 

various Emergency Services fields 

seems to be steadily increasing and it’s 

impressive to see how these numbers 

have climbed in a relatively short 

amount of time. However, the lack of 

women employed at higher ranking 

levels within the industry has caused 

new reasons for concern. 

A LOOK AT THE PAST 

The police industry became the first 

to officially employ women when the 

New South Wales Police Department 

advertised two positions in 1915. Close 

to 500 women submitted applications, 

but only two were chosen. Sworn in 

as ‘Probationary Special Constables’, 

Maude Rhodes and Lillian Armfield 

were required to sign an indemnity 

before joining the force, which 

released the Police Department of any 

responsibilities for their safety. 

Even with a large amount of female 

interest, the idea of women being 

allowed to join the police force took 

a while to gain momentum within 

Australia. It wasn’t until July of 1917 

that Victoria decided to take on its first 

two police women. Though they were 

technically part of the force, they were 

labelled ‘police agents’ and had no 

actual powers of arrest. They were paid 

just half of what their male coworkers 

took home and had no rights to a 

pension. 

Though Tasmania’s police force also 

jumped on the bandwagon in 1917 

with the addition of Constable Kate 

Campbell, it took the Queensland 

force until 1931 to gain its first female 

officers. Unfortunately, the rights of 

women within the industry had not 

yet improved and none were given 

standard wages or even uniforms. They 

were also restricted to assignments 

such as assisting lost children and 

working with victims of domestic and 

sexual violence. 

Even more time passed before ACT 

decided to make way for females on 

the force. Officially assigned badge 

number 45 in 1947, Constable Alice 

Clarke then made her way to Senior 

Constable by 1955. Though this was 

quite a step forward for women 

aspiring to join the force, the 1960s 

seemed to take a step backwards with 

regulations in place that restricted 

married women from being police 

officers. Women officers, however, 

were finally supplied firearms, but 

were required to carry them in their 

handbags. 

Though women on duty at this time 

were still only offered restricted duties, 

more positions around the country 

began to become available. In 1961, 

the Northern Territory Police Force 

permitted five women to become 

police officers for the first time in their 

region and by 1978, women were 

at last being employed with equal 

opportunity to the male officers on the 

force. 

The Northern Territory was also 

responsible for the first paid 

female paramedics in 1976 with the 

employment of Maureen Langdon 

and Beth Shepherd by the NT St Johns 

Ambulance Service. According to Miss

Photo credit: ©State of Queensland (Queensland Police Service)

Shepherd, she was paid equally and 

expected to take on the same work as 

her male coworkers. Although, at this 

time, maternity leave was non-existent. 

Amazingly, Beth was forced to resign and 

then reapply for her position after taking 

time off following the birth of her child. 

Ambulance Services across Australia 

began to hire their first female 

paramedics between 1979 and 1987. 

The only noticeable difference between 

the two sexes within the industry 

seemed to be the uniforms. Women 

began their paramedic careers wearing 

dresses and stockings before eventually 

making the push to switch to trousers, 

which were seen as much more practical 

apparel. 

It was around this same time that 

women started branching out into 

the firefighting industry and the 

first operational women joined the 

Melbourne Fire Brigade (MFB). Known 

as ‘Communications Operators’, the first 

training course took place in 1983 and 

Women in the Emergency Services in Victoria - Image courtesy of Ambulance Victoria Facebook 

comprised nine women and three men. 

It wasn’t until five years later, in 1988, 

that the first three female firefighters 

officially joined the MFB’s ranks. 

While the NSW Fire Brigade (now 

Fire & Rescue NSW) employed their 

first full-time female firefighters in 

March of 1985, it would take a few 

more years before the other brigades 

throughout the nation joined suit. The 

Northern Territory didn’t gain their first 

professional female firefighter until 

1992. 

With women now being successfully 

employed within the various sectors of 

the Emergency Services industry, focus 

shifted towards breaking the stereotype 

and encouraging more to think about 

the possibility of joining the ranks. 

Unfortunately, it would take quite a few 

years before numbers would rise to 

significant levels and further work is still 

needed to see more women advance to 

senior roles. 

A STEP TOWARDS THE FUTURE 

In 2016, the last graduating class of 

firefighters entering the NSW Fire 

Brigade was made up of an equal 

number of men and women for the 

very first time. Greg Mullins, the 

Commissioner of Fire & Rescue NSW 

at the time, said, “Thanks to targeted 

recruitment campaigns, we are seeing 

more women applying to become 

firefighters than ever before and more 

are making it through the rigorous 

selection process.” 

Though these numbers are growing, 

the Emergency Services remain maledominated. 

Queensland recorded 

that just 6 percent of their full-time 

firefighters were female in 2017 and 

even fewer were seen in high-ranking 

roles. Of the 650 station officer positions 

available in the state, only 8 women were 

working in that top job. Senior firefighter, 

Quinn Cramer, believes providing extra 

support to women could be the key to 

breaking through the glass ceiling. 

 

 

 

PERSONAL 

PROTECTION TRAINING 

 

 

 

29 


Ms. Cramer told ABC News, “[The job] is 

physically tough but...females are strong 

enough to get out and do an equal 

job to men”. She added, “They always 

say you can’t be what you can’t see. It’s 

just a matter of women believing they 

can do it”. Ms. Cramer suggested that 

just providing female support such as 

answering simple questions or showing 

women practical ways to train for the 

physical mobility test could assist them 

greatly within the industry. 

Similarly, Detective Inspector Virginia 

Nelson agrees that having visible role 

models is critical to helping women 

rise through the ranks of the police 

service. “We know that around the 

senior constable rate we decline quite 

significantly,” she told ABC News. 

Queensland’s police service recorded 

that women only made up a quarter 

of constables, less than 15 percent 

of senior sergeants and fewer that 9 

percent of inspectors in the service in 

2017. 

For Sergeant Emily Tragis, the realities 

of the gender divide seem to be more 

varying. “For instance in my current 

section, there are many more females 

than males, whereas in Railway Squad, 

for instance, there were only 4 females 

and approximately 50-60 males,” 

explains Ms. Tragis. 

Though Sergeant Tragis was one of the 

first women to be permanently placed 

at one particular outpost of the Railway 

Squad, she shares that the experience 

was a positive one. Ms. Tragis says, “I 

can genuinely say that all of those male 

colleagues welcomed me and treated 

me like an equal member of the team, 

truly like their sister.” 

we encounter,” says Ms. Larkin. 

Interestingly, Ms. Larkin explains that 

some of her negative experiences as 

a female within her industry have not 

come from her male coworkers. “I know 

of a few female colleagues, as well as 

myself, who have reported instances of 

sexual harassment/assault by patients/ 

members of the public,” she says. 

Despite the issues of gender 

discrimination, Ambulance Victoria 

recorded in 2017 that females were 

making up around 57 percent of 

graduate paramedic applications. Brigid 

Larkin agrees that in her operational 

ambulance sector, the gender split is 

close to 50:50. However, as with the 

police and firefighters, Ms. Larkin says, 

“This dramatically changes as you start 

looking at senior roles. Very few women 

move into senior positions from being a 

paramedic.” 

The numbers recorded across the 

various Emergency Services precincts 

suggest a definite increase in the 

amount of women joining the ranks. 

However, it seems we still have quite a 

way to go in terms of overcoming the 

apparent gender divide and seeing more 

women move into more senior roles. 

Essentially, all those involved within this 

challenging and demanding industry are 

focused on achieving the same goals and 

outcomes for the country as a whole. As 

Sergeant Tragis says, “I think the majority 

of us just want to make a difference 

irrespective of our genders and will work 

as part of a holistic team to do that.” 

Brigid Larkin, a paramedic for St 

Johns Ambulance WA, shares a similar 

sentiment regarding her involvement 

within her particular field of emergency 

services. “Everybody in my department is 

generally quite good at supporting each 

other through the day-to-day stresses 

Tasmania FIre Service first-ever career firefighting crew: L-R: Acting Station Officer Alison Wigston, Senior Firefighter 

Lynette Gay, Firefighter Sophie Ciszek and Firefighter Meghan Lownds. Image courtesy of TFS Facebook. 

 

_ 

 

 

 


The Good, The Bad & The Ugly 

PARAMEDIC 

Tammie Bullard is a paramedic and sessional lecturer based 

in Western Australia. Author of The Good, The Bad & The Ugly 

Paramedic - A pain free approach to best patient care and 

professionalism. 

AMBULANCE 

DETECTIVES? 

When we make a mistake in 

provisional diagnosis and 

treatment…how does it feel 

for our patients, or for ourselves? 

For those who feel comfortable 

that we’ve been “in the game” long 

enough to not be concerned, it’s 

vital to know that it’s not just new 

healthcare professionals making 

errors. One of the most common 

causes of medical mistakes and 

misdiagnosis is that of over 

confidence. 

In the case of paramedics, we often 

remain oblivious to our incorrect 

clinical interpretations, as we 

generally don’t see patients 

again and, unless adverse 

events occur, no notification will 

arise. Without recognition of such 

errors and their associated humbling 

emotions, we begin to risk becoming 

overconfident. 

This does not necessarily mean 

complacency, although that 

certainly features in the mix. It 

can be related, instead, to the 

subconscious process 

of integrating 

a patient’s 

medical 

history, 

symptoms 

and vital 

signs, with our 

medical knowledge and experience. 

Four types of bias often influence 

the combination, without us even 

realising it. 

Availability bias can occur when 

conditions at the forefront of our 

minds are easier to retrieve. A 

practitioner is more likely to rediagnose 

conditions that they have 

recently encountered, than consider 

other options less common, or less 

recent within their experience. 

Representative bias, relating to 

the similarity of signs or symptoms 

we have seen before, makes some 

conditions appear blindingly obvious, 

therefore we may forget to consider 

the full range of potential options. 

A study of qualified and student 

healthcare providers, found that the 

addition of social factors such as 

alcohol use and recent redundancy, 

influenced decision making enough 

to render a list of clear CVA and MI 

symptoms less likely to be diagnosed 

accurately. 

Confirmation bias tempts us to 

assess for factors that “rule in” or 

confirm our suspicions, whilst failing 

to test and assess for factors that 

may “rule out” our theory or suggest 

a differential diagnosis instead. 

Information may be sought 

solely to corroborate our 

thoughts, and upon gaining 

that confirmation, we 

may stop asking 

further questions, 

feeling that 

we have 

reached a 

satisfactory 

conclusion. 

31 


Anchoring bias, through which we 

set our thoughts so firmly on the 

things we know, or have seen before, 

can render us unwilling and, possibly, 

incapable of changing our minds to 

incorporate new knowledge. This 

has been highlighted in situations 

whereby diagnosing clinicians have 

remained firm in their decisions, 

despite diagnostic evidence and 

autopsies to the contrary. 

Closing the case, and therefore our 

minds, in terms of diagnosis, is a 

common cause of clinical error. With 

a natural human tendency to stop 

looking for other possibilities once 

we’ve found a good solution to 

a problem, we risk premature 

closure of our differential diagnostic 

thoughts. So how can we avoid falling 

into these habits when we’re fatigued 

and under pressure? 

1. Discuss our findings and 

differential diagnoses aloud. This may 

be invaluable in maintaining an open 

mind, as well as encouraging the 

shared knowledge and experience 

of a colleague. If fear, ego or lack of 

confidence prevents us from doing 

so, we may be putting our patients, as 

well as our professional reputations 

and careers, at risk. 

“Closing the case, and therefore our minds, in terms 

of diagnosis, is a common cause of clinical error” 

2. Develop a habit of seeking to 

contradict any provisional diagnosis 

we have in mind. If we remain vigilant 

for additional information rather than 

dismiss it as irrelevant to the case 

we have formulated, we are actively 

seeking the best answer, rather than 

the easiest, quickest or most obvious. 

The only thing we have to prove, 

as paramedics, is that we can carry 

out our roles to the very best of 

our abilities. In doing so, patients 

receive the highest level of care 

possible, the organisations we work 

for maintain good standing within 

the local community, the prehospital 

profession gains momentum and 

respect within the medical world, 

individual reputations remain intact 

and are enhanced over time, and we 

go home and sleep soundly at night, 

free from work related concerns. We 

may be labelled as “indecisive” or 

“over thinkers” or “over treaters” or 

“stress heads” or other unkind terms, 

but the benefits of that extra effort 

will always outweigh any annoyance 

those labels leave behind. 

Similarly, if we imagine ourselves 

watching a thriller, in which the lead 

detective has a murder suspect in 

their sights, we feel frustrated when 

they don’t talk to colleagues about 

every aspect of the case. We start 

willing them to share information that 

may change their mind. 

During our second cup of tea, we find 

it infuriating that they are still fixated 

on the original suspect, despite new 

clues coming to light. Why won’t they 

just look around and re-assess before 

it’s too late? 

By the time we’ve spent the final nail 

biting hour on the edge of our seats, 

watching them arrest and charge 

the wrong person, we are incensed 

that the killer has escaped and 

another innocent victim had to suffer 

unnecessarily. 

Perhaps we can apply the same 

to paramedicine and adopt the 

ambulance detective approach 

to best patient care and 

professionalism? 

It may be that we are working 

with a crewmate who seeks to 

mock or discredit us, should they 

view this behaviour as “weak” or 

“unconfident”. This can make it 

undeniably challenging, in which case 

it may be necessary to either have 

a frank discussion about how their 

comments are affecting patient care, 

or simply work through our thought 

processes silently for the time being. 

Even if the verbal commentary has 

to be internal, in our own minds, 

it is still possible to ensure that 

we purposefully step through the 

information and diagnosis options, 

thus maintaining safe habits to bring 

into future working relationships 

when the team dynamic permits. 

3. Use the limited time we have 

initially upon arrival, to make our 

best decision, but keep going back 

to the tried and tested primary and 

secondary surveys we’re all familiar 

with for the remainder of the call. 

It often appears impressive to new 

paramedics, that some clinicians will 

attend a patient and immediately 

pick a diagnosis, before sticking 

with it unwaveringly. Whilst this may 

look slick and professional to the 

untrained eye, vital, potentially life 

threatening, information may be 

missed. Working with a provisional 

diagnosis and confidently reassessing 

for improvements, deterioration 

and reactions to treatment is safe, 

thorough, proactive and professional. 

References 

1. Kothari, S. S. (2012). Clinical errors. Annals of Paediatric 

Cardiology, 5 (1) 1-2. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ 

pmc/articles/PMC3327005/ 

2. Cassam, Q. (2017). Diagnostic error, overconfidence and selfknowledge. 

Palgrave Communications, 3 (17,025). Retrieved from 

https://www.nature.com/articles/palcomms201725 

3. Berner, E. S. & Graber, M. L. (2008). Overconfidence as a cause of 

diagnostic error in medicine. The American Journal of Medicine, 121 

(5) S2-S23. Retrieved from https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002- 

9343%2808%2900040-5/fulltext 

4. Klein, J. G. (2005). Five pitfalls in decisions about diagnosis and 

prescribing. The British Medical Journal, 330 (7,494). Retrieved from 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC555888/ 

5. Elston, D. M. (2019). Cognitive bias and medical errors. Journal 

of the American Academy of Dermatology, 81 (6). Retrieved from 

https://www-sciencedirectcom.ezproxy.ecu.edu.au/science/article/ 

pii/S0190962219322832 

To see more about “The Good, The Bad & The Ugly Paramedic”, head to 

www.gbuparamedic.com or follow GBU Paramedic on social media 

@gbuparamedic 

@gbuparamedic 

@gbuparamedic 

Tammie Bullard 


DATABASE CRUCIAL FOR LEARNING 

LESSONS FROM THE PAST 

Australia’s emergency services can now easily navigate through 130 years of data from 

inquiries, reviews and coronial inquests into natural disasters in one place. The Bushfire 

and Natural Hazards CRC’s Disaster Inquiries Database captures and categorises 

recommendations, ensuring lessons from the past are not forgotten. 

The outcomes of 130 years 

of inquiries and reviews into 

emergency management and 

natural hazards have been captured in 

a new database. 

The Disasters Inquiries Database is an 

online platform that gives emergency 

services the upper hand in learning 

from the past to create a better future. 

Created by the Bushfire and Natural 

Hazards CRC, the database contains 

over 300 inquiries and reviews across 

all states and territories. 

The database contains facts on 

all reviews conducted between 

1886 and 2017, in addition to full 

recommendations from 55 inquiries 

carried out from 2009 to 2017. It 

allows users to custom search through 

over 1,300 of these recommendations. 

Users can search and compare 

recommendations through keywords 

and themes, as all recommendations 

have been coded into specific 

categories. 

The functionality of the database 

allows it to be used in a variety of 

different ways: 

• to compare equivalent 

recommendations between 

inquiries, themes and jurisdictions 

• to track inquiries across 

jurisdictions, years and types 

• to download and work 

with all inquiries and listed 

recommendations as it suits 

the particular needs of an 

organisation 

Making data valuable 

Since its release, the platform has 

become a resource for government 

and emergency management agencies 

to help them recognise past lessons 

and identify effective practices both 

now and into the future. 

CRC researcher Dr Michael Eburn 

from the Australian National University 

was part of the research team that 

helped develop the database and he 

believes that it will ensure emergency 

managers continue to learn from the 

past. 

“Inquiry recommendations get lost 

or distorted over time, and so having 

a place where practitioners can find 

and search the actual text of inquiry 

recommendations will help with

understanding the past in order to 

keep learning for the future,” Dr Eburn 

said. 

“Post-event inquiries are only helpful if 

their recommendations are available 

and not forgotten. Bringing together 

the lessons from past events will help 

the practitioners identify trends and 

recurring themes and ensure the 

lessons of the past are not forgotten.” 

Available now for public use, the 

database has garnered positive 

feedback from those within the 

emergency management sector. 

Adrian Birch, a private data analyst and 

developer, said that the assembly of 

a repository of inquiries in one place 

greatly assists researchers. 

“The inquiries and reports following 

major natural disasters are produced 

in the context of powerful community 

sentiment and political considerations 

such that, despite their best intentions, 

investigators often struggle to produce 

reports that are fully objective and 

complete. 

“The CRC’s new Disaster Inquiries 

Database enables researchers to 

more effectively distil the accumulated 

wisdom from across a large and 

growing body of inquiry reports,” Mr 

Birch said. 

Volunteer National Incident 

Management Officer for Australian Red 

Cross Stephen Sennett said that the 

system is “absolutely fantastic”. 

Figure 1. Many different inquiry types are available to analyse in the database. 

“Such a relatively simple system, 

but such an incredible amount of 

knowledge contained within. It really 

is such a potentially powerful tool, and 

brilliant that it enables practitioners 

from across the sector to assess 

such a wide range of knowledge,” Mr 

Sennett said. 

For example, a search for bushfire 

enquires on the Disaster Inquiries 

Database shows that between 2009 

and 2017 there have been 55 inquiries, 

resulting in 811 recommendations. 

The most recommendations relate 

to ‘doctrine, standards and reform’, 

with 106 individual recommendations. 

‘incident management teams’ and 

‘emergency management agency and 

authority’ have also had many related 

recommendations, with 71 and 64 

respectively. 

Credit: Bushfire & Natural Hazards CRC 

Relating to flood, 15 flood-related 

inquiries have been conducted from 

2009 to 2017, with the database 

allowing users to easily identify 

the recommendations made by, 

and outcomes of, these inquiries. 

From these inquiries, 328 total 

recommendations have been 

made, with most relating to ‘land 

use and building regulations’ (61 

recommendations), ‘government 

responsibility’ (33 recommendations) 

and ‘doctrine, standards and reform’ 

(30 recommendations). 

CRC Research Director Dr John Bates 

said that the database is an accessible 

resource for practitioners. 

“The database’s multifunctionality 

is really what makes it exciting for 

researchers and agency personnel 

alike. Combining past learnings 

and recommendations from major 

inquiries into bushfires, flooding 

and cyclones in the one place gives 

a holistic overview for emergency 

management in Australia. 

“We’re proud to be able to provide to 

emergency services a place where they 

can get all the information from past 

events that will help to create a safer 

future for Australian communities,” Dr 

Bates said. 

The Disaster Inquiries Database is an 

outcome of the CRC’s Tactical Research 

Fund project, Major post-event inquiries 

and reviews: review of recommendations 

project, completed in 2017 and 

commissioned by AFAC. Explore it at 

www.bnhcrc.com.au/utilisation/ddr. 

Figure 2. The most number of inquiries relate to bushfire, followed by all hazards and 

technical accidents. Credit: Bushfire & Natural Hazards CRC 

By: Gabriel COlgan-Zito 

Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC 

35 


THE VULNERABILITY 

OF OUR VETERANS 

Why are army 

veterans at higher 

risk of suicide, 

homelessness and 

prison. 

The question of whether 

Australia does enough 

to support its ex-service 

personnel is growing in urgency, with 

Labor leader Anthony Albanese in 

December adding his voice to those 

calling for a royal commission into 

veteran suicides. 

The numbers are alarming – between 

2001 and 2017, 419 serving and 

ex-serving Australian Defence Force 

personnel died by suicide. But while 

the suicide rate for men still serving 

was 48% lower than in the equivalent 

general population, the rate is 18% 

higher for those who had left the 

military. 

For women it’s a similar story, 

where the suicide rate for ex-serving 

women is higher than Australian 

women generally. However, the small 

numbers of ex-service women who 

have been studied means the data 

are limited. 

But there’s another issue afflicting 

ex-military men that’s not often 

discussed: they are imprisoned 

twice as often as men in the 

general Australian population. 

This is according to the first known 

Australian prison audit to identify 

incarcerated ex-service members, 

conducted in South Australia last 

year.

In fact, these findings support research from England, 

which identifies ex-service men as the largest 

incarcerated occupational group. 

The high rate of imprisonment, along with the spike in 

the suicide rate of ex-members, reflects the challenges 

some service people face transitioning from military 

service back to civilian life, and the critical lack of 

available transition planning and support. 

WHY DO SOME VETERANS TURN TO CRIME? 

When a United States ex-Marine fatally shot 12 

people in California in 2018, President Donald Trump 

promoted a widespread, oversimplified connection 

between military service and criminal offending. He 

said the shooter 

“was in the war. He saw some pretty bad things […] 

they come back, they’re never the same.” 

We have so far interviewed 13 former service men for 

our ongoing research, trying to explain the findings of 

the South Australia audit. And we found the connection 

between military service and criminal offending is more 

complex than Trump suggests. 

The combination of childhood trauma, military training, 

social exclusion and mental health issues on discharge 

created the perfect cocktail of risk factors leading to 

crime. 

For many, joining the service was a way to find respect, 

discipline and camaraderie. In fact, most interviewees 

found military service effective at controlling the effects 

of childhood trauma. One man we interviewed said he, 

“could see me life going to the shit, that’s when I went and 

signed up for the army […] The discipline appealed to me. 

To me I was like yearning for it because I was going down 

the bad road real quick.” 

Another explained that joining the military was the, 

“BEST thing I ever did. LOVED it. Well they gave me 

discipline, they showed me true friendships and it let me 

work my issues out […] I loved putting my uniform on and 

the respect that I could show other people, whereas before 

I’d rather hit them.” 

LEAVING THE MILITARY CAN AGGRAVATE PAST 

TRAUMA 

However, all men complained military discharge was 

a complete, “sudden cut”. This sudden departure 

from the service, combined with the rigorous military 

training, can aggravate previous trauma. As one exservice 

member put it: 

“the military is a fantastic thing […] but the moment that 

you’re not there […] it magnifies everything else and it’s just 

like a ticking time bomb. I mean you’re trained to shoot 

people.” 

Another reflected that when he left the army, he lost 

the routine that kept his past traumas at bay. 

“I was working myself to the bone just to stop thinking 

about it. Then when I got out issues were coming back,

coming back. I’ve lost my structure […] 

and life just went to crap.” 

Every man we interviewed had been 

diagnosed with some combination 

of post traumatic stress, multiple 

personality disorder, anti-social 

personality disorder, bipolar, 

depression, panic disorder, obsessive 

compulsive disorder or alcohol and 

other drug dependence. 

They arose from various combinations 

of pre-service and service-related 

trauma. 

All interviewees lacked support from 

the Australian Defence Force or 

government veteran services. One 

explained how he found it difficult to 

manage post traumatic stress since 

his usual strategies were “getting very 

thin”. 

And the lack of support for their 

mental health issues worsened when 

they were incarcerated because they 

said the Department of Veterans 

Affairs cut ties, and “no-one inside 

the prison system is going to pay for 

psychological help”. 

MAINTAINING IDENTITY 

For some men, joining criminal 

organisations was a deliberate way 

to find a sense of belonging and the 

“brotherhood” they missed from the 

defence force. One man reflected: 

“I found a lot of Australian soldiers that 

are lost. You think you’re a civilian but 

you’re not, you never will be […] even 

three years’ service in the army will 

change you forever. And the Australian 

government doesn’t do enough.” 

Ex-service men in prison are a 

significant, vulnerable part of that 

community. The Australian Defence 

Force and government veteran 

agencies need to urgently reform 

transition support services because 

current discharge processes are 

costing lives. 

English research has found peer 

support helps service men transition 

into civilian life, but the men we 

interviewed did not receive peer 

support until they were in prison. 

Then, it was through a welfare 

organisation and Correctional Services, 

not defence agencies. 

One man told us that after his 

discharge, 

“I actually went back and asked if I could 

mow the lawns for free, just so I could be 

around them still. They wouldn’t allow it.” 

If ex-service men could maintain 

contact with the Australian Defence 

Force through peer support and 

informal networks, their identity and 

sense of purpose could be maintained 

to reduce the risk factors for offending 

and re-offending. 

Authors: 

Kellie Toole 

Lecturer in Law, University of Adelaide 

Elaine Waddell 

Dr of Public Health, Flinders University 

This article was first published in “The 

Conversation” titled “‘Life just went to 

crap’: why army veterans are twice as 

likely to end up in prison” 

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT 

An innovative program is repurposing 

donated emergency services uniforms into 

delightful clothes for children in need. 

By: Jess LeFanu 

Pioneer and founder of Uniforms 4 Kids, Yvonne Pattinson OAM (left) 

For Yvonne Pattinson OAM, the 

idea for the Uniforms 4 Kids 

program came about by accident. 

The Sunshine Coast resident was 

simply clearing out a cupboard of 

her daughter’s old police uniforms 

when the idea struck. “I went to the 

cupboard and I saw these uniforms 

and I said I should make something 

out of those,” Ms. Pattinson told 

Noosa News. 

An avid sewer, Yvonne put to use 

a life-time collection of “bits and 

pieces” to create an array of adorable 

children’s clothing out of the old 

uniform material. Ms. Pattinson’s 

daughter, current AFP Assistant 

Commissioner Debbie Platz, loved 

the idea and instantly jumped behind 

it. “She was in the Queensland Police 

Force then and she said to everyone, 

‘Send your uniforms down and Mum 

will sew them up,’” Yvonne said. 

Ms. Platz pointed out that old police 

uniforms were simply being shredded 

and sent to the land-fill. She believed 

there were numerous children in 

Australia that could greatly benefit 

from this clothing and the idea of 

repurposing the discarded uniforms 

was met with great support from her 

fellow officers. 

Yvonne said the program “snowballed 

from there” and now uniforms from 

Australian Federal Police, Australian 

Border Force, Queensland Fire 

& Emergency Services, Northern 

Territory Police, Fire & Emergency 

Services, Queensland Ambulance 

Service, Queensland Police Service, 

South Australia Police and even 

Australia Zoo are being donated to 

Uniforms 4 Kids (U4K). 

At a launch for U4K in February 

2019, Terri, Bindi and Robert Irwin 

were announced as Ambassadors 

for the program and said they were 

honoured to be involved. “We are 

so happy to be part of this initiative. 

Watching the kids’ faces as they 

proudly wear their new clothes is so 

special,” said Robert Irwin. 

It is estimated that over 11,500 

articles of clothing have been 

handed out to charities, orphanages, 

and domestic violence shelters in 

Australia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, 

Solomon Islands, Vietnam, Singapore, 

Philippines and Myanmar. The 

clothes are distributed directly 

39 


the Queensland Police has now 

established a U4K centre on the Gold 

Coast. “Over the last few months, a 

wonderful group of ladies from Sew 

Crazy Quilters in Helensvale have 

donated their time and repurposed 

our old police uniforms into beautiful 

children’s clothing,” Senior Sergeant 

Hartley said in November. 

The Helensvale group created over 

300 unique pieces including skirts, 

dresses, shorts, bags, and pencil 

cases that will be donated to children 

in domestic violence refugees across 

the Gold Coast. 

Ambassadors for the program- Terri, Bindi and Robert Irwin (Terri and Robert pictured) 

through the Uniforms 4 Kids Partners 

and support organisations such 

as Helping Children Smile and 

BUSHkids. 

Though helping children in need 

is the key focus of U4K, this wasn’t 

initially the sole intention. “The whole 

idea for it, when it started, was not 

to clothe poor children particularly, 

it was to bridge the gap between the 

police and the communities,” Ms. 

Pattinson told Noosa News. 

This humble organisation has now 

created an opportunity for front line 

officers, other emergency services 

personnel, and wildlife officers to 

connect with children and families 

within the community in ways that 

would otherwise not have presented 

themselves. This, in turn, creates a 

trusted relationship that serves to 

engage and protect the community 

as a whole. 

and collect stock to take home to 

work on at their own leisure. Yvonne 

Pattinson and her team meet 9 am 

every Friday morning at the Cooroy 

centre, while the Warana sewers 

gather at 1pm every Thursday at 

Kimz Sewing & Patchwork Centre with 

the generous assistance of former 

professional designer, Joy Enever. 

Senior Sergeant Tracey Hartley of 

Uniforms 4 Kids says there’s no limit 

to the imagination and skills of their 

volunteers and you don’t even need 

to able to sew become part of the 

team. Extra hands are always needed 

for assistance with ironing, unpicking 

shirts, and removing buttons. 

As more volunteers come on board, 

more sewing centres will be opening 

in all parts of the country. Additional 

centres have already been opened 

in Canberra, Northern Territory, and 

South Australia. 

Visit uniforms4kids.com.au for more 

information on how to get involved 

with this wonderful organisation. 

Or contact Anne Macdonald APM, 

Director and Operations Coordinator 

at: Anne@uniforms4kids.com.au 

The other immense benefit that has 

appeared from the establishment 

of this innovative program is the 

opportunity it has created for 

retirees and other members of 

the community to get involved. 

Volunteers are able to support a 

charitable program while building 

social cohesion and expanding their 

own social networks. 

With two Uniforms 4 Kids centres 

currently set up on the Sunshine 

Coast, volunteers meet to gain ideas 


TRAVEL 

EMERGENCY 

Breaks 

Words: Brooke Turnbull 

When it comes to exciting tourist destinations, you can’t really go past the Gold 

Coast. With its sandy beaches, theme parks, cultural and world renowned events, 

it really is a playground for anyone with a few days up their sleeves. Obviously, 

because of this, the Gold Coast has been done to death on any travel website, 

blog or magazine you can name. For this reason we’ve compiled the best of the 

Gold Coast, locals edition. Of course, there are some of the well known spots that 

you’re used to, but check out some of the hidden gems and see the Gold Coast 

like a local.

Location: 

The Gold Coast is located 1 hour south 

of Brisbane. It has it’s own airport, 

Coolangatta, and has return journeys 

every day to all major cities. Getting 

to and from the airport is as simple 

as jumping on a bus to the light rail 

station in Broadbeach, if you’re staying 

in or near Surfers Paradise. If you’re 

touring like a local and staying further 

south, the bus system will get you 

everywhere or perhaps consider hiring 

a car in order to visit the hinterland 

areas of the coast. 

Things to do: 

The Gold Coast has no shortage of 

exciting things to see and do for 

the discerning traveller. No matter 

how or who you’re travelling with, 

the theme parks are a must. Buses 

run from Coolangatta to each of the 

theme parks (Warner Brother’s Movie 

World, SeaWorld, Wet&Wild, Paradise 

Country, DreamWorld and White Water 

World) express daily. 

If you’re staying for a few days and 

you’ve theme parked yourself out (easy 

to do) the slower pace of the southern 

end of the Gold Coast, from Burleigh 

to Coolangatta, is the perfect place to 

relax and unwind. 

The breaks of DBah and Cooly (as 

the locals call them) are perfect for 

an experienced surfer, so bring your 

board with you. If you’re less Mick 

Fanning and more of a beginner, surf 

lessons take place daily at Currumbin 

Beach with several experienced 

companies. We recommend 

Currumbin Alley Surf School for this, 

their friendly and experienced team 

will have you riding the waves and 

hanging 10 in no time. 

To take in some truly breathtaking 

views, there’s no going past the 

Burleigh Hill walk. With 180 views 

across the coastline of the Gold Coast, 

from Main Beach to Coolangatta, it’s 

well worth the mild puffing you may do 

to get there. 

For a more nature immersive walk, the 

Currumbin Rock Pools at the base of 

the Cougals is a short but enjoyable 

walk to and from the old Saw Mill. Take 

in the bird song and twinkling sound 

of the water rushing over the rocks 

in the forest. Both of these walks are 

wheelchair and pram accessible, so, 

while they are steadily uphill, they wont 

take too much out of you but they give 

much back in return. 

After your day walking the tracks, you 

might find you’re a bit hungry. For a 

casual lunch, head back into James 

Street in Burleigh, where you’ll find 

a mix of different restaurants to suit 

your budget and cravings. 

For a local experience, visit Burleigh 

Heads Fishmongers on James Street 

and get your fish and chips to take 

away. Enjoy them up on Burleigh Hill, 

while watching the surfers on the 

break down below. 

For dinner, Coolangatta offers a wide 

array of delicious dining options, from 

Indian to Japanese and everything 

between. If you’re dining with a special 

person, check out Baskk at Kirra 

Point. It offers a beautiful selection of 

cocktails and a number of different 

banquet style share plate menus. 

The food is divine, the atmosphere 

is beautiful and, we can only hope, 

who you choose for your company is 

excellent. 

Places to Stay: 

The Gold Coast is, of course, host to 

a variety of options when it comes to 

places to stay. To be amongst the laid 

back locals, make sure to stay at the 

southern end. 

Bella Mare Beachside Apartments, 

located in Coolangatta, offers selfcontained 

apartment style rooms and 

are reasonably priced from $180 per 

night in low season. 

For a pricier stay, consider 5 star 

apartments Bon Sol in Burleigh 

Heads. Rooms start at $650 in low 

season, and include a bottle of vintage 

champagne on arrival and access to all 

of Burleigh’s nightlife. 

Of course, there are plenty of available 

AirBNB’s in the area that will cater 

to what you need, (beachside, pets, 

number of rooms). There isnt a 

shortage of options at the southern 

end of the coast, from budget to lavish. 

The Gold Coast is not a new place to 

have a holiday, but with its access to 

gorgeous beaches, fun events and 

local nightlife, it still offers a fresh and 

exciting holiday with every visit. And 

remember, to truly have the best time 

on the Gold Coast, stay where the 

locals stay and go where they go. With 

this advice, you’ll head back home 

feeling refreshed and renewed. Happy 

travels, until next time. 

Coolangatta Surf Breaks 

Burleigh Headland 

Currumbin Rock Pools 


In an emergency, call Triple Zero (000) 

To contact the police, fire or ambulance in an emergency, call 

Triple Zero (000) from any telephone in Australia. Calls are free. 

When to call Triple Zero (000) 

You should only call Triple Zero (000) in life 

threatening or time critical situations when 

an urgent response is required from police, 

fire or ambulance. 

What will happen when I call 

Triple Zero (000)? 

The operator will ask you which emergency 

service you require—police, fire or ambulance 

—and will connect you. The operator may also 

ask where you are calling from. 

What if I have difficulty speaking English? 

If you have difficulty speaking English, you 

can ask for an interpreter once you have been 

transferred to the emergency service you 

requested. You will not have to pay for the 

interpreter. 

When you call Triple Zero (000), stay calm, 

stay on the line and clearly answer the 

operator’s questions. 

www.triplezero.gov.au

Get 

storm 

ready. 

Storms can strike at any time, that’s why it’s important 

to always be prepared. 

Prepare your home 

Stay safe while driving 

Trim trees and branches close to your house 

Secure loose items in your backyard 

Clear gutters, downpipes and drains 

Get your roof checked for damage or corrosion 

Make sure all shades, sails and awnings are 

properly fitted 

Get your insurance up-to-date 

Always follow flood warning signs 

Never drive through flood water 

Shelter vehicles under cover, not under trees 

Avoid driving when a storm is coming 

Get your insurance up-to-date 

Helpful hints: 

You can ask the council or energy 

company to check trees on your street 

that may pose a threat to your property or 

powerlines. 

Even if you’ve cleared your gutters 

recently, they can soon fill up with leaves 

and other debris, especially after a 

downpour. On average you should check 

they’re clear every couple of weeks. 

If you don’t already know your neighbours, 

go and introduce yourself. They might 

need a hand getting storm ready. Plus, 

when bad weather strikes it’s important to 

be able to tell the SES who lives nearby. 

Make sure everyone in your household 

knows what to do in severe weather. 

For tips on developing a house 

emergency plan use the SES guide at 

www.stormwise.com.au 

If you do need help during a severe storm, call the Queensland State Emergency Service on 132 500 

Principal Partner 

G018213 11/16

ARE THEY 

TRIPLE OK? 

We’re always there to help. 

Let’s make sure we help each other and ask R U OK? 

ruok.org.au/triple-ok

AESM Vol 17, Issue 1 2020

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