OPERATION CAMELOT • COL ENGLAND SAYS FAREWELL DEPLOYING TO NSW • TONY’S TREK Printpost Approved PP 100001634 ISSUE AUGUST2092022 PRODUCED BY AND FOR THE VICTORIAN SES VOLUNTEERS
VICSES PEER SUPPORT Peer Support can be accessed at any time by ringing 1800 899 927 and asking for SES Peer Support (EAS Paging). The Clinical Director can be contacted on mobile 0417 565 927 or by ringing 1800 899 927 (EAS Paging). VicSESVA STATE BOARD EXECUTIVE & STATE BOARD OF DIRECTORS CENTRAL REGION Major Arthur Ford M: 0416 085 634 Major Eddy Holman M: 0412 014 557 EAST REGION Rev Judy McLeod M: 0417 347 821 NORTH WEST REGION Rev David Mills M: 0425 708 730 CHAPLAINS CONTACT DETAILS DIRECTOR EAST REGION Mr Ray Desem E: erc@vicsesva.org.au DIRECTOR MID WEST REGION Vacant E: mwrc@vicsesva.org.au VicSESVA CONTACTS VicSESVA Phoenix Editor & Mailing List Enquiries To add, edit or delete members to mail list or password and technical support contact: helpdesk@vicsesva.org.au COUNTRYWIDE AUSTRAL Level 2, 310 King St, Melbourne GPO Box 2466, Melbourne 3001 Ph: (03) 9937 0200 Fax: (03) 9937 0201 E-mail:ACN:admin@cwaustral.com.au30086202093 Advertisers Alert Countrywide Austral is appointed by the Victoria Emergency Service Association as the authorised publisher of PHOENIX. For enquiries re advertising in this magazine, please contact the printers and publishers: Disclaimer Countrywide Austral (“Publisher”) advises that the contents of this publication are at the sole discretion of the Victoria State Emergency Service Volunteers Association (VicSESVA) and the publication is offered for background information purposes only. The publication has been formulated in good faith and the Publisher believes its contents to be accurate, however, the contents do not amount to a recommendation (either expressly or by implication) and should not be relied upon in lieu of specific professional advice. The Publisher disclaims all responsibility for any loss or damage which may be incurred by any reader relying upon the information contained in the publication whether that loss or damage is caused by any fault or negligence on the part of the publisher, its directors and employees. Copyright All advertisements appearing in this publication are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced except with the consent of the owner of the copyright. Advertising Advertisements in this journal are solicited from organisations and businesses on the understanding that no special considerations other than those normally accepted in respect of commercial dealings, will be given to any advertiser. The data that VicSESVA holds for its members is solely used for the production and distribution of Phoenix and associated products. CONTRIBUTIONS Letters to the editor If you have a point of view you feel would be of benefit to VicSESVA, or a request for any article which other members may be able to help source, mail it to PHOENIX. If your Unit has a need to publicise an event or Unit activity, send it to PHOENIX. DIRECTOR CENTRAL WEST REGION David Edwards E: cwrc@vicsesva.org.au SECRETARY AND DIRECTOR SOUTH WEST REGION John McKenzie E: secretary@vicsesva.org.au LIFE MEMBER Mr Chris Patton M: 0407 310 555 E: shop@vicsesva.org.au DIRECTOR NORTH EAST REGION Vacant E: nerc@vicsesva.org.au PRESIDENT Dr Faye Bendrups OAM M: 0435 964 455 E: fayebendrups@hotmail.com www.vicsesva.org.au 3Contents From the Board 5 National Stroke Week: Phil Wall Says Thanks 7 Col England Says Farewell 8 All in a Day’s Work –Deploying to NSW 10 Road Crash Rescue Capability Boost for the Nillumbik Unit 12 Operation Camelot 14 Negative Indian Ocean Dipole 15 Tony’s Trek One Step at a Time 16 Emergency Management Conference 17 Mental Health Matters 18 National Missing Persons Week Memorial Service 19 If 20 A Quick Guide to VicSESVA CHAIR Mr David Rowlands M: 0423 777 633 E: chair@vicsesva.org.au TREASURER Sue Davidson E: treasurer@vicsesva.org.au DIRECTOR NORTH WEST REGION Julie Jochs E: nwrc@vicsesva.org.au Content for Phoenix Photography should only be supplied digitally or as original prints (please supply stamped, self-addressed envelope for returning). Please avoid scanning of any type. Text should be supplied electronically as a Microsoft Word document. Send all articles to: Email: phoenix@vicsesva.org.au
Better Solutions For Logistics Call Us (03) 9088 www.demositeforcustomers.com/guruhundaloperations@guruhundal.com.au1782 Proudly Supporting Our Local SES Volunteers
BOARDthe Chairperson chair@vicsesva.org.au Treasurer treasurer@vicsesva.org.au Secretary secretary@vicsesva.org.au Volunteer Shop shop@vicsesva.org.au
But the sector is working hard on cultural change, to move from a ‘grin and bear it’ approach, to one that recognises the challenges faced by emergency responders. The Inspector General for Emergency Management, Tony Pearce, is not just talking, he is walking: a 1,440km solo charity walk through Victoria to support new mental health initiatives to benefit our emergency management community (Tony’s Trek One Step at a Time).
REPORTS August 2022 PHOENIX 3vicsesva.org.au
from
Check out the ESF website for more details –you can join Tony on part of his trek and help support this personal and sector challenge.
South West Regional Council swrc@vicsesva.org.au Mid-West Regional Council mwrc@vicsesva.org.au North West Regional Council nwrc@vicsesva.org.au
There are more personal stories: of volunteer Phil Wall’s comeback from a stroke, and staff member Col England’s retirement. And from WA another example of how SES makes a difference to their community in multiple ways – this time during Missing Persons Week.
“… the sector is working hard on cultural change, to move from a ‘grin and bear it’ approach, to one that recognises the challenges faced by emergency responders.”
W ith the continuing ‘record’ weather events and emergency callouts, we might all pause from time to time and think about the impacts on our health, mental wellbeing, family and friends. In this edition, we can see the connection between things beyond our control such as the weather (see The Negative Indian Ocean Dipole); the increased demands such as deployments interstate (see All in a Day’s Work –Deploying to NSW); exercises (Operation Camelot) and increased training (Nillumbik Road Crash Rescue Capability Boost). Then please read and reflect on Anthony McLean’s heart-rending prose poem ‘If’. McLean take us to emotional places, for many of us familiar, some of which we’d rather not have been.
North East Regional Council nerc@vicsesva.org.au East Regional Council erc@vicsesva.org.au Central East Regional Council cerc@vicsesva.org.au Central West Regional Council cwrc@vicsesva.org.au
Phoenix Editor phoenix@vicsesva.org.au
Mob: 0407 298 710 Email:@viewcomplete@view_completeviewcomplete@gmail.com Proudly Supporting Victoria SES CASA certified commercial drone pilot Real Estate + Commercial + Weddings Full picture from the air of Insurance Claims. Find our full list of services on our website below www.viewcomplete.com.au View Complete is a drone service provider based in Melbourne, Australia, established by Chris Martin who has worked in television news as a cameraman for over 20 years. His extensive knowledge of photo and video composition and passion for aerial photography is brought to each shoot, whether it be to show specific details of a property or provide wide panoramic views of nearby landmarks, beaches or parks. View Complete aims to share the joy of looking at the world from above and create a truly unique and memorable shoot for each and every customer. Can do steady cam on the ground along with 3D modelling. AERIAL DRONE PHOTOGRAPHY View Complete Member for Western Victoria State Leader of Derryn Hinch's Justice Party Proudly supporting Western Victoria First Responders Stuart Grimley MP stuart grimley@parliament vic gov au 1/15 Pearl St, Torquay, Vic 3228 (03) 5218 5001 Come visit our website at: https://goodridetyresaustralia.com.au/ and find a local dealer near you or contact us at: info@goodridetyresaustralia.com.au THE SIMPLE CHOICE We stock one of Australia’s largest range of tyres. From passenger cars to giant earth moving equipment, you can be assured that we have the right tyre for you! Time for a change? Try GOODRIDE, The Simple Choice. Proudly supporting our local SES volunteers. Bridget VALLENCE MP Member for Evelyn 143 Main Street, Lilydale VIC www.BridgetVallence.com.au3140|9735 3208 Cathrine BURNETT-WAKE MP Member for Eastern Victoria Region 51 James Street, Pakenham VIC www.CathrineBurnettWake.com.au3810| 5941 1112 WE THANK OUR SES VOLUNTEERS FOR THEIR DEDICATED COMMUNITY SERVICE ARE THEY TRIPLE OK? ruok org au/triple ok We’re always there to help. Let ’s make sure we help each other and ask R U OK?
S is for speech, do you sound different, any slurring or loss of coherent speech, and finally, T is for time. Act FAST!
F is for face, look for any changes or drooping. Asking the person to smile is a great idea, as a smile shows the symmetry of the face well and makes it easy to see any difference in one side of the other. A is for arms, place your arms straight out in front of you, and look for any weakness.
Submitted by Phil Wall Chelsea SES
There were certainly some dark moments; is this my future, is this as good as I’m going to be, questions, but never giving up. So began a regime of speech therapy, physio, and occupational therapy, and then the miracle happened.
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So began almost two weeks in hospital where I had no movement at all on my right hand side, speech problems, couldn’t swallow, and had breathing issues.
A s part of celebrating National Stroke Week for 2022, Ambulance Victoria arranged a reunion with the three paramedics that responded to my call for help on that day. What an emotional day. How do you thank someone adequately, when they have been responsible for saving your life? The day was covered by Channel 9 and 10 for their news.
Three weeks after being admitted to Kingston Rehabilitation, I walked out of the hospital after being discharged, and went home to my family. I could never have imagined that a year later, I would be back with SES, driving, and performing services as a celebrant, but there you are, maybe miracles do happen. There really are no words that adequately thank the numerous paramedics, doctors, nurses, therapists, friends, my family, my orange family, and my extended orange family, you were all amazing, and I know, that I wouldn’t be where I am today without all of you, thank you! So, please take a moment to learn about F.A.S.T. as you never know when you might need it, and if you already know it, pass it on to others.
SUFFERING A MAJOR STROKE MYSELF ON
Stroke needs you to act as quickly as possible. If you have any of these signs, don’t wait, call 000 straight away and explain that you believe you could be having a stroke, it made such a difference to my life, just as it could for you. Stay safe, and think F.A.S.T.
YEAR, NATIONAL STROKE WEEK HELD SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE
Rohan, Gaby, and Steve knew just how critical time was, and got me to hospital as a code 1 patient, lights and sirens all the way.
NATIONAL STROKE WEEK: PHIL WALL SAYS THANKS
On arrival at Monash Medical Centre, the Stroke Team were waiting for me, and I was rushed straight in for a CAT scan, but nothing showed up. As the day progressed, I began to go downhill, and had another emergency CAT scan at 2am next morning; again nothing. I was then transferred to the high dependency unit of the Stroke Ward, and was taken for a brain MRI at 6 am, this time, it showed that I had suffered a major Ischemic stroke, on the left side of my brain stem.
A strange fact with a stroke is, that whichever side of your brain the stroke happens on, it is the opposite side of the body that is affected. My stroke was on the left side of the brain, and affected the entire right side of my body.
THIS FOR ME, AFTER THE JULY, 2021, ONE YEAR AGO.
25
FOR ME
WORK BACKGROUND While not seeking a specific work goal after leaving school, I fell into a groove of wanting to work for non profit type organisations. As many of us may have done, I did work for a couple of supermarkets after leaving year 10 and progressed to working in a refinery in Geelong, I found the greatest joy was working for the Alfred Hospital and later the CFA until finding what I think was my natural groove in the SES. I was proud to work as a consultant for RMIT for over six years before joining SES VHQ as a Project Officer in consultancy and was grateful for the opportunity for the transfer to Central Region as a SEMO when the consultancy was closed. More experiences came with working with SW as the Acting Regional Manager for five months and then later transfer to CRT where I stayed until I retired last year. All in all, being employed in these organisations was happily supplemented with becoming a volunteer. Volunteering for me has been over 50 year!
FEELINGS Although I was not a trailblazer in any of my activities necessarily, I enjoyed playing my part, and like everyone here, added my style along the way. I hope those here today continue to add their ‘flavour’ to the mix and those looking for that golden path to retirement don’t leave it longer than necessary because we are not guaranteed tomorrow!
FEATURE August 2022 PHOENIX 7vicsesva.org.au THANKS Thanks to everyone for their well wishes at the time provided during COVID by emails and for their kind comments. Thanks to those who have since spoken with me in apology of not being able to make it today. My wife Jennifer and myself, of course wish to thank Michael Potter for managing this afternoon function along with others who I am sure assisted in its planning and finalThroughoutrealisation. my involvement in volunteer organisations, I have had to admire the ‘dedication and will’, that ensures the job gets done, but also the ability to listen and adjust to the challenges that are thrown in our way. In no other place like emergency services will the challenges be greater, and so I also wish to thank the volunteers unreservedly for their support, not only to the community but employees of the SES! I wish to thank the various staff over the years who have enriched my workplace experience and provided me with such practicalFinally,wisdom.Iwould like to thank the organisation, with whom I have spent more than 20 years, for the development opportunities given to me.
Like all things in life, there isn’t an easy pathway necessarily. As I got older new challenges came that interfered with what a younger person may find routine. These challenges presented themselves in physical capacity limitations in particular and topped off with the pandemic. Earlier in 2021 I my wife and I established what our status was at home and where we need to be, and I had some health checks done. Before long it was decided to notify SES that I would be retiring.And there you go ! decision made.
COL
ON 29 JULY, VOLUNTEERS AND STAFF FROM ACROSS CENTRAL REGION CAME TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE THE SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION OF COLIN ENGLAND ON HIS RETIREMENT FROM SES. THIS IS COL’S FAREWELL SPEECH.
LEAD UP TO RETIREMENT
The future for me is still uncertain and while I want another five or more years with tourist railway operations and development, I am looking to support Craigieburn Unit in an Associate capacity soon. On behalf of Jennifer and myself, thank you all again.
SAYSENGLANDFAREWELL
Submitted by Wayne Sharp VICSES Footscray
8FEATURE PHOENIX August 2022 vicsesva.org.au E mergency arrangements in Australia mean that wherever we volunteer, we might still be called upon to assist other jurisdictions. So far in 2022, there have been multiple deployments to NSW to assist with the unprecedented frequency and severity of flooding. Apart from helping the community, working together with volunteers from other jurisdictions also gives us the opportunity to observe, share and learn from each other. Whether it is a different vehicle or vessel, or a new approach to techniques, a deployment enables us to expand our knowledge and experience. Thank you to all the volunteers who have travelled to assist SES units in other jurisdictions.
ALL IN A DAY’S WORK – DEPLOYING TO NSW
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ROAD CRASH RESCUE CAPABILITY BOOST FOR THE NILLUMBIK UNIT
THE NILLUMBIK UNIT IS LIKE MANY SES UNITS ACROSS VICTORIA TASKED WITH PROVIDING A VITAL ROAD CRASH RESCUE (RCR) SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY. AS AN ACCREDITED PRIMARY RCR PROVIDER OUR UNIT AND ALL ITS QUALIFIED SES RESCUE OPERATORS ARE REQUIRED TO MEET AND MAINTAIN THE HIGH STANDARDS SPECIFIED IN THE STATE ROAD CRASH RESCUE ARRANGEMENTS VICTORIA. training yard, to the VEMTEC Bangholme staff for their support, and to our Unit members that supported us in many ways such as assistant trainers, preparing and packing up scenarios, organising welfare, and for maintaining operational coverage whilst we Congratulationstrained. and thankyou to all twelve members now trained and qualified to the national standard as Road Crash Rescue (RCR) Operators. This is a significant capacity boost to our Unit and positive outcome to the community with each member completing five full days of training and assessment. Well done to Lacey, Tim, Nathan, Jarrad, Mitch, Josh, Liam, Johan, Neil, Rob, Gary, and Paige.
Everyone would remember that during the last two years it has been very difficult to run training courses due to the pandemic restrictions on training. These impacts and the backlog in training delivery have resulted in a challenge for our Unit. After discussing this concern with our Central Region Training staff, we decided to schedule two courses running concurrently, one based at our Unit over weekends, and the second as a weekday course at VEMTEC Bangholme using the RCR training ground props and facilities.
The Unit was very pleased to enlist the support of Operations Officer Jackson Evans from Central Region as our lead trainer for these two courses, supported by additional trainers and members from the Unit. It goes without saying that courses like RCR require a lot of logistics and coordination to achieve the high standard expected to meet the national standard. With the daunting training schedule spanning just over a month and a half, our members jumped into action preparing for the course. With fingers crossed for reasonable weather and a wide range of car wrecks lined up for training, our members enjoyed learning how to safely extricate patients from cars in all manner of positions such as roll overs, upside down, into trees and impacted by other cars. During the Unit based course we took the opportunity for OO Jackson Evans to assess an additional Unit trainer which will greatly assist us in the future. Well done to Chris Gregory for this Aachievement.specialmention should go to the Monash Unit for the use of their minibus allowing us to transport everyone back and forth from VEMTEC Bangholme during the daytime course, to Johan Snyman for successfully managing the supply of car wrecks in and out of our
Submitted by Justin Kibell Deputy Controller Training VICSES Nillumbik
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Submitted by Saurabh Sawant Briefing & Staging Area. Victoria Police Mounted Unit. High risk missing person in safe custody of VicPol members. WITH FOR SEARCH OF A MISSING PERSON IN SILVAN.
12FEATURE PHOENIX August 2022 vicsesva.org.au
n July 2022, members from SES, Ambulance Victoria, Parks Victoria, Southeast Water, Yarra Ranges council and Victoria Police Mounted Branch were invited for a training exercise organised by Victoria Police East Division 2 (ED2) for a search of a missing person. The training was focused on Initial action for a highrisk missing person search. The search culminated in successfully locating an injured person who required medical assessment and treatment. Extraction over a steep slope covered in dense vegetation was conducted by SES members, followed by transport of the patient in an Ambulance with 4WD capability. The exercise provided exposure of SES capabilities, knowledge and resources to all agencies involved and a great learning experience for SES members in a multiagency operation, deployment of FOV and conducting search using 4WD vehicles. SES Units Involved: Greater Dandenong, Monash, Glen Eira, Maroondah, Sorrento, Nillumbik, Central East RHQ, Emerald and staff member (Mulgrave Office).
I
OPERATION CAMELOT TRAINING EXERCISE
VICTORIA POLICE
FEATURE August 2022 PHOENIX 13vicsesva.org.au AV vehicle with 4WD capabilities. Casualty Handling. Casualty Handling. Casualty Handling. Casualty handling & handover to AV. Debrief & vote of thanks.
14FEATURE PHOENIX August 2022 vicsesva.org.au
It is believed to be the first time since reliable records began in 1960 that negative Indian Ocean dipole events have occurred two years in a row. The last negative Indian Ocean dipole began in July 2021, the first in fiveMeteorologistyears.
Ben Domensino said “When we have a negative Indian Ocean dipole in place, typically southern and southeastern inland Australia have a high chance of seeing above-average rain, and most other areas of central, eastern and southern Australia are also more likely to be wet. One thing that a lot of people are concerned about with this IOD declared is that Sydney just had a record wet year to date”.
It is vital we build a better understanding of rainfall changes under global warming so we can plan better for our future climate”.
Andrew King, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science from the University of Melbourne explains: “When we have negative Indian Ocean Dipole conditions we tend to see more rain over southern and eastern Australia. Will we get a reprieve from the flooding rains of recent months? No. Spring won’t bring a clean break from this year’s very wet winter. The Indian Ocean Dipole relationship with Australian rainfall is strongest in September and October, so we’re likely to see wet conditions over the next few months at least. Warm waters in the east Indian Ocean, like we’re seeing at the moment, increase the occurrence of low pressure systems over the southeast of Australia as well as the amount of moisture in the air. This means there’s a higher likelihood of rain generally and an increased chance of extreme rain events too”.
It is also looking possible we’ll see another La Niña form later this year, for the third year in a row. This is not unprecedented but it is unusual. This raises the odds of wetter conditions persisting for a few more months at least.
What is causing all this wet weather?
NEGATIVE INDIAN OCEAN DIPOLE
Andrew King says “for parts of New South Wales, the news of wet conditions being on the cards could not come at a worse time. Sydney and other areas of the eastern seaboard have already received record-breaking rain totals so far this year, including in July. Catchments remain saturated so further rainfall may well lead to more flooding. Australia has highly variable rainfall and we have seen multi-year spells of persistent wet conditions before – notably in the mid-1970s and 2010-2012.
THE BUREAU OF METEOROLOGY RECENTLY DECLARED A NEGATIVE INDIAN OCEAN DIPOLE EVENT IS UNDERWAY. THE NEGATIVE INDIAN OCEAN DIPOLE, OR IOD, HAS BEEN DECLARED BECAUSE OCEAN TEMPERATURES ARE WARMER IN THE TROPICAL EAST INDIAN OCEAN THAN IN THE OCEAN.
WEST INDIAN
T he Indian Ocean Dipole is a type of year-to-year climate variability, a bit like the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, but in the Indian Ocean rather than the Pacific. But what does that mean and how does it affect Australia’s weather?
TONY’S TREK
ONE STEP AT A TIME
ON 30 SEPTEMBER 2022, CHAIR OF THE EMERGENCY SERVICES FOUNDATION AND INSPECTOR-GENERAL FOR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TONY PEARCE WILL START TONY’S TREK – A 1440KM SOLO CHARITY
WALK THROUGH VICTORIA TO SUPPORT NEW MENTAL HEALTH
FEATURE August 2022 PHOENIX 15vicsesva.org.au C overing the area from Melbourne to Mallacoota and across the Alpine Range to Wodonga before heading back to Melbourne, Tony’s Trek aims to raise awareness and support for building collaborative sector-wide mental health initiatives led by the Emergency Services Foundation (ESF).
‘Unfortunately, trauma often results in mental health injury with lasting impacts throughout their career and into retirement’, says‘ITony.hope that Tony’s Trek will raise awareness of the importance of supporting the mental health of Victoria’s 139,00 strong emergency management community who support Victorians before, during and after emergencies’, he says. Recovery from mental health injury is a personal journey that involves taking one step at a Despitetime.considerable investment in treatment programs and services, there is still much work required to help prevent mental injury.
A study by Beyond Blue revealed sector first responders and emergency service workers are more likely than others in the community to suffer serious and debilitating mental illness because of the trauma they often face.
INITIATIVES TO BENEFIT OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMUNITY. Tony Pearce with AV supporters. Multi agency supporters from the CEOs to volunteers. Funds raised from Tony’s Trek will be used to enable ESF to deliver its prevention-focused mental health initiatives, those currently under consideration include – a Lived Experience Program, a Pilot Residential Wellbeing Program, and an ambitious research program. To find out more, donate or get involved go to esf.com.au/tonys-trek/
I found it to be a thoroughly inspiring and thought-provoking conference – best yet in my view. I spoke about it at our staff forum yesterday – emphasising the very apparent change in focus to a strongly humanistic, community-centred, resilience-based narrative, which opens up a host of opportunities for how LSV can contribute in this space in partnership and parallel with our EM sector partners.
The 2022 EM conference was an outstanding event showcasing the most progressive initiatives in the sector. For me, it was fantastic to see the application of a person-centred approach in Bushfire Recovery Victoria practices and to hear the commitment to increasing diversity across many agencies, to better reflect the communities we serve.
T
Reactions
Andrew Crisp led a frank panel conversation discussing lessons from the public tower lockdowns where Ahmed Dini provided moving lived experience of someone who’s home is in the towers. His story telling and the perspectives of other key stakeholders left us in no doubt that listening well, trust and connection with community is key. Dr Mark Crosweller shared his thinking on who we wish to be and how we wish to be seen by those we both lead and serve. He called for greater vulnerability at agency level saying that is the key to sound relationships and without it we risk putting a wedge between the sector and the people we serve. To listen to Dr Crosweller’s presentation follow this link https://youtu.
be/Y8vRtEOY3osChyloeKurdas, inclusion and cultural diversity specialist applied her background in women’s AFL and golf to illustrate the importance of building your own personal inclusive leadership capacity and how to be the change that will resonate and inspire others.
Simon Kusestenmacher used demographics to illustrate that while we can provide meaning that gives us an advantage when it comes to giving people a positive story to tell about themselves, we must understand the language of different cohorts to maximise this advantage. An ‘old, crusty, dusty’ style of management is not going to sustain the sector as our community continues to diversify. Young people want to be in an environment of flexible, innovative start-ups and we need to respond to that. He noted the room did not reflect the diversity in our community, a refrain repeated throughout the program.
Emergency ManagementESFConferenceIMPACTNewsletter,Issue28
Rob Webb Chief Executive Officer AFAC
he 2022 ESF Emergency Management Conference was held on 5 & 6 July in Melbourne delivering a stellar program of topics and speakers to over 400 participants drawn from all areas of emergency management and local government. The theme ‘As the World Changes so Must We’ was used by 60 presenters to challenge participants to consider a range of contemporary issues and it kept people engaged right to the very last session.
Dr Faye Bendrups OAM President VicSESVA
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Cath Greaves Chief Executive Officer LSV Congrats on a great conference. I thought the speakers were fantastic. You could feel the energy in the room.
FEATURE August 2022 PHOENIX 17vicsesva.org.au
Mental Health Matters
Katy Millard Captain Port Campbell CFA
“We were very fortunate to have Emergency Services Foundation facilitator, Shannon Hood who is a current CFA and former SES Volunteer, guide us through the workshop. The workshop gave us the opportunity to openly discuss mental health challenges both in our volunteer work and our everyday lives. We discussed mental wellbeing, how we go about looking after ourselves, be able to recognise signs and symptoms in ourselves and help others. The night also gave us the confidence to create conversations about mental health with those around us and break down the stigma of mental health.”
“The aim of this program is to be the help at the top of the mountain, not the ambulance at the bottom. Starting the conversating and breaking down the stigma is key to mentally healthy emergency service people. We want to provide you with pratcial tools to identify the start of ill mental health.
W ith support from the Victorian State Government through Emergency Management Victoria’s Valuing Volunteers Program, the Emergency Services Foundations (ESF) is delivering a Mental Health Matters (MHM) program to volunteers and their partners/ significant other. While many volunteers report having good mental health and wellbeing and high levels of resilience, we know that emergency service work can be high risk because of exposure to trauma as well as the usual workplace factors. When that trauma involves people in your own community it can be especially hard.
According to ESFs CEO Siusan MacKenzie, “It was volunteers who told us how valuable the program would be for their partners, so we opened it up to them and would welcome seeing more take up the opportunity to attend.”
With growing appreciation of the vital role partners and significant others have in supporting Victoria’s 102,000 emergency service volunteers, this program offers a unique opportunity for partners to be supported themselves.
So far in 2022 this free 2.5 hour program has been delivered in all corners of the state from Port Campbell to Cobram helping people to recognise early indicators of distress, what resources they can draw on and understand why it is so important to seek help early for the best chance of recovery.
Response
A PROGRAM FOR VOLUNTEERS AND THEIR PARTNERS
The 2022 Mental Health Matters program has evolved from the program first presented by ESF in 2021 and an online version where partners were invited to participate. Based on feedback and evaluation from volunteers, the 2022 program has been designed for greater accessibility. This means a brigade or unit registers their interest, suggesting a time and place that suits them best to learn about how to help protect themselves and support others avoid mental ill-health. The most successful sessions have involved local agencies coming together as a community to participate recognising that all agencies and volunteers share and often struggle with the same concerns.
ESF Newsletter,IMPACTIssue29
Shannon Hood MHM Program Facilitator
NATIONAL MISSING PERSONS WEEK 1-6 August 2022 EVERY YEAR IN
FIRST
Piper playing the Lament. Gordon Hall ESM, Chair NSESVA. Margaret Dodd with Mandurah SES members. MLAs laying a wreath. AUSTRALIA IS OF ACTION THAT TAKES THE WEEK OF AUGUST TO CAN ALSO USED
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RAISE AWARENESS OF THE SIGNIFICANT ISSUES SURROUNDING MISSING PERSONS. THE WEEK
AN ANNUAL WEEK
BE
n Western Australia during National Missing Persons week there is a Memorial Service conducted in Mandurah (WA) by the Zonta Club of Peel (Inc.). The service is conducted at the special Missing Persons Memorial in Mandurah and the 2022 MC was Jenny Crake. More than 100 people attended the service including the Hon. David Templeman MLA, Robin Clarke MLA, Lisa Munday MLA, Mayor of Mandurah Rhys Williams, Katalin Kraszian Commissioner for Victims of Crime, Senior Sergeant Ross Blake OIC Mandurah Police Station, and Gordon Hall ESM Chair of the National SES Volunteers Association.Thespeakers, Hon David Templeman MLA, Rhys Williams, Katalin Kraszian, Senior Sergeant Ross Blake and Gordon Hall ESM all spoke about their particular areas of Gordonresponsibility.includedthe role of the SES Volunteers in searches and the “Safe and Found” initiative by WA Police Inspector SteveAllScott.speeches were well received. The service was concluded with Salvation Army Captain Scott Ellery leading in prayer, one minutes silence and then Piper Viv Riley breaking the silence with the AfterLament.theservice, bouquets of flowers were laid on the memorial and attendees then had coffee and informal chats with different people who still had missing loved ones or had been affected by missing persons.Note: The Missing Persons Memorial was set up by the Zonta Club in Mandurah and unveiled on 20 June 2006, with the first plaque placed a month later by the family of Hayley Dodd, a Mandurah teenager who vanished whilst hitchhiking in 1999.Theorganisers wrote “Your comforting speech was well received and appreciated by all those present.”
I
PLACE DURING
By Gordon Hall ESM Chair NSESVA
THERE
TO PROFILE LONGTERM MISSING PERSONS, AND TO EDUCATE THE AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY.
Assistant Chief Officer, Regional Manager, East Region (Gippsland)
If I could forget what my eyes have seen, I would forget the look on a friend’s face when I told her my football mate, her partner and father of her unborn child was never coming home after I found him when called to the scene of a car accident.
If I could forget what my eyes have seen, I would forget horror of seeing a person shot in the head with a sniper’s rifle or the mixed thoughts of relief and sadness in my mind knowing I was now safe, but everything had now changed for everyone involved.
FEATURE August 2022 PHOENIX 19vicsesva.org.au
If I could forget what my eyes have seen, I would no longer see the faces of the babies I have watched as the Pathologist conducts post-mortems to find out how they died and then recall their parents whose faces bore all the pain.
If I could forget what my eyes have seen, my heart would be softer, my trust would be stronger, and my guard not always up.
If I could forget what my eyes have seen, I’d be less cynical of everything I hear and remember there is still kindness in humanity.
If I could forget what my eyes have seen, I would no longer see the lifeless bodies of the many homicide victims I’ve seen over the years or remember all the different ways one human can take another’s life.
If I could forget what my eyes have seen, I would no longer feel the loss of emotional control coming on like a tidal wave, then break down and cry without apparent reason.
‘IF’ByAnthonyMcLean
If I could forget what my eyes have seen, I would not have to sit with my back against the wall when out in public, always alert and suspicious, knowing where all the exit points are, just in case evil showed up.
If I could forget what my eyes have seen, I’d be forever free from the truth that evil is real. I know because I’ve seen it too many times.
If I could forget what my eyes have seen, I would not have been a police officer, from a police family. These are the burdens every police officer carries. The price they pay to keep us safe. This is the price I and many others now pay even though we no longer carry a badge or go out every day to keep you safe.
If I could forget what my eyes have seen, I would stop the years of tragedy from replaying in my head, while trying to sleep at night.
If I could forget what my eyes have seen, I would no longer see that man take his last breath after drinking poison before I could stop him putting the bottle to his mouth.
If I could forget what my eyes have seen, I could sleep more than four hours a night or not have cold sweats and repetitive dreams of being killed or hunted by evil. These things would be a thing of the past.
If I could forget what my eyes have seen or my nose had smelt, I would not remember what a decomposed or burnt body looked like or recognise the smells over any other.
If I could forget what my eyes have seen, I would not blow everything out of proportion or get angry for no reason at the ones I love.
If I could forget what my eyes have seen, I would erase the images of child abuse and child pornography, I was forced to see or the devious look on the perpetrator’s face I have witnessed throughout my career.
If I could forget what my eyes have seen, I would no longer see the lifeless bodies lying on the highway or back country road at the countless fatal car accidents I’ve attended.
VicSESVA’s VISION
your electronic copy
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VicSESVA is wholly staffed by VICSES volunteers who provide their time and expertise gratis and is funded by a small fee from VICSES Units, used to subsidise costs such as publishing, website, minimal office admin support and VA delegates travel.
WHAT IS VicSESVA?
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and staff. To
To be pro-active in the pursuit of excellence in service delivery for VicSESVA members and to maintain an effective communication and interaction with all emergency and support agencies.
• VicSESVA uses its dedicated focus on volunteers to select and drive the resolution of issues that impact on skills, safety and how VICSES volunteers undertake their duties.
VicSESVA’s STRUCTURE
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HISTORY
Each Council may elect members to undertake the following Director • Alternate Director VicSESVA Board
Regional Council Positions
VicSESVA works to represent and advocate for VICSES volunteers, actively supporting members and engaging cooperatively with VICSES management, EM sector agencies and governing bodies, and State Government.
VicSESVA is broken up into 7 Regions: South West, Central West, Central East, North West, North East, Mid-West and East. Each Region has a Regional Council which seeks input from local Units, meets and discusses the issues identified and selects issues for escalation to the VicSESVA State Board.
The elected delegates of the Units from within the region form their Regional Council. The Regional Councils raise issues relevant to VICSES volunteers to be presented to the VicSESVA State Board for the formulation of policy on the issues they perceive need to be addressed, and to further advocate an outcome with the VICSES CEO or VICSES Board for action.
Board Positions •
PHOENIX MAGAZINE
you
NSESVA
Victoria State Emergency Service Volunteers Association A QUICK GUIDE
VicSESVA’s MISSION
interest,
For more information about the history of VicSESVA, go to https://vicsesva.org.au/our-history/ VicSESVA is a founding member of the National SES Volunteers Association (NSESVA). For information on NSESVA and the National Raffle Campaign, go to: https://www.nsesva.org.au/https://vicsesva.org.au/faq/
20VicSESVA PHOENIX August 2022 vicsesva.org.au
VicSESVA Chairperson Vice Chairperson Secretary Treasurer
• Board Member • Board Member • Board Member
Each member Unit of VicSESVA may elect two delegates who convey the thoughts and feelings of their Unit and its members to the Regional Council or State Board.
VicSESVA publishes the Phoenix Journal for VICSES volunteers.
Phoenix is published four times a year and features of submitted by volunteers register to receive of Phoenix go to https://vicsesva.org.au/how-to-subscribe/
It is important to note that VicSESVA is an Association not a Union. VicSESVA does not engage in adversarial campaigns but it does seek to further the interests of VICSES volunteers, and the public they serve, by promoting appropriate standards in training, equipment and ethics in VICSES.
Unit Delegates
To ensure that the highest level of skills training is available to the volunteers of VICSES. To ensure that the resources available to volunteers are applicable to the respective operational requirements.
WHO IS VicSESVA?
• VicSESVA is a non-profit organisation which exists to further the interests of VICSES volunteer members.
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VicSESVA is comprised of all VICSES Units (two delegates may represent each Unit), Regional Councils and a State Board.
Regional Councils
articles and photos
As a VICSES volunteer, are welcome to participate in a VicSESVA Regional Council. Depending on the region, meetings may be held once a quarter at local Unit LHQs. The discussion is very informative and presents a great opportunity to network and share best practices across Units. VicSESVA Board meetings are also open to individual members to attend.
The VicSESVA State Board is comprised of Regional Council Directors. Matters raised at Regional Councils are brought to the State Board so that the Board can recognise and monitor any wide ranging issues as they develop. If appropriate, the board will present them to the respective VICSES Management stream for resolution.
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WANT TO GET INVOLVED?
VicSESVA August 2022 PHOENIX 21vicsesva.org.au TO VicSESVA SUCCESSFUL ADVOCACY VicSESVA has successfully represented volunteers in: • Negotiating to meet regularly with the Minister for Emergency Services • Advocating for Unit VESEP bids • Advocating to EMV to retain the right of volunteers to go to VCAT in matters of dispute (VICSES Regulations Review) • Meeting quarterly with the VICSES Executive and raising matters of concern to volunteers which have been brought to Board meetings • Meeting quarterly with the VICSES Operations staff • Supporting and promoting the annual EMV Volunteer Welfare and Efficiency Survey • Providing grants of funds for individual volunteer welfare or hardship cases • Supporting members undertaking the VFBV leadership courses • Providing information and advice to individual members and Units • Providing a support person to individual members in matters of dispute • Collaboration with the National SES Volunteers in advocacy for matters such as transferability of skills, harmonisation of training, national recognition, awards • Implementation of the NSESVA National Raffle Scheme to establish future funding • Raising the profile and interests of VICSES volunteers at local, state and national forums, including conferences, other EM agencies, interstate agencies, working groups, task forces, expert advisory panels etc. SECTOR COLLABORATION VicSESVA has extensive membership of industry forums, regular collaboration with VICSES and influence through its membership of NSESVA, including: 1. EMV Volunteer Consultative Forum, founding member 2. EMV Expert Reference Group, The 3Vs: Volunteer Volunteering Volunteerism – Uncovering the hidden value 3. EMV Expert Working Group, collaboration in developing Strategic Priorities for Volunteering in Emergency Management 4. Emergency Services Foundation (ESF) Chair, Alumni Network 5. Member of Organising Committee, annual ESF Emergency Management Conference 6. Facilitator, ESF Alumni Strategic Directions planning and ‘Valuing Volunteers’ project 7. VESEP panel member (VICSES and EMV) VicSESVA Activities, Advocacy and Industry Influence 8. VICSES internal Fleet, RCR, State WH&S, Awards, Uniform working groups 9. VICSES Community Resilience Strategy, volunteer representation 10. AFAC Volunteer Management Technical Working Group 11. AFAC/SES member Project Working Group, ‘SES Fit for Task’ 12. AFAC doctrine development ‘Volunteer Impact Assessment Guideline’ (VMTG) 13. AFAC doctrine development, ‘Volunteer inclusion Model’ (VMTG Diversity Working Group) 14. Member, AIDR Dranszen Forum 15. Member Steering Committee and Working Group, Communities Responding to Disasters: Planning for Spontaneous Volunteers Handbook (Australian Emergency Management Manual Series 2018) 16. BNHCRC member Advisory Group ‘Adapting the Sector’ 17. NSESVA Youth Strategy 18. Volunteer Group Steering Committee, Victorian Government ‘Provisional Payments Pilot (Mental Health Injury)’ EXPERTS AND ADVICE On request VicSESVA has provided experts as guest speakers, advisors or community representatives. VicSESVA Chair, David Rowlands, is a Life Member of VICSES. VicSESVA Secretary, Dr Faye Bendrups, has been recognised for her work in the EM sector by being named one of the AFR’s ‘100 Women of Influence’ in 2019. This has provided opportunities to promote the work of SES volunteers in major local and national forums, •including:2018Informed Observer, Diversity in Disaster Conference • 2019 Chair, Akolade 2nd Emergency Management Leaders’ Forum • 2019 Guest panellist, Public Safety and Hysteria: Leading by example in the first 24 hours of a terrorist event, Akolade 2nd Emergency Management Leaders’ Forum • 2019 Facilitator, EM conference panel Wellbeing: a Range of Perspectives from People on the Ground • 2019 Expert Judge, Ch7 News Young Achiever Awards (CFA Volunteer Excellence category) • 2019 Executive Judge, Victorian Regional Achievement and Community Awards • 2019 Women in the SES: Reshaping Dynamics, AFAC19 ‘A Shift to the New Norm: Riding the Wave of Change’ international conference presentation, see the-sesreshaping-dynamicsau/events/proceedings/29-08-19/article/109.-women-in-www.afac.com.
NATIONAL REMEMBRANCEPOLICEDAYPROUDSUPPORTEROF 29 SEPTEMBER HONOURING OUR FALLEN POLICE MEMBERS
