Opportunities to build on public information

The 2019–20 fires highlight the ongoing need to arrive at realistic community understanding about shared responsibility; and specifically, the role of the individual in addressing the risk of bushfire, its eventuality and consequences, versus the role of the State and its agencies. The recent past has already brought larger and more frequent bushfires. Adapting to a future in which that is the norm means shifting beliefs, approaches and actions on the part of both the emergency management sector and the wider community.

There are things for which the State is and must remain responsible, such as planning for and maintaining an appropriate bushfire response capacity in terms of people and resources. Individuals, however, must also accept responsibility for their own wellbeing, whether that be property preparation, engagement in community emergency management initiatives or by heeding emergency information and warnings.

One of the most profound developments since the 2009 Victorian bushfires has been the extent to which Victorians now have access to critical information before and during emergencies. This is in large part the result of a deliberate program at state and national levels to improve the advice and warnings to communities under threat from bushfires and other emergencies. Innovations, such as the VicEmergency App and the national Emergency Alert telephony system are examples of this. Other information sources have grown organically and been adopted and adapted by government and agencies, such as various social media. The use of informal sources of information, such as trusted local networks, adds another layer. Central to the provision of information is encouraging Victorians not to rely on technology or upon a single means of staying informed. In many of the areas affected by the 2019–20 bushfires, options such as apps and online sources of information are either unavailable or disappear as communication infrastructure is itself affected by fire. Sources such as free-to-air radio, face-to-face meetings, local radio networks and printed newsletters remain of critical importance in providing information in all locations.

Establishing a single source of truth for emergency information is a difficult but important objective, especially for communities where major emergencies are uncommon and unexpected, or where there are high transient populations such as tourists and holiday makers. VicEmergency was created as a single, official source of information and warnings. It enables incident controllers to publish approved notifications through the VicEmergency website, smartphone application, telephone hotline, Facebook and Twitter, responder agency social media, official emergency broadcasters, and email to emergency management agencies for further distribution.