Hobart Research Briefing

The Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC staged a research briefing for its Tasmanian partners at the Tasmania Police Academy on 7 August 2014. Participants from the Tasmania Fire Service, Parks and Wildlife Service, Forestry Tasmania, Department of Police and Emergency Management, State Emergency Service, Department of Education, Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, Department Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, Department Premier and Cabinet. State Fire Management Council, United Firefighters Union, Noske Skog and the University of Tasmania gained insights into the range of research currently underway, learning how the science can help Tasmanian emergency services and the government project communities from a range of hazards.

The event was opened by the Minister for Police and Emergency Management, the Honourable Rene Hidding, and a welcome offered by TFS Chief Officer Mike Brown.

The forum was facilitated by BNHCRC CEO Dr Richard Thornton, with a total of 10 researchers presenting insights into the research underway, as well as the outcome of their previous studies. Topics covered were; how research can be used, how communities and emergency managers make decisions under threat; getting the most out of volunteers; sharing responsibility for emergency management; extreme weather; building at the rural/urban interface; hazard fatalities; bushfire mapping; and the legal and political implications of emergency management.

Presentations from the day are available for download. Speakers included:

• Dr Noreen Krusel (AFAC) - How research can be used
• Dr Jim McLennan (La Trobe University) - Community and decisions under threat
• Dr Blythe McLennan (RMIT) - Volunteers and sharing responsibility
• John Bally (BOM) - Extreme weather
• Prof Robin van den Honert (Risk Frontiers) - Fire fatalities
• Prof  Stephen Dovers (ANU) - Policies, inquiries and the law
• Dr Christine Owen (University of Tasmania) - Incidents and decision making in teams
• Dr Kevin Tolhurst (University of Melbourne) - Fire mapping at the interface
• Justin Leonard (CSIRO) - Building at the interface