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From theDirectorSome readers have expressed concern about the Statebudget and the potential impacts this may have on SES. I will be issuing a communiqué shortly to all members as

soon as the situation is fully assessed and we have a full appreciation of the impacts. At this stage I can advise that SES will need to exercise restraint and apply some cuts andefficiencies like every other agency, but the Department has been quite supportive andI expect minimal, if any impact on current levels of service delivery or volunteer supportduring 2011/2012.

It’s been good to see an increase in the number of nominations to have employers of SESvolunteers recognised for releasing their workers to conduct voluntary SES emergencywork. It cannot be easy for many employers, and particularly the self employed volunteers,who are called out at any time to provide essential emergency services and support topeople in need.

This was very evident during the recent seven interstate deployments to Queensland,where 140 SES volunteers were granted leave at short notice, or took leave from their ownbusinesses to help Queensland communities following the devastating floods and tropicalcyclone Yasi. Recognising the commitment of our volunteers is important, but they wouldnot be able to do what they do without considerable support from their employers.

For a number of years, SES has had an employer recognition scheme in place. Any SESvolunteers who would like their employer or their business to be recognised for theirsupport to SES may submit an employer recognition nomination form, which is availableon the SES web site at: http://www.ses.tas.gov.au/what_is_ses/Honours/.

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On the inside.Road Resuce Challenge 2012 2

OH&S 3

Profile: Mitchell Pearson-Goff 4

SES Client Satisfaction Survey Summary 2011 4

Australian Emergency Management Institute’s (AEMI)upcoming courses 5

Profile: Andrea Heath 6

Emergency Management Unit 6

Department recognised for supporting SES volunteer 7

Profile: Hilary Courtney-Pratt 8

Profile: Doug Rossiter 8

2011 Southern SAR CentralisedTraining Weekend 9

Article: Arron Brooke nail title 10

Emergency Management Facebook Group 10

National Disaster Rescue Competition 2011 Adelaide, South Australia 11

Article: Latrobe endorses emergency sharing plan 12

Northern Midlands Unit Fundraiser for Queensland Floods 13

Letters 14

Volume 12 - Issue 10 - Winter 2011

Website: www.ses.tas.gov.au

State Emergency Service

28 Bathurst StreetHobart Tasmania 7000

Phone (03) 6230 2700Facsimile (03) 6234 9767Email [email protected]

Tell us what’shappening!

Is there anything you would like to see in The Gazette?

Please submit your articles for the next edition of the

Gazette to [email protected] November 2011.

LEFT: Sleep out for the Salvos – (front) Andrew O’Brian (Ambulance Tasmania), Lara Giddings (Tasmanian Premier);(back) Andrew Lea (SES), Gavin Freeman (TFS), Scott Tilyard (Tasmania Police). RIGHT: AFSM Dinner – (front)Andrew Lea (SES), Mike Brown (TFS); (back) Phil Wilkinson (Tasmania Police), Dominic Morgan (AmbulanceTasmania).

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2 SES | The Gazette | Volume 12, Issue 10 Winter 2011

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Tasmania, and more specifically Hobart will be hosting the2012 Australasian Road Rescue Challenge during the 23– 29 April 2012.

Princess Wharf Shed Number 1 has been secured as themain venue for the event and event advertising andpromotion is in full swing across Australasia.

The objective of the challenge and the accompanying RescueSymposium is to create an environment in whichrepresentatives from all Road Accident Rescue organisationsin Australasia come together to learn new and contemporaryrescue techniques, exchange knowledge and ideas andparticipate in a friendly skill challenge in the spirit of friendship.

Hosting the event is a time consuming, complex yet exitingand fulfilling exercise and for this very purpose, an eventsplanning committee has been put together consisting ofmembers of Tasmania Fire Service, SES, AmbulanceTasmania and Police, which meets regularly during 2010and 2012 to manage all aspects of the event.

The Australasian Road Rescue Organisation (ARRO) willwork closely with the host planning committee to ensure asuccessful outcome from the challenge.

An events information website has been developed and alink can be found on the SES website: www.ses.tas.gov.au

The committee will call for volunteers participation throughthe website later in the year and volunteers can stayabreast with any development through the link.

More information will be submitted to volunteers as theyear progresses.

Road RescueChallenge 2012

Senior representatives from each of the Services have beengetting together lately for a number of importantengagements. The recent sleep out to help raise funds forthe Salvation Army homeless outreach program was onesuch occasion, where each of the services wererepresented, along with other senior business andgovernment representatives. The cold, wet and noisyconditions gave us a small appreciation of what thehomeless need to put up with, but the event raised wellover $100,000, which made it worth while.

Another event was the Australian Fire Service Medal(AFSM) annual dinner, which acknowledged all AFSMrecipients and the close relations held by each of theServices.

Exceptional SES or emergency management service isrecognised within the Australian Honours list by theawarding of the Emergency Services Medal and it was withgreat delight that I witnessed our latest recipients receivingthe ESM at Government House in May. Congratulations toRobert (Bertie) Butterfield, ESM (Unit ManagerQueenstown SES Unit), David Oakley, ESM (Unit ManagerNorthern Midlands SES Unit) and Frank Henderson, ESM(Municipal Coordinator, Clarence Council).

In June, a previous recipient of the ESM, Frank Lawes,Wynyard Unit, was also recognised by his community forhis outstanding commitment and support to SES and hislocal community. He was the winner of the 7BU/Sea FMEmergency Services Volunteer Award and also theAustralian Institute of Emergency Services PJ ParsseyAward. A very fitting award ceremony was held at theWynyard SES unit.

Andrew Lea

Frank Lawes Award ceremony – Anthony Dick (SES), Commander LauchyAvery (Tasmania Police), Lee Dick (7BU/Sea FM Station Manager), FrankLawes (SES), Norrie Hayse (Ambulance Tasmania)

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OccupationalHealth, Safetyand WelfareThe SES OHS&W Committee met on the 10 March 2011and the 9 June 2011.

SES OHS&W Committee Members:

Regional Officers:Mark Nelson Southern Regional HQOliver Breeze North HQAnthony Dick North West HQElke Browne Assistant Director Operations

and Resources (Chair)

Volunteer Representatives:Rex Rainbow Northern RepresentativeClaire Swinton South RepresentativeRobert Butterfield North West Representative

Apologies:Mike Cosgrove, Manager, Occupational Health and Safety Department of Police and Emergency Management(Proxy Chair).

Please check that you understand the following:

• Have you read the SES OHS&W policy?

• Do you have a copy of it displayed in your Unit?

• Do you have a nominated OHS&W person in your Unitthat monitors safety and the workplace?

• Do you understand the requirement to report allaccidents?

• Have you ever conducted a safety audit of your Unit’spremises?

• Do you routinely appoint a safety officer for all trainingactivities?

If you answer NO to any of the questions, please contactyour regional staff for further information.

New OH&S legislations will come into effect on the 1 January2012. Due to various changes within the new legislation,Workplace Standards have put out a notice stating that allSerious Injuries and/or Fatalities or potential serious injuriesand/or fatalities must be reported not only to SES and DPEM,but also to Workplace Standards. The number to call is: 1300366 322. The Duty Officer must be notified and must fill inthe Workplace Standard Injury & Disease Notification formand send it to Workplace Standards within 24 hours after theincident occured. The form can be found on:http://www.wst.tas.gov.au/safety_comply/accidents#notice

SAFETY BULLETINSOLAR PANELS DAMAGEDBY STORM

Issue: Solar panel systemsdamaged by storms canexpose emergency serviceresponders to a risk ofelectric shock duringresponse and recoveryoperations. Crews must assess the risks when workingaround solar panels that are exposed to light.

Risk assessment: It is critical at these incidents to identifyall risks and control them where possible. When conductingthe risk assessment consider:

• Electrical hazards:- the solar panels will generate electricity while they are

exposed to light- wiring will be live between the panels and the

switchboard unless it has been isolated- the more panels the higher the possible voltage, up to

600VDC - storm debris or conductive building materials, eg metal

roofs, guttering, downpipes, in contact with electricalcomponents may be live

• Amount of damage to the panels and whether there isbroken glass or other panel materials (wear P2 dust maskand goggles for dust or glass hazards)

• Weight loading on weakened roofs

• Working at height risks (please refer to the SES Working atHeight policy)

Controlling electrical hazards: If electrical hazards areidentified:

1. Assume that the solar system and surrounding area areelectrically live.

2. Establish an exclusion zone of at least 3 metres aroundthe damaged components. Increase the exclusion zone ifcomponents are in contact with conductive materials.Use barrier tape to mark the exclusion zone.

3. Determine from the owner/occupier if the solar panelsystem has been completely isolated. Complete isolationis achieved by:- following the system’s shutdown procedure- switching off or disconnecting the wiring at the panels.

4. If the system has been completely isolated, the wiringand inverter will be safe. Panels exposed to light will stillgenerate electricity, but at a low voltage.

5. If the system has not been isolated, and you believe anelectrical hazard exists, use of the Tac Stick can confirmlive wires. Advise the owner/occupier that emergencyservices will return once the system has been completelyisolated. Inform the Team Leader that the job cannotproceed until the hazard has been controlled.

6. If the system has not been isolated but there is a life riskthat requires immediate Aurora action:

Elke Browne Assistant Director

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Profile:

Mitchell ‘Mitch’Pearson-GoffMitch is working with the SES EMU on the State Preparedness Project, through aninternship with the Tasmania Police Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU). The acquisition ofMitch is an example of collaboration of units within Tasmania State EmergencyManagement Group (TSEMG).

Mitch is working for Senior Sergeant Andrew Bennett, by identifying local and regionalinfrastructure and traits enabling EMU and CTU to contextualising scenario training,creating a more realistic and relevant training experience. Mitch’s work will become partof the new Avalis Avalanche training and exercise software recently purchased.

Mitch was born in Sydney but grew up in Hobart. He is completing his Masters inPolicing, Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism at Macquarie University in NSW, with anexpected graduation date at the end of 2011. Working in the TSEMG, provides Mitchwith a valuable experience by working in a multi-agency environment collaborating onwhole-of-government issues, initiatives and projects.

Earlier this year, the Tasmania State Emergency Servicecarried out a Client Satisfaction Survey in order to ascertainthe level of satisfaction with training among volunteers andgain a better understanding of issues and possibleimprovements in the Vocational Education and Trainingconducted by the organisation.

In total, 150 volunteers responded to the survey, whichconsisted of 11 questions relating to training. Volunteerswere asked to indicate their level of satisfaction and/orprovide feedback on what worked well and what areaswere in need of improvement.

Overall, the respondents indicated a high level ofsatisfaction with the trainers and training provided by theSES. While all of the feedback we received cannot bedetailed here, issues raised and suggestions made byvolunteers within the survey are being taken intoconsideration in forward planning.

We would like to thank everyone who participated in thissurvey and also those who participated in the AQTFQuestionnaire that was distributed with the ClientSatisfaction Survey. Your participation is highly valued bythe Tasmania State Emergency Service.

A more detailed summary can be found at:www.ses.tas.gov.au/survey/survey_results.php

SES Client SatisfactionSurvey Summary 2011

Excellent

Beneficial

Satisfactory

Not Satisfactory

Not Relevant

Question 1: How would you rate the quality ofthe training you are currently receiving?80% of respondents indicated that they were morethan satisfied with the quality of training.

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Australian EmergencyManagement Institute’s(AEMI) upcoming courses

AEMI Courses (Residential/Mt. Macedon) - July-December 2011

Please review the upcoming AEMI courses for the remainder ofthe calendar year. As many of you are aware, AEMI hasintroduced an online registration process. Whilst it is a moreefficient way for registering the new process has causedconfusion to some stakeholders nationwide.

The Emergency Management Unit (EMU) will be working withthe Regional Managers on a procedure for the nomination andselection process of AEMI courses. Until the procedure isdeveloped, and communicated with stakeholders, the processwill remain much as it has been, as noted below, with the onlineregistration process explained in dot point number 4.

Process:

1. Fill out nomination application and related documentslocated at www.ses.tas.gov.au/role_of_ses/training/training_courses.htm

2. Submit to appropriate supervisor for approval signature

3. Send one copy to your Regional Manager and one to ColleenRidge, SES Sr Officer, Planning & Education (contact info below)

4. The application documentation is reviewed for eligibility andappropriate signatures, you will then receive an email directingyou to the AEMI online registration form, this does not implyyou have been selected to attend. Online registration is not tobe accessed until you receive the email.

5. Once we receive a list of registrants from AEMI, after theclosing date, an email will be sent to you on whether or not youhave been selected to attend.

6. For enquiries and to send documentation: Colleen RidgeSES, GPO Box 1290, Hobart 7001Tel 03 6230 2761 - Fax 03 6234 9767Email [email protected]

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Course CourseCode

Dates ClosingDates

Fees $(Local Govt pays airfares, Volunteers airfare covered)

Advanced Diploma Industry Govt LocalGovt Volunteers

Coordinate resources within a multi-agency response 24065 23-26 Aug Closed 2750 900 NIL NIL

Facilitate emergency risk assessment and Determinetreatment options

24585 12-16 Sept 18 Aug 3150 950 NIL NIL

Design & manage activities which exercise elementsof emergency management

24655 19-22 Sept 18 Aug 2750 900 NIL NIL

Manage recovery functions & services 23690 27-29 Sept 1 Sept 2400 850 NIL NIL

23691 22-24 Nov 1 Nov 2400 850 NIL NIL

Undertake emergency planning 24587 11-13 Oct 15 Sep 2000 800 NIL NIL

Liaise with other organisations and promote theorganisation’s mission and services

24589 18-20 Oct 15 Sep 2000 800 NIL NIL

24595 6-8 Dec 9 Nov 2000 800 NIL NIL

Professional Development

Introduction to emergency management for localgovernment

24058 23-25 Aug Closed 2400 850 NIL NIL

Leadership in crisis - Beyond command & control 24066 7-9 Sept 18 Aug 2000 750 NIL NIL

Volunteer Leadership 24591 4-7 Nov 13 Oct TBD TBD NIL NIL

Course in risk-based land use planning 6-8 Dec 9 Nov 2400 850 NIL NIL

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Profile:

Andrea Heath After two years working in the community sector, it is with much pleasure that I returnedto the State Emergency Service (SES) in February this year in the role of AssistantDirector, Emergency Management.

Some of you may recall that I was the Assistant Director, Operations and Resources,leaving the SES to become one of the inaugural members of the newly formed SocialInclusion Unit within the Department of Premier and Cabinet. In 2009, I left StateGovernment to help establish the Victorian based community organisation, Reclink inTasmania. Reclink specialises in providing arts, sporting and cultural activities todisadvantaged members of the community.

In my time with Reclink I had the opportunity to work closely with people experiencing disadvantage, providing them with a variety ofcommunity activities such as football, sailing, bushwalking and arts programs. I also facilitated a number of programs at the Risdon Prison.

After two years with Reclink, the opportunity arose to rejoin the SES. I had kept in touch with my friends and colleagues at theSES and was always impressed with the professionalism and dedication of the team. I was also impressed by a number of initiativesthat were occurring, particularly in relation to the changed approach to the Australian Government’s emergency managementfunding and the continued high level of services provided to the Tasmanian community by staff and volunteers.

I very much enjoyed my previous time working with SES and feel privileged to able to rejoin the team. I look forward to continuing to buildthe capacity within the Emergency Management Unit to assist the Tasmanian community to prepare for and respond to emergencies.

Since in commencing with the Emergency Management Unit(EMU) in February this year, there have been a number ofstaff changes, namely:

• Andrea Heath has been appointed to the role of AssistantDirector of the EMU. Andrea returns to SES after workingfor the Department of Premier and Cabinet and Reclink, acommunity sector organisation.

• Iain Burns moved from the Senior Planning and EducationOfficer role with the EMU to the Manager, Southern Region.Whilst Iain will be missed by the EMU, he has taken on animportant position within the SES and we wish him all thebest.

• Colleen Ridge has secured a permanent position within theEMU in the role of Senior Planning and Education Officer.Colleen will be responsible for Education and Training.

• Jeff Ridley has been seconded from his role as ProjectsCoordinator to the position of Senior Planning and EducationOfficer until August 2013. Jeff will be responsible foremergency management planning.

• Amanda McAully, Projects Officer for the State PreparednessProject, has had her position extended until December thisyear.

• Inspector Doug Rossiter has been seconded to the EMUfrom Tasmania Police for 12 months to project manage theState Risk Assessment Project.

• Senior Constable Frank Boonstra has also been seconded tothe EMU from Tasmania Police to undertake the position ofProjects Coordinator until August 2013.

The EMU is currently working with other members of theTasmanian Security and Emergency Management Unit toprogress national and state priorities, including:

- National Strategy for Disaster Resilience

- Interoperability during emergencies

- State-wide Emergency Risk Assessment Project

- Emergency management education and training

- Supporting emergency management planning state-wide

Andrea HeathAssistant Director, Emergency Management Unit

EmergencyManagement Unit

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Department recognised forsupporting SES volunteer

The Department of Education has been recognised for supportinga young employee who provides a valuable community service byvolunteering in the State Emergency Service.

SES Director Andrew Lea recently presented a certificate ofappreciation to the Department of Education’s InformationTechnology Services manager Scott Ashton for supporting 24-year-old Mathew Robertson on a regular basis as an SESvolunteer.

“As an SES volunteer, Mathew regularly gives up his time,often at extremely short notice to respond to emergencies.Obviously, incidents that require the services of the SES canoccur at any time of the day, including during normal workhours,” Mr Lea said.

“Over recent months, Mathew has been released from work tovolunteer in Queensland to help out with the fall-out from thedevastating floods and Cyclone Yasi.

“Like many other employers of our SES volunteers, theDepartment of Education has been extremely flexible inproviding Mathew with leave at very short notice to undertakevital volunteer work, and that’s why we’re recognising theirsupport today.”

Mathew, who is an information technology support officer, hasbeen volunteering at the SES for the past three years while hewas living on Flinders Island and more recently in Hobart.

“I volunteer to assist and provide support to the public in timesof need and emergency as well as to learn new skills thatwouldn’t be available to me in a normal job,” Mathew said.

“Going to Queensland to assist with the Queensland floodsand the cyclone was an extremely valuable experience to me,and a huge eye opener to the problems that people canexperience and work through together.

“None of it would be possible to experience without the greatsupport of my manager Scott Ashton and the Department ofEducation.”

Mr Ashton said that the Department fully supported Mathew’svolunteering efforts, saying that it was an importantcommunity service.

“The team work and skills that Mathew has developed in theSES has contributed to his work practice and the professionalservice he provides in supporting Departmental staff,” MrAshton said.

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Director SES, Andrew Lea, presenting a Certificate of Appreciation to Scott Ashton, Manager IT Services, Department of Education, for the support provided toSES with the release of SES volunteer, Mat Robertson from IT Services to respond to emergencies

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Profile:Hilary Courtney-Pratt Hi, my name is Hilary Courtney-Pratt and I have recently been appointed as the secondClerical Support Officer at SES Hobart Headquarters my commencement date was the31 of March.

I previously worked for Woolworths at the Sandy Bay store for 7 years as a SystemsOperator/Pay Clerk. Since starting at SES I have learnt what weekends are again and thisgives me a chance to enjoy my hobbies such as: Walking, spending time up at Orford,relaxing, spending time with my partner Tim and my friends and family.

Some people would say that since I started working at SES I have found my twin as Karenand I are so similar and are quite often mistaken as each other on the phone. Thank youto all the people that have made me feel so welcome and supported me since I startedwith SES. I look forward to meeting you all in person and visiting the different regions.

Profile:

Doug Rossiter I have recently been seconded to the SES to manage the State Emergency RiskAssessment Project, as part of our commitment to COAG’s National Disaster ResilienceStrategy, which was signed in December 2009. As part of this strategy, all states andterritories have undertaken to complete risk assessments to inform risk mitigationpriorities and identify ongoing work to address those priorities.

With this in mind, my project will tread similar ground to that of the 2003 TasmanianEmergency Risk Management Project (TERMP), but will adopt a slightly different approach.Whereas the TERMP undertook an extensive community consultation process that identifiedlocalised risks, the State Emergency Risk Assessment project will have a high-level focus,identifying the major hazards and priority risks from a state-wide perspective.

Another point of difference between the 2003 TERMP and this project is that there is now a new international standard for riskassessment (AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009), supported by the new set of National Emergency Risk Assessment Guidelines (‘theNERAG’). The NERAG process is somewhat complex, and one of my challenges will be to try to simplify the methodology so itcan be easily understood and used by a range of different stakeholders.

I am physically situated in the new Tasmanian Security and Emergency Management Group office (Capita Building, Hobart),where I am surrounded by people who can provide plenty of advice and support. I also intend to draw heavily upon the experience,knowledge and expertise that exists in the Regional offices around the State.

As a police officer of 17 years I have some previous EM experience; mainly from an operational response perspective so I am verykeen to look at things from a different angle, and have begun to immerse myself in the world of hazard, risk and emergencymanagement planning. I am very pleased to be a part of such a fine organisation as the SES, and am looking forward to becomingmore familiar with the many dedicated and capable people who make up this service.

For those interested in my background, I was born in Tassie but spent most of my childhood in South Australia before returningto Tasmania as a young adult. I shot off to Queensland for a year in the military before deciding to return and become a cop. Iwas posted to the North West Coast where I performed a variety of operational police roles for my first 12 years.

I have been based in Hobart for the last 5 years, where I have worked as the Manager Business Projects Services, where I hadresponsibility for Tasmania’s involvement in various national police IT projects. More recently I was the officer in charge of theKingston Division and spent some time as staff officer to the Deputy Commissioner.

Outside of work I have a strong interest in health and physical fitness, and have various sporting commitments which take up mostof my free time. I am also currently the President of the Tasmania Police Sports Federation and have coached the TasmaniaPolice Football Club in the last 3 national carnivals. I am married and have two boys aged 11 and 9 years.

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2011 Southern SARCentralised Training Weekend

On the last weekend in June, the Southern Search & RescueTeam held their annual centralised training weekend atLiawenee in Tasmania’s Central Highlands. 15 membersparticipated in total – a great turn out! Our accommodationfor both Friday and Saturday night was at Tiger Hut (a publicfacility provided by the Parks and Wildlife Service). The huthad a wide range of facilities (including multiple bunk rooms,several bathrooms, and a large kitchen and lounge area),making it perfect for both training and socializing.

While the original plan was to conduct winter skills training, alack of snow over the weekend meant that we had to shift ourfocus to other skill sets. Two members headed to the site lateon Thursday evening to plan and setup a range of exercisesbefore the remainder of the team arrived the following evening.

The exercises included both practical and theory sessions inboth daylight and night-time conditions. Saturday 25th Junefeatured a wide range of training sessions, run by a number oftrainers. First-aid focused on the Expedition MedicineP.R.E.S.S.L.O.C. procedure and patient management in adverseenvironments. All team members then proceeded outside for asession on tracking theory, followed by multiple scenarios.

The Saturday afternoon consisted of two more activities:navigation and roping. An off-trail GPS exercise throughmarshlands, eucalypt forests and alpine environments helpedreinforce the importance of map/GPS datum configurations,while a series of nearby crags allowed the team to get ropedup and go vertical for a while.

After dark, two more sessions were run on bothcommunications and the AMSA directional finder while wewaited for our BBQ dinner to cook. The team then tucked into a good feed, followed by great conversations around the

fire. This included two members showing off their amazingportable stoves; one from the 1950’s and the other made onlyfrom Pepsi cans.

Sunday morning consisted of a four hour exercise, designed tocombine all of the training skills from the previous day. Twomembers acted as patients, disappearing into the alpine scrubaround Lake Augusta under cold and wet conditions. Using acombination of tracking, navigation, communications and theAMSA emergency beacon, the remainder of the team managedto locate and evacuate both casualties using the SKED.

The team then returned to Tiger Hut for a debrief and lunch,before packing up and returning to Hobart. We wouldparticularly like to thank the staff of the Parks & WildlifeLiawenee Field Office for their assistance and accommodationfacilities. A fantastic weekend was had by all involved, and we’reall looking forward to next year’s centralised training weekend!

Jack Beardsley Southern SAR Management Team

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Arron Brooke is avolunteer with theSES Mersey Unit.This story appearedin the Advocate thesame day Arronparticipated in theSES NavigationChallenge, howeverSES were none thewiser that Arron hadreceived such aprestigious award.Well Done Arron.

The attached article and photo was supplied withpermission of The AdvocateNewspaper on SaturdayApril 9, 2011.

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A new facebook group has been established forTasmania’s north region. The group is titled,Emergency Management North Tas. This is theofficial facebook group of the Northern RegionalEmergency Management Committee (NREMC).

The NREMC is a committee that forms a vitalpart of Tasmania’s emergency management

framework. It exists under the authority of the EmergencyManagement Act 2006. It is chaired by the Tasmanian PoliceCommander North, with executive support being provided bythe SES Regional Manager North. The committee comprisesof representatives from all levels of government, the privatesector and non-government agencies.

This page aims to provide a platform to:

1. Inform the public regarding emergency prevention,preparedness, response and recovery;

2. Issue public warnings during times of emergency;

3. Share emergency related community education informationwith members of the public.

If you wish to join the group, send a request/like to thefollowing link: http://www.facebook.com/editprofile.php?sk=contact&success=1#!/groups/133624620050358/

Please support this group by joining and also promoting it toyour friends and colleagues.

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National Disaster RescueCompetition 2011Adelaide, South Australia

On the Weekend of the 8th to 10th July 2011 the SouthernRegional Unit had the honour of representing Tasmania SESat the National Disaster Rescue Competition. The event washeld at the Adelaide Show grounds and all state and territorieswere represented. The competition involved teams having toundertake 8 different 1 hour stands/activities. The competitionwas based on General Rescue Skills which included aspectsof rescue from heights, shoring, breaching, heavy lifting, andmass casualty.

The Tasmanian team’s first stand on the Saturday involved aplane crash where they had to gain access to the aircraft thentreat, manage and extricate casualties. The team had to copewith an interesting prop which was a computerised dummybaby which would scream if left unattended for too long. Thiscreated a few problems for several of the teams. From therethey moved to a stand involving breaching through a concretewall to gain access to casualties. This was followed by a standinvolving a stock trailer with live goats in the back and theproblem of gaining access to injured workers. The team thenfinished the day rescuing an injured worker from high on aFerris wheel.

Day two continued with the same intensity of the first day andthe team was immediately thrown into a rescue scenario withworkers trapped within collapsed scaffolding (congratulationsto the team for top scoring on this stand). The second stand

was a mass casualty incident which involved extinguishing afire to gain access to search a building with 29 rooms andremove all casualties to a staging area. The stand immediatelyafter lunch required the team to make safe an unstable wallby constructing 3 raked shores laced together. Their finalstand for the competition was a heavy lift rescue of anentrapped person pinned by the legs under a shippingcontainer. The team finished the competition well with a greateffort on the last stand.

On Sunday evening a presentation dinner for all those involvedwas held at the Hotel Grand Chancellor. Teams, judges andofficials could finally relax over a few quiet drinks and socialisewith fellow SES members from throughout the country. Thepresentation of trophies occurred after dinner and the resultswere as follows;

1st - South Australia

2nd - New South Wales

3rd - Australian Capital Territory

4th - Tasmania

5th - Northern Territory

6th - Victoria

7th - Queensland

8th - Western Australia …continued over page.

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Mass Causality Stand

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gazetteThe attached article and photo was supplied with permission by the Advocate Newspaper on Tuesday April 13

2011.

Congratulations to the Fern Tree Gully Team from SouthAustralia for winning the competition. As can be seen theTasmanian team did us proud by scoring very well in aNational competition. Congratulations to John Mackonis(Team Leader), Andrew Webster, Kerrie Burns, Curtis Salter,Trish Makrogamvrakis and Matthew Fishwick for a great effortin coming 4th (they only missed out on 3rd position by about16 points). The team came out of the competition elated withtheir efforts and they all agreed that they learned a lot andenjoyed the experience of competing at a national level.

A few words from one of the team members! Curtis Salter

“I believe that one of the most enjoyable experiences of mytime in the SES has been to compete in the National DisasterRescue Competition for Tasmania. South Australia was the

competition winners with Tasmania getting fourth behind NSWand ACT. The Adelaide competition was definitely challengingfor our team where we had to use a range of differentequipment and go beyond our usual training experience. I hadnever heard of a pumpkin cut for breeching concrete andnever have I used a soft skid stretcher but it was a great timeto learn. One of the things that I found was that even thoughwe worked in complicated situations, it was our basic training,like communications and safety that were the most importantfactors. It was good to be a part of a team that went to thecompetition not just to try and win but to have fun and learn.The training and experience that I have gained from thecompetition was priceless and I highly recommend theexperience for its training value and social value to allmembers.”

Breaching Stand Rescue from heights Stand

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Northern MidlandsUnit Fundraiser forQueensland Floods

One day early in January the Northern Midlands Unit werechatting about the destruction the floods had caused oncommunities in Queensland and decided we wanted to help.So the Unit called up Northern region HQ and ran the idea ofa fundraiser on the side of the highway by them, luckily theywere all for it and got to work organising fundraiser permitsetc.

Then the date was set, 15-16th January on the side of thehighway in Campbell Town the Northern Midlands Unit weregoing to beg travelers for money! Only one more thing, Mhairi(RM North) had organised News coverage for our “Littlefundraiser!” So our “Little fundraiser” had blown out to a “Bigfundraiser!” so the NM Unit quickly rang around and got theCampbell Town Fire Brigade, Ross Fire Brigade and the localVolunteer Ambo’s on board to assist in the “shaking of thebuckets” fundraiser, which they were more than happy to beinvolved in.

So all the local services had a meeting and set a high targetof $10,000. We kick started the fundraiser with a fewdonations from local businesses and some flashing signboards from BOOM Sherrin Hire before the Weekend. Set-up was at 7am Saturday morning, which took longer thanexpected as people were starting to throw money out their carwindows at us before we even started collecting! By lunchtimewe estimated we had raised around $5000, so we were wellon track to our $10,000 goal. The weekend was long and hot,standing on the road shaking buckets. But we all thought “itsbetter standing in the sun doing this than stripping out flood

damaged houses”. Finally the weekend was over, and all thatwas left to do was count the money! So a BIG thank you to thegirls at the local bank who assisted us with the count andcame back to us with a figure of around $31,000!

It made the weekend very worthwhile when everyone foundout the figure. Next step was to get the money to QLD, soeveryone who was involved agreed to send it to a localcommunity so that we could make a difference in one area,and what better way to get it into the community but by givingit to an SES Unit. So it was decided we would give it to theTheodore Unit.

Theodore is a little town 3 hours from Rockhampton, whichgot flooded several times over the Summer, In fact one timearound 95% of the town went under water. So one NM Unitmember Ben Foot was lucky enough to fly up to QLD thanksto Tasmania SES, to deliver the money to the Theodore Unit.On arrival to Theodore you could see the destruction the floodshad caused on the town, and how the local community hadbanded together to fix the town with what resources they had.

The Theodore unit was very appreciative of the money andadvised it was going to go towards community projects andalso fixing the flood damage to their own SES shed.

Thanks to everyone who was involved in this worthwhilefundraiser!

Ben Foot Deputy Unit Manager - Northern Midlands Unit

gazette

LEFT: Wendell Edwards wiping the sweat of his brow while shaking a bucket for the Fundraiser. RIGHT: Ben Foot receiving plaques from the Theodore SES Unit.

The attached article and photo was supplied with permission of The Advocate Newspaper on Tuesday April 12, 2011.

24/3/2011

Dear Volunteers, Sponsors and Stall Holders,

RE: Ride Launceston

I am writing to thank you all for your fantastic contributions to the Ride Launceston event on Sunday the 20th of March. The event was a great success and it really couldn’t have been achieved without your support. I thoroughly enjoyed the event this year and I hope you did as well! It was great to look at into the crowd and see people cycling their smoothies, spinning rainbow streamers, playing drums, getting their bikes fixed and having a spontaneous family picnic on the grass surrounded by bicycles.

Participants comments have included:

"Big thank you to the wonderful volunteers along the route!"

"Keep up the good work!'

"When is the next one?"

"Great organisation- kids really loved it!"

We have had some fantastic feedback and had 302 participants.

It is great to see so many community members take part in events that promote active and healthy living. What a great outcome!

Thank you once again for your support!!

Warm regards,

Bonnie McGee

Recreation Planning Officer

gazette - tasmania state emergency · pdf fileexceptional ses or emergency management service...

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