From: Paul.Walton@f404.n632.z3.fidonet.org (Paul Walton)
Newsgroups: aus.radio
Subject: WICEN National Newsletter No 15
Date: Fri, 08 Jan 1993 08:13:44

      To      : All Emergency Management Agencies
      From    : Wireless Institute Civil Emergency Network
                Australia
      Information for inclusion in this fortnightly Bulletin
      should be sent by one of the following methods :-

      Postal  : WICEN, P.O. Box 106, Mitcham, Victoria, 3132
      InterNet: vk3tp@csource.oz.au
      FidoNet : Paul Walton @ 3:632/404
      Packet  : vk3ur@vk3bbs.vic.aus.oc
      Voice   : Paul Walton (03) 754-8646 (A.H)

WICEN.015               WICEN HAPPENINGS                     10/01/93

This is the continuation of the report by Brian Mennis on his  recent          
                                        
                  
ACDC course he recently attended .  The  article on the  NVIS antenna will
continue in the next newsletter. 

The  second  course  was more planning for disasters , and in fact was entitled
 COUNTER  DISASTER  PLANNING .  This  was  conducted  at  the Australian 
Counter  Disaster  College  at   Mt. Macedon .  While  the accommodation and
facilities were far better Macedon, the basic layout of the course was
similar.

Of course , being  in  the deep south , it was a lot colder that sunny
Queensland .  I came home with a mild dose of pneumonia , but we won't blame
that on the Victorians.

Again , the  participants  in  the  course  came  from a wide range of
occupations .  I  think  that  it  would  be  fair  to say that it was
dominated by police officers from the various states ,  ranging from a Senior 
Constable  from a  small town in the Northern Territory , to a Senior Inspector
from Adelaide.

Subjects   covered  during  the  course  included:  Vulnerability  and
Resilience , Hazard Analysis , Community Analysis, Risk Communication,and
Warnings.

There was a lively panel discussion one evening on "The Public's right to
Know". This took the form of a discussion between Colleen Hartland,a  well 
known  activist  in  the  Footscray  area  of Melbourne which recently  had a
serious chemical fire, and Colin Fiford, the assistant course supervisor , who
, in  previous life had been a navy Commander. The  point  at  issue  was  the 
right  of the  public to know all the problems that  might  arise with  the 
visit of a nuclear warship . It highlighted  the  problems that can arise when
the public is not fully taken into the authorities confidence about problems
that might affect their area . There  were  a  number  of  visiting lecturers
who gave a number of interesting summaries of planning and/or actual
disasters.

The  "planning"  included Port Adelaide, where the Port had originally been
built in the " bush " and was now in the heart of suburbia , with expensive 
units  under  construction  right  next  door to one of the potential hazards.

The " disasters "  included  the  Newcastle earthquake , and Victorian
bushfires.

Once again, syndicate exercises were a feature, with the main exercise being 
to " develop a detailed  planning  guide which could be used to assist people
in the planning process to enable the to prepare for any or  all  of  the
hazards  that may impact on their communities ."  Our group's specific topic
was an earthquake in Brisbane.

All in all , the  two  courses  were of great value to me in the State Counter
Disaster Auxiliary. However , the question now is how valuable would they be to
WICEN personnel.

I  would  recommend  the  Introduction  to  Disaster Management to all
emergency  volunteers regardless of their area , as it gives a general overview
 of  the whole disaster process from Prevention, Preparedness and Response
right through to Recovery . I would not consider Disaster Planning to be
relevant to any WICEN officer.

The  biggest problem will be getting into any course at all , as there is 
great  demand  for  places .  With  the  decentralisation  of  the Introduction
courses , this may ease somewhat , as they can be run far more regularly that
before. In Queensland, to get into a course, it is necessary to apply thought
the SES , and I would presume that it would be the same in the other states.

In  concluding  this  article ,  I  would  like  to give a plug to the
Australian Institute of Emergency Services, of which I am now a member. The 
Aim of the  Institute is " to provide a professional body for the study of the
roles and functions of  emergency  services  and  counter disaster 
organisations  throughout  Australia....." .  The membership criteria are "
shall have been an  emergency officer for not less than the equivalent of four
years prior to the date of his application....". An  Emergency Officer is
defined as " Any person .... , or a volunteer member of, an official emergency
counter disaster ....  authority...". While  I  had  some seven years in the 
Papua New Guinea Civil Defence organisation as a signals officer , that was
over 15 years ago ,  so I was  accepted  on the basis of my 10 years in WICEN .
As subscriptions go these days it is not expensive, $10 entrance fee, and $25
per year. If anybody is interested ,  I will  send you the necessary address
for your state and an application  form.

Brian Mennis, VK4XS,
Queensland State WICEN Co-ordinator.

 * Origin: WICEN Victoria Telephone BBS. (3:632/404)
Newsgroups: aus.radio