Bushfires point to need for better comms

The official inquiry into the devastating January 2013 bushfires in Tasmania has recommended improvements to the state’s emergency radio communications system.

Specifically, amongst the inquiry recommendations accepted by the government are:

• that police and other emergency services establish and maintain effective recording systems for emergency operations;
• that Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) reviews the communication systems used for all emergency management operations, ensures operators are qualified and ensures there is appropriate accountability.

David O’Byrne, Minister for Police and Emergency Management, said that a project is underway to implement a new web-based emergency management system which will “enable Tasmania Police and other emergency response agencies to better share information in the future”. The minister added that Tasmania Police “is also the lead agency for a whole-of-government project to implement an integrated interoperable radio network and, as a separate project, a common call-aided dispatch system for all emergency services”.

In addition, Tasmania Police has added a Facebook page that will interface with the government AlertTAS emergency website, announced last month.

The Tasmanian Government has provided $1.5 million for measures in the lead-up to this year’s bushfire season, including:

• immediate action taken on recommendations relating to the better management of social media during an emergency, and the TFS’s broader communications with communities facing a bushfire threat;
• an online emergency information management and sharing system will be investigated to enable emergency management services and other key agencies to utilise a common, integrated incident management system.