Recovery Matters webinars get to the heart of key issues that are important in disaster recovery. Join the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience and the Australian Red Cross to hear directly from community leaders about community-led recovery.
Putting the ‘community’ in community recovery committee
We talk about community-led recovery, but how is it practised? Since Ash Wednesday, Victoria has provided a mechanism for community participation in the recovery process, through the formation of community recovery committees. This webinar will highlight different practices and current research into the formation and operation of community recovery committees.
Guest speakers:
Malcolm Hackett OAM, Past Chair, Strathewen Community Renewal Association
Malcolm Hackett OAM is a farmer who lives in Strathewen. He retired as Principal of Diamond Valley College in 2008. Malcolm’s home and farm were destroyed on Black Saturday 2009; the Strathewen community was devastated, 27 people died. Strathewen people decided they would lead their own renewal and Malcolm was elected Chair. Malcolm is currently the Secretary of the Strathewen Bushfire Relief Trust which manages Strathewen’s remaining funds. Malcolm is the Chair of a Bendigo Bank Community Bank Board and is a director of Bushfire Resilience Incorporated (BRI) a not-for-profit focussed on raising community awareness about bushfire preparedness. |
Dr Kitty Vigo, Mt Beauty Keep Calm Committee
Dr Kitty Vigo is a former journalist and senior lecturer in Media Studies at Swinburne University of Technology. Since retiring in 2008 she has volunteered with the Mount Beauty Neighbourhood Centre Inc. Her interest in community recovery and resilience started after the 2019/2020 Black Summer bushfires when she became the facilitator of the Centre’s sub-committee, the Keep Calm Committee (KCC), which initially promoted household fire plans. After a Red Cross a RediCommunities workshop in February 2021 KCC’s work has broadened to include regular community preparedness events, the formation of community-led resilience action group to develop a community emergency recovery plan, and provision of mental health services. |
Dominic Sandilands, CEO Corryong Health and Chair Towong Community Recovery Committee
Dominic Sandilands is Chief Executive Officer of Corryong Health located in the Upper Murray on the border of North East Victoria and Kosciusko National Park in New South Wales. Since the Black Summer Bushfires, Dom has been Chair of the Upper Murray Community Recovery Committee. Dom is a Fellow of the Australasian College of Health Service Managers, a Certified Health Executive; and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Other qualifications include a Masters of Business Management, Bachelor of Applied Sciences (Podiatry) and certificate of Advanced Clinical Education. |
Dr Kate Brady, University of Melbourne and Australian Red Cross
Dr. Kate Brady has had a distinguished career over the past decade in disaster recovery operations, programming and research. After establishing and leading the Australian Red Cross Disaster Recovery program for 12 years, Kate is now a Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne and a technical adviser to Australian Red Cross and other organisations. Most of Kate’s work focuses on what people find helpful and unhelpful after disasters. Throughout her career, Kate has had significant influence on State and National emergency management policy and has an international profile in collective trauma, risk and resilience and in disaster recovery program evaluations. In 2021, she became the host for ABC’s podcast ‘After the Disaster’. |
Webinar Host:
Andrew Coghlan, Head Emergency Services, Red Cross