The Resilience Matters webinar series will focus on systems, environments and human factors that intersect to influence the varying levels of risk, harm and equity that people experience before, during and after a disaster. 

Presenters from a variety of research, government and community backgrounds will be invited to provide their insights and perspectives as we seek to understand how we can reduce harm in these systems to reduce disaster risk and build resilience.

Throughout the series, we will build on these foundational concepts. Everyone is welcome to attend, whether you are an experienced practitioner or new to these concepts, or somewhere in between.

Look out for new webinars as they are developed and added to the events calendar.

Webinar four: What we miss when we say 'disproportionate': A 4-pillar lens on Indigenous disaster resilience 

Thursday, 18 September 2025

AIDR welcomes Dr Bhiamie Williamson, Associate Professor and Program Lead, National Indigenous Disaster Resilience, Monash University.

We often hear about the disproportionate impacts disasters have on Indigenous groups, but rarely explore the unique impacts. Bhiamie will explore these unique impacts of major disasters on Indigenous groups through 4 pillars:

• Political
• Economic
• Social
• Spiritual

Bhiamie will explain each of these, what they mean in the context of disaster resilience, and how they might be used to better understand what support and targeted investment in Indigenous disaster resilience may look like.

Guest Speakers:

Dr Bhiamie Williamson

Dr Bhiamie Williamson is a Euahlayi man from north-west NSW with familial ties to north-west Queensland. He has led research into the impacts of disasters on Indigenous communities including examining the effects of the 2019–20 bushfires and 2022 Northern Rivers floods.

He is a graduate of the Australian National University and the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Bhiamie leads the National Indigenous Disaster Resilience project within the Fire to Flourish program at Monash University.

John Richardson (host)

Executive Director, Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR)