Indigenous disaster resilience research webinar

For tens of thousands of years, Indigenous peoples have cared for our lands and waters, forming intimate and reciprocal bonds between people and place. In recent times, Indigenous peoples across Australia and New Zealand have experienced immense loss, suffering and trauma. Colonisation changed our worlds like nothing before. While processes of colonisation have resulted in a deep sense of cultural loss, it has also brought forward an undeniable, and powerfully compelling sense of resilience.

AIDR welcomes the Australian Journal of Emergency Management (AJEM) guest editors, Dr Bhiamie Williamson and Lucy Kaiser, to co-host the Indigenous disaster resilience research webinar which will feature presenters from the Indigenous edition of the journal.

The April 2025 Indigenous edition of AJEM has exclusively published research articles by Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Māori authors which focus on practices and knowledge from across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. We are proud to foster an Indigenous-led and decolonial discourse in disaster resilience and emergency management, explore and enhance understanding of Indigenous perspectives, and highlight Indigenous leadership and excellence in disaster resilience and emergency response.

The Indigenous edition of AJEM documents and encourages the incorporation of Indigenous peoples’ knowledge into emergency management and disaster resilience practices. In doing so, the edition contributes to a broader knowledge base and encourages new ways of thinking and working.

This webinar will showcase a sample of the content included in the Indigenous edition of AJEM. We encourage everyone to read the entire journal and explore the range of research and perspectives.

Co-hosts:

Lucy Kaiser

Lucy Kaiser (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha) is a disaster social scientist specialising in Indigenous and community-centered emergency management. She is a researcher at GNS Science and Massey University in Aotearoa New Zealand, where she is also completing a PhD in emergency management. Her research explores disaster preparedness and resilience, particularly within Māori, Indigenous and rural communities, with a particular focus on Indigenous perspectives on climate change.

Lucy collaborates with iwi, hapū and local communities to develop culturally responsive strategies for managing natural hazards. Lucy has contributed to national and international discussions on disaster risk reduction, school preparedness, climate adaptation, and advocating for inclusive, evidence-based policies. She is also an active mentor and educator, supporting the next generation of social scientists in the field of emergency management.

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.

Presentations:

Māori-led tourism and climate change impacts and adaptation: Perspectives from Westland Tai Poutini National Park, New Zealand

Abby Hamilton (Ngāi Tahu)

Working together to drive change: weaving caring for Country practices into fire risk management on Djiringanj Country

Graham Moore, Dr Gregory Summerell, Mandy Foster, Ruby Foster and Veronica Parsons

Working in partnership on cultural fire: application of a lessons management approach

David Windsor and Peter Galvin

Whaowhia te Kete Mātauranga: Papakāinga as a Hapū Resilience Framework

Robbie Richardson

Indigenous disaster resilience research webinar

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