This is AIDR calling

We came to the end of Waring (Wombat) season here in Naarm/Melbourne this month. The usual cold damp days were largely replaced by magnificent sunny days with blue sky.

They are magnificent in the moment, and then the emergency manager in you remembers what this means: the strong El Niño, and what that could possibly bring later in the year. The global wildfire situation is a reminder of what we may face: communities experiencing repeated fire events, and fires occurring in places that have rarely, if ever, burned before. These events mirror the stories of JG Ballard, a dystopian writer I read much of when I was younger. It’s a reminder of the importance of what we achieve every day to make the world safer.

I was fortunate to be invited by Ika Trijsburg from the Municipal Association of Victoria to share the stage at the Emergency Management Conference here in Victoria. We discussed mis- and disinformation, following excellent presentations from Mark Duckworth on trust and Barbara Ryan on mis- and disinformation. It is a topic that is increasingly gaining recognition as an important driver of risk to the effective management of disasters and amplifying their consequences. It comes down to the stories we tell about disasters: whether we can shape and guide the narrative, or whether we are swept up by one that takes hold without us. There is much more to do in this space.

I was very pleased that our Resilience Matters webinar this month on community-based risk reduction had one of our highest registration numbers and attendance. We were fortunate to have community resilience leader Maree Grenfell help unpack the concepts and practice, while Natasha Odgers and Sally Foreman from Neighbourhood Centres Queensland showed how the social infrastructure of neighbourhood houses can help unlock community capacity to build resilience. This is a topic close to my heart as the benefits are realised here and now, with stronger, more connected communities that are healthier, safer, more cohesive, and better places to live, as well as avoiding future costs of disasters. Yet we have to argue time and time again for the value of this application of soft skills to enable nontangible mitigation.

Resilience Canopy are one such group that are doing this work across the country. They have an ambitious goal to work with 500 communities, as they outlined at a fabulous panel session, ‘Why aren’t we building the villages we know we need’. Natalie Egleton from Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, Kate Cotter from the Resilient Building Council, Nicola Stokes from AMP Foundation, Mary-Lou Lewis (Chair, Stuarts Point and District Community Organisation), and Maureen Halit (President, Millgrove Residents Action Group) made up the panel which provided a range of strategic, visionary, and practical insights. One key takeaway for me was that building resilience is a long-term effort that takes patience and, at times, the good fortune of finding the person who has the ‘aha’ moment, sees why it matters, and gets behind it.

I was fortunate to catch up with Paddy O’Leary, CEO of Country Needs People, a national organisation that supports Indigenous land and sea management across Australia. It was fantastic to see the practical support, capacity building, and policy advocacy they provide. Land and sea rangers are perfectly placed to manage and reduce disaster risk through their tending of Country.

We have been busy designing what we think might be the first disaster risk reduction (DRR) foundations professional development. This has been very exciting because although Australia adopted its National Disaster Risk Reduction Framework in 2018, I notice people still struggle with the concept of DRR and how they apply it. Conversations around disasters still drift towards response and recovery. We are fortunate in having Professor JC Gaillard from University of Auckland, one of the leading researchers in DRR globally, assisting us. I can’t wait to test this out at the Australian Disaster Resilience Conference 2026 and then look at how we can bring this out to you. If you are in Melbourne and want to come along, head to our registration page.

Our new interns, Arathi, Rose, and Fiona started this month. They are studying global studies, international relations, and journalism. They will be helping us undertake a Delphi process to shape the new Disaster Risk Reduction Handbook, and with a compendium of this year’s Resilient Australia Awards winners. It’s fabulous to have them on board and keen to gain experience in an organisational setting and develop and contribute something meaningful.

And finally, the conference. It’s coming. Most conversations around the office at the moment involve the words ‘The Conference’ or ‘ADRC’. It looms large, and the team are pedalling super hard with Hannover Fairs to bring this all together. It is no small feat to make it work, but year after year they do. We are standing on the precipice. See you there!

I’ve been having a bit of a retro, and non-indie/punk/jazz moment with music, and Enya has been accompanying my early morning focus sessions. Orinoco Flow will lift you up and take you to wherever you want to be.