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More than 80 people from Natural Hazards Research Australia’s (the Centre) network of Participants, researchers and stakeholders gathered at Parliament House in Brisbane on 31 July, to hear about how investments in science have strengthened and enhanced natural hazards resilience and disaster risk reduction across Australia.
Centre Board Chair, Iain McKenzie’s opening remarks set the tone for an insightful evening, highlighting the importance of collaboration to reduce the impacts caused by natural hazards.
Speakers included Jane Houston, Executive Director, Strategic Directorate at the Queensland Fire Department, who provided a Participant perspective about the ongoing work of the Centre, and Major General Jake Ellwood (Retd.), Chief Executive Officer of the Queensland Reconstruction Authority, who delved into resilience in a climate-challenged world.
Image: Jane Houston
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Image: Major General Jake Ellwood
Emphasising the Centre’s commitment to leading impactful research and fostering partnerships that drive innovation in disaster resilience, Centre CEO, Andrew Gissing provided an update on the Centre’s initiatives and achievements over the past 12 months and forward plans for developing and delivering research that is useful, useable and used.
Centre researcher Prof Chris Bearman (Central Queensland University) presented his team’s work on the Enhancing decision making in emergency management project and the development of prototype training tools to support the needs of emergency management decision makers.
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Image: Prof Chris Bearman
Liza Gelt (Collaborative Consulting Co.) shared the Centre’s Sector partner engagement to enhance severe weather impact predictions project, highlighting the importance of cross-sector collaboration in enhancing a range of post-disaster effects, from reducing property damage to saving lives.
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Image: Liza Gelt
Centre Postgraduate Research Scholar, Suki Jaiswal (University of New South Wales) provided an early career researcher perspective through presenting on her PhD project investigating the impact of bushfire smoke on the eyes of firefighters, first responders and the community. Suki’s research typifies the innovative, broad subject areas currently underway by emerging Australian natural hazards researchers.
A panel discussion wrapped up the event, followed by a networking opportunity that provided attendees with the opportunity to share insights and ideas for how the Centre can address the challenges facing Queenslanders in the face of natural events through its research.
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Image: Suki Jaiswal