Councillor Peter Geard recently represented the Tasmanian SES Volunteer Members and the Brighton Council at the Austral­asian Fire and Emergency Con­ference in Adelaide. The theme was ‘connecting communities, creating resilience’. There were over 3,200 attendees from Fire, SES, Surf Lifesaving, Red Cross, Council/Government and Min­ing, including representatives from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Singapore. On display were cutting edge emergency systems and equip­ment, showing how far we have come from the 1980s.

Over three days, discussion cov­ered pandemic effects on emer­gency services, climate change, bushfire evacuations, weather predictions, drownings, risk management and planning, flood and storms, community resilience and heatwaves. After the conference, Cr Geard visited the brand new CFS State Head­quarters – a state-of-the-art set-up which can operate without power and water for 48 hours, and some of their systems have earthquake protection.

Cr Geard shared, “It was a truly valuable experience which has allowed me to share new information with our local SES and Fire Brigade members. I wish to thank the National SES Volunteers Association for the opportunity to attend.”