HAVE WE LEARNT THE LESSONS FROM DISASTER INQUIRIES? THEMES FROM RECENT AUSTRALIAN DISASTER INQUIRIES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE

Background The introduction of the National Strategy for Disaster Resilience (NSDR) represents a new, proactive, all-hazards approach to disaster management in Australia. This represents is a timely opportunity to revisit the recommendations and key themes from recent disaster inquiries. Aims/Objectives/Purpose To identify the common strategic themes across recent disaster inquiries and determine whether the NSDR is aligned with findings from the recent inquiries. Methods A thematic analysis of seven prominent Australian inquiries into natural disasters was undertaken. The NSDR was used as a thematic framework to analyse the inquiry reports. When an additional theme was identified that was not in the NSDR, this became a new category in the thematic analysis. Results/Outcome All of the themes from the NSDR were evident in the inquiry reports; however, a number of additional themes were identified from the inquiries. Six key themes were identified as particularly critical: State emergency management arrangements, understanding, awareness and assessment of risk, critical infrastructure, community communication and empowerment, research, and what does a disaster resilient community look like? Significance/Contribution to the Field The common themes from recent disaster inquiries provide key pointers toward strategies for enhancing Australia's disaster resilience in particular, and more generally, represent critical areas that require further research.