To develop a sector view on the future role of councils in emergency management, we established a working group comprising council officers and representatives from Victoria Police, Department of Human Services, Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner and Victoria State Emergency Service.
We ran six regional workshops for councils in August and September 2011. Over 150 people attended from 43 councils.
We developed a policy position, Role of local government in emergency management, based upon the feedback we received. A draft position paper was distributed to the local government sector for further feedback in October and November 2011.
The position proposed takes into account the sector’s current:
- capabilities and strengths
- limitations
- means to increase revenue
- need to balance a multitude of competing community priorities
The policy position formed the foundation of our submission to the Green Paper, Towards a more disaster resilient and safer Victoria [PDF]. It will be used as the basis of future advocacy, particularly around legislative change and sustainable funding.
The final position was adopted by the MAV Board on 2 December 2011.