[Bermagui Community] Free Online Forum on Bushfire Resilience for the Bega region, 8.45am Tuesday 19 May,

[Frances Perkins]

Hi All

 

This forum looks important for our communities. 

 

Former Greg Mullins, RFS Commissioner and Chair of Emergency Leaders for
Climate Action is a keynote speaker.

 

Cut and paste link below if you wish to register.

 

Cheers

Frances

 

Frances Perkins 

0423780498

 

NEW FORUM TO BUILD BEGA COMMUNITY RESILIENCE AFTER THE FIRES

 

A GROUNDBREAKING NEW PROGRAM aimed at building resilience and hope in rural
and regional communities will bring world-leading fire and trauma recovery
experts to Bega next week.

 

Farmers for Climate Action, a group of farmers and rural leaders working to
ensure farmers and regional communities are a key part of the solution to
climate change, are hosting a virtual Community Resilience forum for the
Bega community on 19 May at 8:45am.

The free forum, which is open to the entire community to attend online, will
look at the impact of the catastrophic bushfires on the South Coast, and how
the community can develop strength and resources to rebuild to face the
challenges of climate change.

Featured speakers include Emergency Leaders for Climate Action chair and
former NSW RFS Commissioner Greg Mullins and disaster and trauma recovery
expert, clinical psychologist Dr Rob Gordon.

Greg Mullins, former Commissioner of Fire & Rescue NSW, fought the fires at
Batemans Bay on New Years Eve as an RFS volunteer. He said that the local
community has shown incredible strength during tragedy, but that planning
for a future that involves worsening bushfires is necessary due to the
effects of climate change.

"There aren't many communities in the world that have had to face what the
South Coast went through over summer, and prior to that, in Tathra in 2018.

We've never before seen bushfires on this scale - but they're going to
become a regular occurrence unless we take urgent action to reduce
greenhouse emissions. That means everyone has to have a plan for survival.

"During the summer's fires, the phone towers went, electricity failed, and
all access was cut off. There was no radio, no internet, no phones, so
nobody could get emergency warnings. There was no refrigeration, no
medication available for people who needed it, and food stocks dwindled.

 

"Everything can fall over so quickly, and a big part of building resilience
is going back to basics and asking yourself whether you have the essentials
for survival, whether you can cope on your own if everything "normal" is
suddenly gone. Resilience begins at home, in local communities, and at all
levels of government," said Mr Mullins.

 

Wendy Cohen, CEO of Farmers for Climate Action, said that regional
communities such as Bega have had a very difficult year, and that the forum
aims to bring people together to develop strategies to face the challenges
that lie ahead.

"Rural and regional Australians have an extraordinary capacity for coming
together and tackling challenges as one," Cohen said.

"It has been a tough few months of bushfires and social isolation, but we
want to bring people together to identify and pursue the solutions that will
make communities stronger, more resilient against climate and economic
threats, and help alleviate the threat of climate change," she said.

 

Anyone who is interested in joining this free, online forum can register
their details at

www.farmersforclimateaction.org.au/bega_2020_forum

For interviews or for more information contact Lara Nicholson 0431 050 768
or Vai Shah at 0452 290 082.

Interviews available with:

Greg Mullins, AO, Climate Councillor and former Commissioner, Fire and
Rescue NSW

Dr Rob Gordon, clinical psychologist.

Wendy Cohen, Farmers for Climate Action CEO

 

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