Local GovernmentThe quiet achievers through a summer of emergencies

The summer of 2019-20 was a very busy one for local government, with councils playing key roles supporting their communities and the emergency services through fires, storms and other incidents. Councils are the quiet achievers in emergencies, playing their part in traffic management, tree management, creating control lines for fires, distributing sandbags, sharing information, providing facilities for relief centres, speaking up for their communities and maintaining regular services.

The summer also provided the first major test for the Local Government Functional Support Group (LGFSG), which was created in 2016 under the State Emergency Management Plan to coordinate the local government response in emergencies.

Local GovernmentFunctional Support Group

Councils across South Australia and the LGFSG became involved in supporting the emergency response efforts between November 2019 and February 2020. Across all the incidents, there were 39 councils involved, with 218 crew members contributing 6,421 staff hours and deploying 68 units of plant and equipment at a total estimated direct cost of $500,000.

In addition, the LGA provided 17 staff working 792 hours at a cost in excess of $50,000. In many cases, the support provided from local government was extensive and involved allocation of people and resources over many weeks.

6,421

working together

39 councils218 crew members

68 units of plant & equipment

council staff hours

Kangaroo Island

Yankalilla Victor Harbor

Alexandrina

Coorong

Tatiara

Kingston

Wattle Range

Robe

Karoonda East Murray

Renmark Paringa

MurrayBridge

Ceduna

Streaky Bay

WudinnaKimba

EllistonCleve

Franklin Harbour

Tumby Bay Lower Eyre Peninsula

YorkePeninsula

Light

Naracoorte Lucindale

Southern Mallee

Wakefield

Mid Murray

LoxtonWaikerie

Berri Barmera

Clare & Gilbert Valleys

Goyder

Peterborough

Flinders Ranges

OrrorrooCarrieton

MountRemarkable

Northern Areas Port

Pirie

Copper Coast

Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast

Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast

Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast BayHoldfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast

Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay

Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay

Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay Holdfast Bay

Onkaparinga

Unley

Playford

Salisbury

Tea TreeGully

HoldfastBay

Marion

Burnside

Campbelltown

Mt.Barker

PortLincoln

Port Augusta

Charles Sturt

WestTorrens

Norwood, Payneham & St Peters

Port Adelaide EnfieldProspect

Walkerville

Mount Gambier

Grant

211,474 Ha

5,017 HaYorketown Fire

Yorke Peninsula 20 November 2019

Kangaroo Island Fires

Kangaroo Island 20 December 2019

Angle Vale Fire

Gawler / Playford 20 December 2019

Keilira Fire

Lower South East 30 December 2019

26,055 Ha

Port Lincoln Flooding

Eyre Peninsula 31 January 2020

Cudlee Creek Fire

Mount Lofty Ranges 20 December 2019

23,295 Ha

68 Ha

Duck Ponds Fire

Eyre Peninsula 11 November 2019

228 Ha

Mallala

AdelaideHills

Barossa

Whyalla

Barunga West

Support with staff and plant from mainland was good and needed… pairing up local staff with mainland staff worked well.

Council employee, Kangaroo Island Council

Frequently identified opportunities for improvement include:

1. Uncertainty about the emergency management arrangements, and communication pathways with the emergency services

2. Not understanding the role of the LGFSG and how to access assistance

3. Reliance on key staff, and not having contingencies for when people are away

4. Not having suitable documentation and/or staff being unaware of policies and processes

5. The need for more training and refreshers for both frontline and incident management roles

6. Better practical resources for staff in the field, along with more robust communication technology

7. Balancing emergency response with business-as-usual demands.

Each council’s experience was different; some councils were directly impacted while others deployed staff and resources to support other councils and the emergency services.

The key strengths of councils’ involvement in the emergencies consistently identified through the debriefs were:

1. Willingness, skill and attitudes of council staff

2. A strong focus on safety and wellbeing

3. The importance of local relationships

4. Clear internal and external communication pathways

5. Having the right documentation in place, and staff familiar with necessary polices and processes

6. The support provided by other councils and LGFSG, and the great solidarity across the local government sector.

“A committed team of people who came together quickly to offer

assistance. Excellent facilities… ICT resources worked reliably…

communication to Council Members was frequent

and informative”

Council employee, Mount Barker District

Consider whether some IMT members may be needed in other aspects e.g. early recovery work or getting business as usual back, while the incident is still going.Council employee, Adelaide Hills Council

Council’s Incident Operations Manual worked

well, providing clear guidance on key activities

to be performed.Council employee,

Adelaide Hills Council

The mobilisation was quick and focused, and

people were supporting each other throughout e.g. seeking

advice from someone more experienced.

Council employee, City of Playford

We now have the theory behind us, and just

need to record it in case there is a next time.

Council employee, Kangaroo Island Council

Learnings by councils

The LGA’s Council Ready program supports councils with emergency management planning. Over the past few months, the program supported Adelaide Hills, Kangaroo Island, Mount Barker, Playford and Yankalilla councils with debriefs to help capture learnings, and ensure these learnings are fed back into the emergency management planning process.

Learnings by the LGFSG

This summer has been the biggest test of the LGFSG since its inception. As a result, the LGA commissioned Andrew Lawson to independently review the operations of the LGFSG. The review is based upon almost 100 interviews across the local government and emergency management sectors.

The review found that there were many successes in the first major test of the LGFSG, including• The service, coordination, systems and

communications from the LGFSG • The sharing of learning enabled some councils

to take advantage of previous experience of other councils

• The support offered by many councils via the LGFSF, including those from some distance away, was greatly appreciated by councils whose resources were stretched

• The LGFSG played an important role in lobbying for the continued support from State Recovery – and information sharing in recovery in the months after the fires.

For more information, please contact the LGA’s Emergency Management Support unit on emergencymanagement@lga.sa.gov.au or visit our online resources at

www.lga.sa.gov.au/member-services/emergency-managementThank you to the councils who supplied quotes and images for this publication.

I was really honoured and proud that I could put my training and experience in Emergency Management to good use and be able to help a community in need. It was great to be able to work in a collaborative environment with other Local Government personnel from all over the state. The success that we achieved would not have been possible without the knowledge, enthusiasm and dedication of the Kangaroo Island Council staff, they were a great bunch to work alongside of.

Lisa Cavanagh, City of Playford

The review also identified areas where the LGFSG could improve its effectiveness, and made 27 recommendations addressing the following areas: • Resourcing - improving technology-based

resources, including a robust Operational Information Management System (IMS) and Common Operating Picture.

• Governance - further develop and implement contemporary, best-practice doctrine (i.e. documentation, policies, procedures Joint Operating Guidelines and Fact Sheets etc) and resourcing to implement those systems and processes with councils and emergency services

• Capability Development - strengthen education and development for all council personnel who make themselves available to support emergency response

• Operations - facilities and equipment to enable the LGFSG to operate, safely effectively and efficiently in support of councils and the emergency services, the other Functional Support Groups, Support Agencies and the community of South Australia.

The LGA Board has committed to working with councils and the emergency management sector to address these opportunities. A copy of the review is available on the LGA’s Emergency Management website.

In an emergency, it is comforting to know that the LGFSG is at the end of the telephone, the Duck Ponds fire and Port

Lincoln flood being good examples.

The guidance given to staff acting as Liaison Officers within ZEST or Incident

Management Teams has given those staff a level of confidence in an unfamiliar area.

Rod Pearson, District Council of

Lower Eyre Peninsula

During the most recent fire season I spent 26 days working on behalf of the LGFSG coordinating local government support to the fires in South Australia. My role was primarily coordinating Local Government personnel / heavy plant in support of the CFS, initially up at Cudlee Creek and then over on Kangaroo Island. Over four separate deployments I was able to witness first hand the bravery, commitment and dedication of our emergency services, local farmers, business owners, community members and Council personnel. I worked with LGA staff and Council personnel from Adelaide Hills, Barossa, Burnside, Campbelltown, Kangaroo Island, Karoonda East Murray, Marion, Mid Murray, Mt Barker, Norwood Payneham & St Peters, Playford, Port Adelaide Enfield, Salisbury, West Torrens, Yankalilla and Victor Harbor - with offers of additional support from many, many more Councils. To see all these personnel (and their equipment) band together in these devastating and challenging times - in support of the local communities - was truly uplifting.

Sean Faulkner, City of Norwood Payneham and St Peters