While the rolling series of flood events is keeping emergency services occupied, preparing for the next drought is still front of mind for the federal government, according to Recovery Support Officer Sandy McNaughton.

Ms McNaughton works for the newly-merged National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and has been visiting her patch in the western plains to ensure that key players understand the role each agency has to play in preparing for, managing and recovering from whatever crisis comes next. 

She was in Coonamble on Friday 16 and Saturday 17 September to meet with council and community agencies, as well as attending the opening of the 2022 Outback Archies exhibition which NEMA had sponsored. 

An organisation adapting to change

The NEMA came into effect on 1 September when Emergency Management Australia and the National Recovery and Resilience Agency (NRRA) joined forces. 

It is the fourth change in two years for the NRRA, which began life as the North Queensland Livestock Industry Recovery Agency after the February 2019 monsoon that saw flash flooding across large areas of Queensland. 

Later that year, as drought decimated huge swathes of the country, its role was extended and the organisation renamed as the National Drought & Flood Agency in December 2019.

In July 2021 in the aftermath of the Black Summer Bushfires it was again rebadged as the National Recovery & Resilience agency. 

The latest change is intended to ensure a single agency is responsible for keeping an eye on how we prepare for, manage and recover from an expected increase in the number and severity of climate-related disasters. 

"NEMA provides end-to-end oversight on risk reduction, prevention, preparedness, response and recovery in Australia," Ms McNaughton said. 

"The recent announcement of a third consecutive La Nina is cause for concern with more flood events expected." 

"We are not first responders, the states will always have that responsibility, but there is now more of a focus on being prepared." 

As a Recovery Support Officer based near Inverell and covering Inverell, Gwydir, Moree, Narrabri, Walgett and Coonamble shires, Ms McNaughton is tasked with working in those communities to "identify what's working and what's not." 

NEMA Recovery Support Officer, Sandy McNaughton.

The cost of being unprepared

On average, as well as costing lives and livelihoods, disasters cost the Australian Government $38 billion per year. 

This is estimated to reach between $73 billion and $94 billion per year by 2060. 

Ms McNaughton says that to date, around 97% of investment has been directed to crisis response and recovery, and just 3% to preparedness. 

Her role is intended to help address this imbalance. 

"I work hand in hand with state and local governments and regional and local emergency management committees," Ms McNaughton said. 

While having official Disaster Management and Flood Mitigation Plans in place is important, there is other work to be done in areas like Coonamble and Walgett. 

"There is a risk of complacency and that some communities are under-resourced in certain areas," she said. 

"My role is to identify those gaps and escalate any issues to have things put in place." 

While drought is still not necessarily defined as a natural disaster by the national government, focusing on getting ready for the next drought it still on NEMA's agenda. 

"We work closely with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries," Ms McNaughton said. 

"The trauma of the previous drought is still palpable in these communities." 

"It was followed by flooding, fires, mouse plagues, COVID and more floods and what we're dealing with now is where all these disasters are compounded." 

She says she would like to see communities working now to identify the areas where work needs to be done to prepare for and build coping capacity for whatever strikes next.