Innovatia

than that which Darwin and its citizens suffered on a Christmas morning long ago. This was Na- ture at its most ferociously savage. The then newly formed NDO, whose oper- ational mandate was an increase in co-ordi- nation – a very important word in disaster re- sponse today – performed very well by any reasonable criteria. The Director General was Major General Alan Stretton, and he emerges, quietly, as an able, perhaps even heroic figure. Not only did he swiftly organise operational committees in charge of distinct responsibilities – water, food, communications, health – a brief investigation reveals that he resisted declaring martial law, under some pressure to do so, from within the military. This would have been the first and only such declaration since Federation. Instead he urged a state of emergency. Significantly, Darwin’s traumatic experi- ence galvanized the now standard procedure of Federal-State – Local co-ordination which continues to progress and enlarge. In 1992 the NDO became Emergency Man- agement Australia (EMA). This was much more than a simple name change. It was part of a much-considered, multi-faceted move to ac- complish several things; it was a notable fur- ther progression in the thought and action be- hind national Disaster response. One objective was to make it a civil organi- sation, rather than military, hence a move un- der the aegis of the Attorney General’s office. Its role was to become more comprehensive, pro-active and international, including a deep- er liaison with the UN. Its commitment to effective co-ordination with State and Local bodies increased and was honed through disasters in more recent memo-

ry : The 2009 “ Black Tuesday “Melbourne Bush- fires , where the CBD , this writer recalls, hung with thick smoke down to the ground for many days , and busy colleagues took off work to as- sist on site , 50 kms away ; and during the hor- rifyingly persistent “Black Summer “ bushfires of 2019-2020 wherein over 1 billion mammals died , a fact which created global headlines. The human death toll of Black Summer was mitigated through tactical work and co-ordi- nation by the authorities- national and local both-- who also demonstrated great valour: of the thirty-three dead, nine, or over 25% of these were firefighters. In its current, further advanced state EMA has become NEMA, as of 2022, another considered, deliberate evolution. NEMA became a merged entity incorporating the National Recovery and Resilience Authority within the Department of Home Affairs, under Brendan Moon, whose ti-

tle, indicatively, is Co-ordinator General. In the following interview I am pleased to speak with Mr. Moon about his background, NEMA it- self and contemporary perspectives as to Disas- ter response, management and recovery. He is a tall and a remarkably youthful 67, per- haps owing to a distinguished previous career as an internationally renowned Rugby Union winger with the Wallabies,1978-1986. He was inducted into the Queensland Hall of Sport Fame in 2025 and honoured as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his contributions to both public service and to sport. He speaks with precision and is amiable and engaging, but quick to draw the line when an edge of propriety appears. When asked about Trump’s move to dissolve FEMA he pleasantly responds, “As a public servant, I prefer not to comment on politicians.” JK : Brendan, I am interested, having had a

sustained editorial involvement with EMA some twenty years ago, in the rise of Reconstruction Authorities, which did not exist back then, and which I see form a significant part of your expe- rience prior to leading NEMA. BM : To understand the concept of a reconstruc- tion authority, it’s useful to look first at Queens- land, with its widely dispersed population – many regional centres. This fact, coupled with the after- math of severe flooding and Cyclone Yasi, 2010- 2011, caused then Premier Anna Bligh to create a discrete agency based on post disaster recovery, and this was the genesis of the reconstruction agencies as stand-alone bodies. It was fitting that it started in Queensland as it is the most disas- ter-prone state due to climate, beyond the settle- ment patterns I mentioned. JK : There was something conceptually new about its role? BM : Yes, up until that time recovery was not a commonly used word or idea in disaster man- agement. But the Queensland events made clear that the aftermath was likely where the biggest, or most sustained actions were need- ed, or a number of different, complementary skill sets, had to be applied. JK : This is probably where another big and comparatively recent word in the sector comes in, co-ordination. BM : Yes, exactly, there was a need to co-ordi- “The all-important perspective we live with – what to do when events become bigger than we are.”

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INNOVATIA