Emergency management

Emergency management helps Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities avoid the different types of emergencies and hazards that their communities may face and to know how to deal with them quickly and efficiently when they happen [43129] [47112]. Emergencies can range from natural disasters such as earthquakes, cyclones, bushfires, or floods, to a public health emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Emergencies must be defined and dealt with at a community level, utilising local and traditional knowledge and involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at all levels of planning, including emergency prevention, preparedness, response and recovery (PPRR) [47338].

The definition of an emergency changes from community to community. For example, some might believe that long-term social situations like substance abuse or family violence are emergencies in their communities, and therefore localised and cultural knowledge needs to be understood in the first response to emergencies [43990] [47112]. For example, it would be important to move people to culturally appropriate places during evacuations, provide long-term healing services (like counselling) for people suffering due to the emergency and ensure emergency first responders have received cultural awareness training [43990] [44048].

The Keeping our mob safe: a national emergency management strategy for remote Indigenous communities strategy identified priorities for establishing and maintaining emergency management in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities [924]. The priorities of particular importance to Indigenous Environmental Health Practitioners and rangers include community resourcing, and empowering, training and educating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities [45450] [44048].

Emergency management therefore requires good partnerships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and agencies that deal with emergencies [924] (including ambulance, fire and police services, and the Royal Flying Doctors Service), particularly in remote locations. Roads should also be well maintained, and there should be access to required infrastructure (like an airstrip and health services). An emergency management plan needs to take into account cultural, engagement, and communication issues (getting the community involved and keeping them informed) [43129] [44048].