The New South Wales government will overhaul some of its key disaster agencies in response to the independent flood inquiry’s report.
The two-year-old Resilience NSW will be renamed Recovery NSW and stripped of most of its responsibilities. It will instead be in charge of the first 100 days following natural disasters.
A NSW Reconstruction Authority will also be created to become the state’s lead agency responsible for disaster prevention.
We’ve taken a look at the difference between these agencies.
What exactly was Resilience NSW?
Resilience NSW was created by former premier Gladys Berejiklian in the wake of the black summer bushfires that devastated parts of the state in 2019 and 2020.
It is led by former Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons and was given a wide remit to deal with disaster preparedness, response, recovery and rebuild.
It was tasked with overseeing and coordinating all emergency efforts across NSW and faced significant challenges in responding to the floods.
Why is it being scrapped?
The inquiry by former chief scientist Mary O’Kane and former police chief Mick Fuller found the agency did not meet its goals.
“[It] was built with good intentions … it just didn’t deliver,” Fuller said on Wednesday.
“There was enormous confusion about what their role was. What we need is a much smaller, robust, flexible recovery unit.”
The inquiry found underperformance of the agency was caused in part due to its size and the extent of its remit. It found the agency caused confusion about who was responsible for what.
“Resilience NSW’s approach to recovery centres was slow and often inconsistent. Among other things, there was a delay in establishing mobile recovery centres, which were crucial for smaller communities,” the report said.
The agency’s budget and employee-related expenses, which totalled more than $38m for 245 staff, have been heavily criticised.
What will Recovery NSW do?
The rebranded and “streamlined” agency will focus on the first 100 days after a disaster.
Fuller said the smaller team would take charge of the “all important” initial response – getting people back into their homes or into accommodation in the immediate aftermath.
What will the new organisation, the NSW Reconstruction Authority, do?
The government will move to legislate the new body before the end of the year and will model it on Queensland’s Reconstruction Authority, which was created after the 2010-11 floods.
It will lead the state’s emergency response, focusing on longer term recovery and rebuilding.
Fuller said it would cut through the red tape that hampered recovery.
“We’ll be pushing [money] out to make sure that local governments can do everything they can to mitigate against, not just floods, but any emergency.”
It would take on a portion of what the dissolved agency had been tasked to do, but not all of it.
“Resilience [NSW] had an enormous remit, a very challenging one,” Fuller said.
“We’ve tried to break that up into smaller pieces that are achievable by agencies that will have the ability to break through the red tape to break through all of those barriers that are in place.”
What does this mean for Fitzsimmons?
Questions remain over the future of the Fitzsimmons in disaster management in the state.
Perrottet said he had spoken with the leader about the role he would play “in respect of a transition to a new agency” but would not confirm if he would still have a job and if so, what it would be.
“Shane Fitzsimmons has been a great stalwart for our state. He has served our community incredibly, particularly during the bushfires,” Perrottet said Wednesday.
“I don’t make decisions based on people’s personalities. I make decisions based on what is right in the best interest of the people of the state.”
Just hours earlier, Fitzsimmons sent an all-staff email expressing disappointment in the process and the report.
“Many details concerning the performance of Resilience NSW are, frankly, disappointing,” he wrote.
“A great deal of the report’s findings in relation to Resilience NSW are seemingly based on inaccurate or incorrect information and assumptions.”
