Aussies lead world in disaster response

AUSTRALIAN disaster response teams are world-class and have been leaders in managing international crises, a conference has been told.

Emergency management expert Peter Baines remembers how bodies found floating in the water or washed up on the beaches and streets of Thailand after the 2004 Boxing day tsunami were taken to a local temple.

"As I walked in, all I could see covering the entire area was the decomposing bodies of 3500 people that lay on the ground," said Mr Baines, who has spent 22 years with the NSW Police responding to terrorist acts and natural disasters.

He has also consulted for Interpol and the UN, and was deployed to Japan last year after the tsunami and to Bali following the 2002 bombings.

Mr Baines spoke about his experiences at the Sydney Safety Conference on Thursday in which he said Australia had always taken a lead in international disaster responses.

With the Thai temple turned into a mortuary, 400 international emergency workers brought 110 refrigerated shipping containers to Phi Phi Island and began the long, difficult work of identifying bodies.

In the chaos, Australians took charge, and strong disaster leadership set Australian rescue workers apart, he told the conference.

"Under immense pressure from families, the media, and embassy staff, Australian teams in Thailand held every key leadership position for six to eight months, over 36 other countries including the UK, Germany and Sweden," Mr Baines said.

"It wasn't that we were arrived quicker, we didn't have any greater skill or expertise or resources, it was what we did."

Mr Baines also praised former Queensland premier Anna Bligh for her leadership during the floods.

"(Ms Bligh) was on TV with wet hair and a raincoat on," Mr Baines said, and her leadership during the crisis showed she understood the challenges Queenslanders were facing.

Mr Baines called on insurance companies to lower premiums for organisations who trained disaster response staff, saying this would ensure nations maintained high standards of emergency management.

Thursday 25 October 2012

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/aussies-lead-world-in-disaster-response/story-fn3dxiwe-1226503127843