Margaret River Shire named a finalist in Safer Communities awards

26/5/00
An initiative by the Shire of Augusta Margaret River to provide more effective, co-ordinated emergency management in its local community has been named a finalist in the Western Australian division of the inaugural Safer Communities Awards 2000.
Emergency Services Minister Kevin Prince is to announce the State winners in the awards on June 2.
The Minister said the awards were introduced this year by Emergency Management Australia, the peak national agency responsible for reducing the impact of natural and human-caused disasters on the Australian community.
In WA they are being run in conjunction with the WA State Emergency Management Advisory Committee (SEMAC).
"They were developed to recognise and encourage 'best practice' in emergency management, designed to keep Australian communities safe from disasters," Mr Prince said.
They acknowledge programs in two categories:

• pre-disaster - covering activities aimed at preventing or mitigating disasters or their effects and preparing communities to better withstand such emergencies; and -

• post-disaster - covering emergency response and recovery or rebuilding after disasters.

Judging panels were considering 76 nominations received from emergency management and volunteer organisations, local government authorities, and individuals from across Australia.
State winners would each receive a plaque and their programs would go forward for consideration in National Awards to be presented in Canberra on June 28.
"The Augusta-Margaret River program provided a new model for local governments for the co-ordination and funding of emergency services," Mr Prince said.
"It guaranteed that the shire would contribute four per cent of its budget to emergency management, but placed responsibility for equitable allocation of the funding in the hands of Local Emergency Management Advisory Committees (LEMACs)."
The committees are made up of representatives of Bush Fire Brigades, the Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service, the State Emergency Service, Sea Rescue services, St John Ambulance, Police and other community organisations.
"The program is based on a Memorandum of Understanding between the Shire and the LEMACs and by providing financial autonomy to the LEMACs encourages effective emergency response planning at the local level," Mr Prince said.
Media contact: Chris Morris 9220 5000