Did NSW Emergency Management Services ignore its own data, and fail to advise David Elliot of the likelihood of catastrophic bushfires? Chairperson Andrew Cappie-Wood's advise requires scrutiny

by Ganesh Sahathevan
The NSW Government would have had, if not ought to have had more than sufficient warning that catastrophic bushfires were likely:

Spatial Services' Emergency Information Coordination Unit (EICU) ensures that the emergency management sector has the best spatial and related data available to deal with multi-agency emergencies, such as terrorism and natural disasters.
EICU was established as a counter-terrorist initiative. There is however a commonality in the data required by Emergency Service Organisations (ESOs) for bushfires, floods, earthquakes, storms, and law enforcement activities.
The EICU aims to implement and maintain a collaborative data sharing system on behalf of the emergency service organisations and the emergency management sector in general.
The EICU developed and now maintains the Emergency Services Spatial Information Library (ESSIL). The library combines data from over 200 source agencies supplying more than 11,000 spatial layers which are transformed into 350 seamless state-wide layers. These layers encompass all areas of emergency planning, response and recovery.
As shown before, spatial data is readily available in simple to comprehend forms.The data is freely available, often at no cost.


This is but one simple example. Up to date data may be purchased for a relatively low cost (where it is not free ) and from that data well researched, understood and long established algorithms can be applied to estimate fuel load, and hence the probability of a catastrophic fire event.

It is hard to imagine that the Spatial Services' Emergency Information Coordination Unit (EICU would not have had that data, and advised the relevant branches of the NSW Government accordingly. 

 One  relevant department in this case would have been the the State Emergency Management Commit​​tee (SEMC) Emergency Management involves a range of programs and arrangements designed to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from the effects of hazards impacting on the community.
The State Emergency Management Committee was established under the State Emergency and Rescue Management Act 1989 to ensure that New South Wales has a system to cope with emergencies which is robust, effective and flexible enough to deal with the range of hazards experienced in New South Wales. A hazard impacting on the community may result in an emergency.
The SEMC is chaired by the recently retired head of the Department Of Justice,Mr Andrew Cappie-Wood, whose job it is to advise his minister, Minister for Emergency Services The Hon. David Andrew Elliot.
Mr Cappie-Wood is not shy of publicity. It is time we heard from him with regards the bushfire catastrophe and it is time for David Elliot to explain what he did or did not know about the impending emergency. 
END 

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