Supporting our communities to stay inclusive, proud and safe and celebrate diversity is a priority action area for the Hunter JO, and for many years we have been working on a range of projects to support Councils build the resilience of their local communities to natural disasters. Extending on this previous work we are very pleased to welcome Skye Moore to the Hunter JO team in the role of Regional Disaster Preparedness Officer. Skye’s role is one of three similar positions being piloted around NSW, which are funded by the NSW Office of Emergency Management and hosted within Joint Organisations. Skye brings considerable experience and expertise to the role, having previously worked with NSW Police as the Regional Emergency Management Officer (REMO) for the Hunter and Central Coast.
Skye’s role will involve her working directly with Councils and agencies across the Hunter and Central Coast to:
- Increase council capability to prepare, respond to and recover from disaster events
- Improve collaboration between local councils and agencies
- Strengthen local emergency management plans, based on rigorous assessment of risk
- Establish local recovery plans that are adaptable to a range of risks
- Identify priority systems, strategies and investments (within and across Council areas) to mitigate risks to the community, Council operations and critical infrastructure
- Integrate climate change adaption strategies into emergency management systems
- Enable councils to engage communities and businesses to prepare for / build resilience to disasters
- Establish regional networks focused on building Council and community resilience