Gary Morgan receives his award from Richard Thornton
A special award was presented at the annual conference to outgoing Bushfire CRC CEO Gary Morgan for his contribution to establishing the national science and research program for bushfires and natural hazards.
Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC CEO, Dr Richard Thornton, said Gary was integral to the establishment of the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC.
“Gary has been a key advocate for using research to inform policy and practice. His leadership at the Bushfire CRC over a long period of time helped the culture of the industry change, with research knowledge now seen as essential. We would not have a national research program for bushfire and other natural hazards without Gary, and this award recognises that,” said Dr Thornton.
Several awards were presented to industry personnel during the conference opening. The Laurie Lavelle Award, acknowledging significant contribution to enhancing the knowledge or skills, operations, performance or public profile of the emergency services sector was jointly presented to Anthony Clark of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service and Mark Wright from the Tasmania SES.
The Motorola Knowledge Innovation Awards, recognising innovation, creativity and contribution to the advancement of knowledge management, were taken out by the New Zealand Fire Service and the Country Fire Authority, with an individual award was presented to Richard Host from Fire and Rescue New South Wales.
Poster awards, sponsored by Drager, were also presented. The judge’s award went to Lisa Langer and Mary Hart of Scion Research, while the People’s Choice award was taken out by Fire and Rescue NSW’s Samantha Colwell.