Complexity across the Tasman

The connections between Australian and New Zealand research in natural hazards were the focus of a workshop in Wellington last month.

CRC researchers discussed a range of current projects with colleagues from New Zealand along with agency partners and policy-makers prior to the joint National Emergency Management and Australasian Natural Hazards Management Conference.

The CRC hosted the strategic research workshop with the Joint Centre for Disaster Research at Massey University in collaboration with Fire and Emergency New Zealand and QuakeCORE.

The ‘Unpacking Complexity’ workshop included four panel sessions: disaster resilience education for young people; hazards, culture and indigenous communities; planning and communicating messages and community understanding and response to warnings and alerts.

The workshop allowed for networking and a broad discussion on the social science of emergencies, disasters and resilience, with a plan to follow up on the main issues over the coming year. 

The conference provided an opportunity for both countries to explore the synergy and separation in research and utilisation around emergencies, disaster and resilience. The CEO of the CRC, Dr Richard Thornton, presented on research underway in Australia. Mark Crosweller, Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC director and head of the National Resilience Taskforce spoke about the wider impacts of hazards in the region.

The annual Australasian Natural Hazards Management Conference will be hosted next by the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC in Canberra on 16-18 June 2019.