ACMC, in collaboration with the Townsville City Council’s Local Disaster Management Group, hosted a disaster management workshop with a visiting delegation of disaster and emergency response officials from Papua New Guinea. The workshop aimed to deepen the ties between Australia and PNG in disaster response, share learnings from recent responses, and explore how Australia can more effectively support PNG to respond when disaster strikes
The three-day workshop in Townsville involved representatives of ACMC and Townsville City Council, along with officials from PNG’s National and Provincial disaster management agencies, Police Force, and Fire, Weather and Geohazard Services.
“Australian and PNG representatives brought a wealth of practical and policy experience. The workshop was an important opportunity to share insights on disaster management frameworks and capacity building, especially at an interagency level. There is a lot we can learn from each other,” ACMC Deputy Executive Director Dave Proctor said.
“PNG is regularly impacted by natural hazards such as cyclones, floods, earthquakes and volcanic activity, often in remote locations which present a range of challenges. This visit was an opportunity for Australia and PNG to discuss how we are facing these challenges” said Mr Proctor.
The program included a visit to the North Queensland Simulation Park (NQSPARK) where delegates viewed a demonstration of disaster simulation modelling. PNG representatives also received briefs on local disaster management planning from Townsville City Council’s Local Disaster Management Group, visited James Cook University’s Cyclone Testing Station and Army’s 3rd Brigade at Lavarack Barracks, for presentations on the ADF’s local disaster response capabilities in support of civilian authorities.
The workshop was part of ACMC’s program to support civil-military-police engagement across the Pacific to support local responses to local challenges.
For further details on ACMC’s work in building disaster management capacity, visit: https://acmc.gov.au/why-were-here/disaster-management
