Commissioner's Newsletter March 2011
It doesn’t seem as though I am ever going to put pen to paper to write my article for this newsletter, without the world being in the middle of some form of natural disaster.
The NSW SES has just completed the largest interstate deployment ever, with nearly 600 members travelling to North Queensland, specifically assisting the town of Cardwell, this following support to the Brisbane floods and floods in Victoria, all while dealing with up to 12 rivers in NSW that caused damage, numerous isolations and evacuations.
During the Northern Queensland response I witnessed the skill, compassion and professionalism, as SES members travelled and assisted our northern neighbours in a devastating event. We should all be so very proud of the services we can offer, and I am humbled by your immediate response to these events.
Now as I write this article, Japan has just been hit by one of the largest earthquakes on record, which has resulted in a destructive tsunami radiating out from the epicentre and impacting many countries; and this all on the heels of the Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand.
I have reflected before in these articles, that events like these remind us all of the unpredictability of mother nature, as well as the reason an organisation such as the NSW SES exists.
In all these events, as well as offering our services where required, I have passed on the sympathies and support of all SES members, to those countries and communities that have experienced the impact of these events.
You may now be aware from reading previous articles in this newsletter, that while looking forward and leading this organisation into the future, I reflect on the qualities that bring us together as members of the SES.
No organisation exists as an entity in its own rights, it is only by the addition of people that we can operate; and the state of NSW, and indeed Australia, are fortunate to have people across numerous communities volunteer their time, pull on the “orange”, and solve what sometimes seem unsolvable situations.
The solutions for communities arise because we do pull together and operate as one,continuing to meet the needs presented to us with the same consistent, compassionate and professional manner.
Again, as as stated before, I am focusing a lot of time, outside of dealing with current emergencies, in constructing the next four-year plan for the NSW SES. This plan will take effect from 1 July this year, and will be a result of a very large consultation process, whereby the ideas and priorities of so many have been included, and will result in a blueprint that will even further enhance our services.
The plan will focus on three areas; people, governance and service delivery.
As mentioned earlier, people is what makes the SES, and this part of the plan will lead us to improve not only ourselves, but the way we all combine, and turbo charge our ability to make a larger impact together than we could alone.
The governance component on the plan will focus on the systems and standards that bring us together, and the service delivery component will ensure that our capability and services are appropriate for communities needs and are the best they can be.
But again, a plan is just a piece of paper, a blueprint to refer to; it relies on people to make it come alive. Over the next few months, and especially after 1 July, you will see the end result of all the effort that members have put into the plan. What is then required is the combined effort of all to construct the best SES we can!
I am very excited, some people think I am infatuated with the building of this plan, but I fully believe in taking the responsibility we all have very seriously; and to deliver timely and consistent services to communities in need, and by constructing the best SES ever!
Murray Kear AFSM
Commissioner
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