Are We Resilient?

...is resilience also about strategic planning and preparation for the longer term [ie. prevention], as well as responding to disasters?

'Excerpt from the Adelaide Review, December 2009

'A side-effect of a society obsessed with minimising risk and avoiding personal responsibility may be an unwitting lack of preparation for disaster, writes Alastair McAslan.

...for many of us the threat from global warming seems distant as we enjoy glorious weather while sipping our evening glass of wine on the terrace. We are able to enjoy life because our air conditioners work, we have access to a constant supply of water, gas and electricity, and the supermarkets are always full of food.

In reality, much of what we take for granted could be interrupted by human error, natural disaster, or even by some malicious act. Long periods of dry, hot weather and readily combustible vegetation make Australia vulnerable to bushfires, our geographical position exposes coastal cities and towns to tropical cyclones, and flooding is a regular seasonal phenomenon.

Indeed, the experience of natural disasters is seen as part of the Australian national character. We pride ourselves as being a resilient nation, with robust leaders, organisations and communities. But this national resilience cannot be taken for granted; indeed there are signs that we are more brittle than previous generations.

Our society is becoming ever more complex and our organisational systems both in the public and private sectors are becoming more interdependent, and thus more vulnerable to disruption. If not properly managed, a disruptive event could escalate into an emergency, crisis, or even a disaster. There is a relatively fine dividing line between a well functioning Adelaide where companies adopt “just in time” practices and “lean supply chains”, to one where the utilities fail, the tanks at petrol stations are empty, and our supermarkets run out of food...

How would we cope in Adelaide if we were hit by similar floods, a major industrial accident, a terrorist attack on the desalination plant at Port Stanvac, or even by industrial action interrupting the supply of food to our supermarkets? Would we be resilient? Indeed, are changes to our society making us less able or willing to cope in the face of adversity?

Robert Putman, in his best selling book Bowling Alone identified changes to the way in which people in America relate to one another in the workplace and through clubs and societies. He noted that we spend more time alone, and less time interacting through social groups, and he observed that Americans have disengaged from political involvement including much reduced voter turnout, public meeting attendance, serving on committees and working with political parties.

He concluded that this lack of civil engagement undermined community identity and cohesion, which in turn reduced the nation’s ability and willingness to recover after confronting abnormal, alarming and unexpected disruptive events. His conclusions pre-empted the massive loss of life and social dislocation in and around New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

Bowling Alone was based on Putman’s observations of life in America in the 1990s - but are his conclusions equally relevant to life in Australia in 2009? Are we inclined to blame the State and Federal Governments when things go wrong rather than accepting responsibility ourselves, and are we becoming a risk adverse society whose freedoms of action are shaped by an overwhelming health and safety culture?

Certainly, society has changed much in recent years. 24-hour television news has refined the way our opinions are formed. The availability of mobile phones, e-mails and social network sites have revolutionised the way we communicate and share our views and concerns. These issues are being addressed by the Torrens Resilience Institute which was opened recently by Premier Mike Rann. The Institute has been established in the International University Precinct at Adelaide’s Victoria Square to improve the ability of organisations to respond to disruptive threats.

The Institute aims to play an important role in developing the leadership and management capabilities of the Federal and State Governments, the emergency services, organisations and communities in Australia. The concept of resilience is attractive as it suggests the ability of something or someone to cope in the face of adversity – to recover and return to normality after confronting an abnormal, alarming, and often unexpected threat. Resilience reflects our wish to get through difficult times and is founded in our basic instinct of survival...'