Building climate resilience

5.1

Build community resilience by raising awareness of flood risks and implementing a statewide system for flood warnings and alerts

Expected completion FY 2019-20

DPFEM (SES)

To continue to build community resilience to climate change, SES has developed a website, brochures, and Home Emergency Plan template to assist householders prepare and plan for floods.

In 2019-20, SES will deliver the Community Flood Planning Pilot Project. The project will provide people living and working in a selected number of flood prone Tasmanian communities with locally specific information to assist them make informed plans about what they will do before, during and after a flood event.

SES is developing a statewide system of flood warnings and alerts.

In progress

5.2

Develop online resources to help communities understand their exposure to natural hazards

Ongoing

DPAC (OSEM)

DPAC is finalising RiskReady, an online resource for public information about the nature and extent of natural hazards affecting their property and for advice on managing risks. It will also have links to other Government agencies for further information.

Nearing completion

5.3

Work with local government and regional bodies to embed climate change adaptation into strategic and financial decision making

Expected completion FY 2019-19

DPAC (TCCO)

The TCCO continues to support Tasmanian councils to understand and manage climate-related risks likely to affect their operations and service delivery. Following a 2018 analysis of Tasmanian local government’s climate change governance, the Climate Resilient Councils project is being extended to support councils to identify council policies, programs, assets and operations that may be affected by a changing climate. This work will support councils to undertake enhanced strategic planning, financial planning and community resilience building.

In progress

5.4

Understand and manage the impacts of coastal hazards to existing settlements by identifying risks and developing management options

Expected completion FY 2018-19

DPAC (TCCO, OSEM)

DoJ

The TCCO supports Tasmania’s coastal managers to help them identify and manage coastal hazards to existing settlements and values. Four information gathering workshops with coastal managers and relevant staff from State and local governments and government business enterprises were held across the State in late 2018.

The findings from the workshops will inform the development of the Tasmanian Government’s ongoing approach to managing coastal hazards for existing settlements and values.

In progress

5.5

Examine the impacts of climate change on bushfire risks in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area

Complete

DPAC (TCCO)

DPIPWE

DPFEM

Completed in 2017-18.

The Tasmanian Government’s response to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Bushfire and Climate Change Research Project was publicly released in December 2017.

To support the implementation of the report recommendations, the Tasmanian Government allocated additional funding of $4 million over four years in the 2017-18 Budget for bushfire management in the TWWHA.

This funding is supporting the implementation of a number of the Research Project’s recommendations. This includes improving bushfire management planning, bushfire risk assessment and modelling, bushfire recovery, developing a model of fire cover, and undertaking planned burning in the TWWHA.

Complete

5.6

Work with Tasmanian Government agencies to embed climate change consideration in strategic planning, purchasing and decision making

Ongoing

DPAC (TCCO)

Treasury

The TCCO is working with Tasmanian Government agencies to identify approaches to embed climate change into government decision making. This was a key recommendation of the independent review of the Climate Change (State Action) Act 2008.

Ongoing

5.7

Mitigate risks from bushfire by delivering a targeted program of burns to reduce fuel in areas that pose the greatest risk to the Tasmanian community

Ongoing

DPIPWE

DPIPWE’s Parks and Wildlife Service assesses fire risk using the statewide Bushfire Risk Assessment Model (BRAM). BRAM is used to identify areas of risk and then treat the areas of highest risk to the community through a targeted program of fuel reduction burns. The five-year average of fuel reduction burns on reserved land at June 2018 is 43.6 burns treating an area of 14,172 hectares. This is a large increase on the five-year average reported in 2018 in terms of the number of burns and area burnt (previously 37 burns and 10,038 hectares), as this five year period includes all five years of the Statewide Fuel Reduction program.

The BRAM has been upgraded to a more contemporary IT platform and outputs made available to all agencies on the Common Operation Platform. Agency and local government requirements are being developed into a web-based user application to enable user specific fire risk assessments.

Ongoing