FESA and the City of Mandurah took out the top honours in the 2010 Australian Safer Communities Awards. The efforts of organisations and individuals across the State that help protect our communities and keep people safe were recognised as part of the awards which were announced yesterday by Minister for Emergency Services Rob Johnson.
FESA Chief Executive Officer Jo Harrison-Ward said this year there was such a diverse range of finalists and projects. “It shows that people are thinking outside of the box and looking for ways to build safer communities,” she said. “Being prepared and involved should be a community wide effort and it is great to see such effort from so many different areas. “Eight strong entries made the Western Australian finals in both the State and Local Government categories.”
The City of Mandurah took out the Local Government section with their ‘My Train’ initiative which worked to make the implementation of the Mandurah train station a smooth transition for the surrounding community. FESA projects (the StateAlert community warning system and their Education and Heritage Centre redevelopment project) were joint winners in the State Government category. “When I look at the high standard of entries at this year’s awards I feel confident knowing that communities are better protected thanks to the development of initiatives that everyone involved in can be proud of,” Ms Harrison-Ward said. “Every year WA is excelling in emergency management and we continue to make significant progress.
“Today’s awards cover a variety of areas in emergency management including risk assessment, research, information and knowledge management, prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. “They highlight the hard work of both individuals and teams that have made it their goal to protect smaller and larger communities.” Ms Harrison-Ward thanked the award recipients for their outstanding contributions to their communities.
State winners are finalists in the national awards that will be presented in Canberra later this year.
Winners:
Local Government
- The City of Mandurah; My Train initiative
State Government
- The Fire and Emergency Services Authority (FESA); StateAlert community warning system
- The Fire and Emergency Services Authority (FESA); Education and Heritage Centre redevelopment project
Highly commended:
Local Government
- City of Armadale; Bushfire Management Arrangements
- City of Geraldton/Greenough; Operation Torch DVD
- City of Bayswater; Business Continuity plan
State Government
- Princess Margaret Hospital; Project Code Red
- The Fire and Emergency Services Authority (FESA); Kimberley Highway prescribed buffer burning project
