From the SESVA President Season’s greetings to everyone
Where has our year of 2020 gone? Christmas and New Year is again so close. Many of us have lived a life this year that we never really planned for, or even foresaw on our future horizons. I think we could all agree that it is really great to live in one of the most isolated states in Australia, and in the world, and separated for our good health. I know there must be many mixed feels in regard to the state-wide
lockdown, then the border shutting to the rest of Australia, and to those from around the world. The message for me really only was emphasized recently at Perth Airport in Terminal 2 where eastern states passengers were again welcomed, but they were managed into WA. Baggage handlers were in head to toe PPC and RPC. Passengers were being managed by military and WAPOL and to put a real dose of reality, the AFP were on the floor clearly visible carrying automatic weapons. We are not messing around.
Did I land back in Australia I was thinking? Well it is just a demonstration of our governments managing the risk of COVID 19 and how serious this could have been for us. We only need to look around the world at its impact.
In WA, we should be retrospectively grateful for distance and a pugnacious government, that enables most of us to enjoy Christmas and New Year with our families or those that you chose to be with.
Leadership is and has been so important to us all. So as SES Volunteers and community leaders in our own right, how are you? Did we really ever stand down, or has it been a flow of varied tasks to assist our communities? How many of us spent hours assisting WA Health, Police and partnering with the military in our roadblocks early in the COVID response cycle? Then when those activities declined, you may have been involved in Storm, Flood, Car v House Accidents, Search for missing people, Cliff Rescues, Road Crash Rescue, Skills and Knowledge Training preparing for Earthquakes, Tsunami and Cyclone incidents.
Being an SES member is just not boring ! I do recognise the dedication it requires to train and skill our volunteers. The countless courses and training maintenance that enables local, district and state responses to the larger natural disasters we are vulnerable to in WA.
We do ask ourselves, what is the likelihood of that one big disaster this year and what could the possible consequences be? We as a group of SES volunteers now enter with open arms and wide eyes for what the Dept. calls the “High Threat Season”. Our combined determination to be of service to our communities is really an all year-round activity in reality. Fires occur state-wide all year and now we have cyclone season to add into the Christmas stocking.
From your Western Australian State Emergency Service Volunteers Association, each and every volunteer representative that works hard to continue to improve our standing in the Department and in Government.
We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Greg Cook
President
