Asking Peter Dutton …

A couple of days ago I received this message from a Facebook friend:

“Hi John, Part of the bloated Dutton budget is spent on this group [AIDR]. Young Peter has been strangely silent of late so may be an appropriate time to highlight his expertise.”

A Google search and it tells me that:

The Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR) develops, maintains and shares knowledge and learning to support a disaster resilient Australia.

So why haven’t we heard about this institute before or during the course of this ongoing disaster? What is the reason for its existence, and why does it come under the umbrella of Peter Dutton’s department?

What is their total funding and what is it spent on? With a bit of checking, I find out that it is funded by the by the Attorneys General’s Department. “Now that’s a bit strange,” I think to myself.

One of a few web pages in their name describes their function:

“The Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR) develops, maintains and shares knowledge and learning to support a disaster resilient Australia. Building on extensive knowledge and experience in Australia and internationally, we work with government, communities, NGOs, not-for-profits, research organisations, education partners and the private sector to enhance disaster resilience through innovative thinking, professional development and knowledge sharing.

AIDR is supported by its partners: the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, AFAC, the Australian Red Cross and the Bushfire & Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre.”

I asked myself; if the government has a department already functioning for the purpose of disaster resilience why is there this sudden reactive flurry for the need of more information?

The site has a link that includes an Annual Report, but it doesn’t list any financials.

It also links to one of its partners The Department of Home Affairs.

“The Department of Home Affairs is a central policy agency, providing coordinated strategy and policy leadership for Australia’s national and transport security, federal law enforcement, criminal justice, cyber security, border, immigration, multicultural affairs, emergency management, and trade-related functions.”

Turning our attention back to Peter Dutton, is he hiding a secret? Perish the thought and bite your tongue. Interesting too that Twiggy’s $70M is actually $10M, plus $10M to his private foundation and $50M to duplicate the stated raison d’etre of the AIDR.

What was strange, however, was that in this article by Sarah McPhee Twiggy uses the word “resilience” twice.

“We know that this is a matter of national resilience,” Mr Forrest told reporters in Perth today.

“This goes to a holistic assessment of where the nation is at and what we need to do to improve resilience.”

There is also this sentence:

“In addition, he will provide $10 million through the couple’s Minderoo Foundation to build a “volunteer army” to deploy to regions devastated by bushfires and another $10 million for communities in collaboration with the Australian Red Cross, the Salvation Army and other agencies on the ground.”

Note that the same agencies are mentioned on multiple occasions.

AIDR is funded by the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department through Emergency Management Australia, managed by AFAC and supported by the Australian Red Cross and Bushfire & Natural Hazards CRC. (From the 2016-2017 AIDR Annual Report).

Why does this word “resilience” keep popping up?

Yet another google search takes me to another AIDR page sub-headed “Australian Disaster Resilience Knowledge Hub.”

There are a number of web pages all dealing with the work of the AIDR and I’m wondering why this is necessary.

The only place I can find money mentioned is on page that mentions the doubling of funding by the Turnbull government. They get an extra $1million.

The Knowledge Hub page tells us that:

“Australian Disaster Resilience Knowledge Hub. The Knowledge Hub is a national, open-source platform that supports and informs policy, planning, decision-making and contemporary good practice in disaster resilience.”

“This goes to a holistic assessment of where the nation is at and what we need to do to improve resilience.”

Then when I read Kaye Lee’s piece for The AIMN in which she talks about Twiggy Foresters conditional $70 million donation and the formation of a volunteer group I notice that the AIDR are forming a volunteer group in WA. Is this the same thing, I ask myself?

“The Volunteer Leadership Program (VLP) equips emergency sector volunteers with the skills and confidence to grow as leaders. The VLP experience is immersive and collaborative, bringing together volunteers from different organisations and agencies to build knowledge and share experiences with each other. The program explores practical leadership frameworks through interactive learning, and participants gain both self-awareness and an enhanced ability to understand and contribute to their organisations.”

Now it must be connected, I say to myself, but why the secrecy? Why is the AIDR never mentioned but the Prime Minister uses the word resilience in every interview? As he did with David Speers.

Another thing I find rather odd is that the site never mentions any names. Surely the NIDR has a chairperson, a committee or some form of management.

But for some reason it appears to be a faceless organisation. And why is there no mention of the current crisis on their web site?

There are so many questions that require answers, but I have reached a dead end.

Yet I remain convinced that there is something shonky about all of this.

Could it be that the government will award an amount of money, matched by Twiggy’s donation to this obscure voluntary organisation?

Shades of the Barrier Reef Foundation. Anyway, I have gone as far as I can go with it …

Then as I’m about to close I find this on the John Menadue’s Pearls and Irritations. Again, the word “resilience” pops up.

The article is dated 13 January and written by Abul Rizvi.

Where have Dutton and Pezzullo been hiding?

The culpability of Dutton and Pezzullo for the bushfire crisis.

“Peter Dutton is the senior minister responsible for the Home Affairs portfolio that includes Emergency Management Australia (EMA). EMA is a division of the Department of Home Affairs whose Secretary is Mike Pezzullo. EMA says its role is to “build a disaster resilient Australia that prevents, prepares, responds and recovers from disasters and emergencies”. Thus in their empire building, Dutton and Pezzullo took on responsibility for preventing and preparing Australia for these bushfires. So why the eerie silence from both of them?”

Now we have two identities working on this resilience. EMA and AIDR, and both under the control of Peter Dutton.

Yet another Google search reveals a volunteer group known as the Australian Emergency Management Volunteer Forum, and guess what? A representative from Home Affairs attends their meetings and the Commonwealth Department of Home Affairs provides secretariat support to the AEMVF.

This all goes beyond any coincidence, but I cannot put my finger on it.