Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre recognised in national awards

The Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre is honoured to be recognised by a Highly Commended award in this year’s national Resilient Australia Awards, for the impact of its collective research program over the last decade.

The program of research projects by the Bushfire CRC was in the Nationally Significant and Cross Jurisdictional Category of the awards. It was presented in Canberra on Thursday 6 December.

The award citation acknowledged that the Bushfire CRC work had led to many community benefits across Australia and New Zealand, including:

the more efficient use of water-bombing aircraft
increased house and vehicle safety
greater understanding of fire behaviour and better smoke management
effective use of firefighting volunteers
creating bushfire arson reduction tools
improved firefighter health and safety

The Bushfire CRC is focussed on the response and management of emergencies, particularly in the areas of bushfire, residential fire and general emergency management. Funded by the Australian Government since 2003, the Bushfire CRC partners include all the fire and emergency service agencies in Australia and New Zealand, 14 universities, CSIRO, the Bureau of Meteorology, Geoscience Australia and various small to medium enterprises.

The CEO of the Bushfire CRC, Mr Gary Morgan, welcomed the award on behalf of all the partners. “This award is a welcome acknowledgement that collaborative fire research conducted on a national scale is an effective investment in the safety of our communities and the people that serve them.

“Fire is part of our past, present and future - both as a damaging force and as a vital component to healthy ecosystems. The Bushfire CRC exists so everyone can learn how to better live with fire – at home, at work and in the natural environment.”

The Bushfire CRC is funded to July 2013 with its current program focussed solely on issues relevant to the 2009 Black Saturday fires in Victoria. With these research projects ending, the Bushfire CRC partners are seeking to develop a broader research program that will further inform fire and land management agencies, governments and local communities across Australia and New Zealand through new partners in areas including utilities (power and water), insurance, transport, local government, urban planning, telecommunications, agriculture and construction.

The Resilient Australia Awards are coordinated by the Federal Attorney-General’s Department.

More information on all the winning entries can be found at www.em.gov.au