Connecting government leaders with recovering communities

A high point view across the Grampians with large grey granite rocks in the foreground, a scraggly shrub to the left, and bushland in the distance with mountains in the far distance, a body of water and cloudy sky.

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Connecting government leaders with recovering communities

Written 25 November 2025

Early recovery
Bushfire
Resilience and risk reduction
VIC

NEMA’s Coordination and Planning Officers (CPOs) are strategically located throughout Australia, offering valuable local knowledge and expertise. Their insights contribute significantly to building community resilience, supporting effective disaster response and recovery, and facilitating engagements within their respective regions.

Our CPOs work year-round to establish and maintain relationships with a range of government and non-government stakeholders. They are the personification of NEMA’s purpose on the ground—leveraging Australian Government programs and capabilities to support communities before, during and after crises.

Our CPO supports a VIP visit to the Grampians

Victoria/Tasmania CPO, Joel Farrow, recently supported the Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy and Emergency Management, the Hon Josh Wilson MP, during his visit to the Grampians in western Victoria. The region has experienced multiple disasters over the last 2 years. During this visit, Joel coordinated meetings with key stakeholders who have been affected by these events and are actively participating in the ongoing recovery and resilience initiatives across the region and its communities.

Like many CPOs, Joel has worked across regional areas since NEMA’s establishment in 2022. CPOs are well placed to provide both real-time and historical insights into the emergency management sectors of their jurisdictions, as well as link NEMA with key local contacts to drive the continuous improvement of the sector. It is all about two-way communication and learning between communities and the Australian Government.

A double disaster in the Grampians

The Grampians experienced 2 major bushfires in 2024, totalling more than 141,000 hectares of land burned in and around the Grampians National Park. These fires impacted 50 homes and extensive agricultural properties and assets, as well as devastating local the tourism and hospitality sectors in Halls Gaps and surrounds that rely on the busy December–February season to generate much of their annual business incomes.

A map showing the bushfire affected area with Halls Gap just beyond the perimeter to the north. Stawell is to the far northeast, Moyston to the east, Willaura to the southeast, Glenthompson to the south-southeast, Dunkeld to the south, Cavendish to the southwest. Most of the area that these towns surround was burnt.

The second major bushfire that started in December 2024 saw several fires merge to devastate over 135,000 hectares of the Grampians National Park and surrounding areas.

Meeting with the resilient communities

During his visit, Assistant Minister Wilson met with key stakeholders including local government, emergency response agencies and the Pomonal Resilience Committee to discuss the response, impacts and ongoing recovery.

Meeting with local government representatives at the Halls Gap Visitor Information Centre, Assistant Minister Wilson heard about the indirect impacts of the fires on the tourism and hospitality industries, the importance of timely support from all levels of government, insurance and risk mitigation efforts, and modern volunteerism.

A group of 6 people sitting around a white table in an office space.

Assistant Minister Wilson (right) meeting with local government representatives.

Representatives from Forest Fire Management Victoria and Country Fire Authority led the Assistant Minister Wilson, his staff and CPO Joel Farrow to Reids Lookout. A central viewing area in the Grampians National Park, it presents views of the devastating impacts of the fires and the beauty of regeneration across the area. The group discussed methods and decision-making processes when fighting fires on such a large scale, and the practices for fuel management and risk mitigation in an area with dense vulnerable flora and fauna and significant First Nations cultural heritage values and assets.

5 people standing casually. 1 person looks to be explaining something. There's a chest height wire fence at the edge of the lookout, with large grey granite rocks on either side and the mountain range in the distance with clouds overhead.

Discussion at Reids Lookout, overlooking the fire affected areas of the Grampians.

One of the last engagements of a jam-packed trip was meeting with the Pomonal Resilience Committee, an incredible group of residents who came together in 2006 following the last major fires in the Grampians National Park and have since grown a powerhouse network to support the community. Members of the Committee talked Assistant Minister Wilson through the challenges of compounding disasters on residents, and the ongoing support needs of impacted individuals and families who are at varying stages of grief, recovery and rebuilding. Financial considerations such as insurance/under-insurance, increased cost of materials and rebuilding, and the administrative burdens of paperwork are all key factors impacting recovery.

5 people standing in a row, posing for a photo off-camera, in front of a pale-coloured brick building with glass door.

Members of the Pomonal Resilience Committee.

Engagements like this bring to focus the reason NEMA exists: to support jurisdictions and communities before, during and after disasters and work with all levels of government and the community to drive resilience and collaboration for a stronger future. It is about ensuring decision-makers see, firsthand, the resilience of communities in action across the country.