Last month, I joined the speed talk sessions at the Institute of Public Administration Australia NSW Conference and made a brief presentation about how government and citizens have worked together to recover from the disaster of 11 March 2011.
The 2014 IPAA NSW conference focused on the theme of Transforming our future: the changing face of the Public Sector. The program opened with an exploration of the mega trends that will shape society’s future and then explored the international and national perspectives on public sector reform. The speed talk sessions have been designed to present a provocative perspective on how citizens and government work together to shape society.
In my presentation, I emphasised that for recovery from a disaster, citizens and the private sector must play a leading role. The Government’s role is to develop a well organised road map, to coordinate the recovery process, to appoint duties to appropriate parties, to provide necessary support, to scrap red tape and above all to work together with the people to lift the dampened spirits. I hope my presentation helped the attendees understand that the collaboration between the government and citizens is the key to recovery from a disaster.