Healthy Land & Water CEO Julie McLellan reiterated that the time for change is now at a recent Committee for Brisbane panel on disaster resilience in South East Queensland. Julie emphasised the importance of building disaster resilience and creating highly liveable regions.
The panel was moderated by Professor Vivienne Tippett OAM, Acting Head of the School of Clinical Sciences at QUT, and included Ipswich City Council Mayor, Cr Teresa Harding, James Davidson, founder and Principal of JDA Co Architects, Julie McLellan, Chief Executive Officer of Healthy Land & Water, and MJ Bellotti, Group Executive Member and Community at RACQ.
A consistent theme from the panel was the need for improved collaboration and cooperation between the three levels of government, in partnership with industry and community.
A show of audience hands at the end of the event overwhelming supported a proposal to establish a Queensland Resilience Council to manage long-term planning for natural disasters by bringing together the three levels of government, industry (including insurance) and academia in a permanent governance framework to prioritise, fund and deliver projects – and whose functions are not impacted by election and budget cycles.
Congratulations to The Committee for Brisbane and panelists for their thought leadership on this crucial issue for our region.