Drought social recovery and community building program : 2005 onwards / Moira Shire Council.

Highly Commended: Post-disaster Category, Local Government Stream Safer Communities Awards 2005.

The Moira Shire Council, which began providing drought recovery services to its affected communities well before government funding was available, has successfully applied lessons learned by listening to those involved. By using networks established through its community building program, the Moira Council was all too aware that the community was facing a crisis and needed immediate assistance prior to Christmas 2002. So Council brought a number of service providers together for a week-long tour to visit small communities in the region. The tour provided access to a range of services previously available only in regional centres and provided the impetus for Council to help with the immediate and longer term drought crisis and to help communities build resilience to deal with any crisis or emergency that may emerge in the future. Council eventually received government funding for health promotion, drought recovery officers and financial, generalist and family counselling and established a Drought Social Recovery Committee in February 2003. This Committee was established under the Municipal Emergency Management Plan and included representation from such organisations as the Victorian Department of Primary Industry, Murray Valley Rural Industries, Victorian Farmers Federation, United Dairy Farmers Victoria, Centrelink, Moira Shire Community Houses and Community Health Centres, Cutting Edge Youth Services, the Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development, and the Department of Human Services, and Murray Goulburn Pt Ltd. Key action areas identified by the Committee were: to increase social connectedness within the community; improve mental and emotional health of residents; increase participation and leadership in the community; increase local knowledge of sustainable farm practices; increase access and knowledge of local services; and lobby for increased government intervention. Thanks to the success of this approach, Council now has strong networks with engaged communities that can be called upon to deal with the short and long term effects of any emergency or crisis in the future.