Cathy McGowan (Indi, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Building resilience has become a very important planning, health and wellbeing tool for rural and regional communities. Organisations focusing on how to build resilience are doing vitally important work, so it gives me great pleasure today to congratulate Women's Health Goulburn North East on winning the 2014 Resilient Australia Award for Gender and Disaster: Leading the Change

This award was presented in Canberra on Monday and I am very proud to be speaking about it today. Well done to WHGNE executive officer Susie Reid and her team for this innovative and critical work. It is a wonderful acknowledgement of the research done in the wake of the February 2009 bushfires. These fires had a huge impact on Indi, through Murrindindi, Indigo and Alpine shires.

I also welcome the formation of the Victorian Gender and Disaster Taskforce based on research and information provided in two important reports: The way he tells it: relationships after Black Saturday and Men on Black Saturday: risks and opportunities for change. Research shows that women and men are affected differently by disaster. Getting improved support when and after disaster hits will help affected communities recover. I am pleased that community resilience is receiving the level of attention it needs to ensure that people can prepare and pull through in tough times. (Time expired)

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