Interesting.

I am no conspiracist, but who are these idlers trying to kid?

Got a report of major public importance on your hands, but it won't make you look good if you publish it?

What to do.....What to do.....

WHY BURY IT DEAR HENRY!!
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http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25545933-661, 00.html

A NATIONAL review into Australia's response to catastrophic disasters was kept secret because of concerns it would cause fear in the community.

And although the review noted that Australia was badly placed to deal with a disaster such as a massive bushfire, cyclone or earthquake, it became tangled in red tape and bickering between the states and territories.

A Commonwealth civil servant told the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission today that the report was locked away at the request of states and territories.

Tony Pearce, director general of Emergency Management Australia, said the 2005 review of catastrophic disaster management was carried out on behalf of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).

"(It was kept secret) because it was felt it would engender fear in the community," Mr Pearce said.

The commission heard that after sitting on it for four years, it was only on April 30 this year - and after 173 people died on Black Saturday - that COAG finally addressed the gaps in the way the nation could tackle massive disasters.

COAG accepted there was an "urgent need" to re-examine Australia's arrangements for managing natural disasters and identify any further strategies aimed at building greater resiliance in the community.

Rachel Doyle, counsel assisting the commission, said that the 2005 review noted that in Australia "there were significant limitations in dealing with catastrophic disasters".

"What could be more urgent than that?" she asked.

Mr Pearce replied: "I agree".

The review, written by Mr Pearce when he worked in the office of Victoria's Emergency Services Commissioner, worked on four scenarios:

*  A cyclone hitting Cairns;

*  An earthquake striking Western Australia;

*  A tsunami on the New South Wales coast; and,

*  An influenza pandemic.

The report found that in any if the scenarios there was a likelihood authorities would be overwhelmed by the event.

Ms Doyle suggested that one way to address fear engendered by the review was to implement the recommendations it contained.

Mr Pearce: "It may well do."

The report has now been made public.

The commission heard today that disaster management in Australia had been under the control of legions of Commonwealth and state bureaucrats sitting on various national committees, sub-committees, review bodies and inquiries.

Over the years they have produced numerous reports, reviews, discussion papers and recommendations, many of which have never been implemented.

The commission hearings continue.