Communities keep on keeping on

Coping with fires & trying to fill community development jobs

What incredible heat and what a devastating period for southern Australia, Victoria in particular – our thoughts are with the family and friends of those killed, those who have lost their homes, with farmers suffering huge stock losses and with those just waiting and watching.

Despite the tragedies it does seem as though this time round, in Victoria, after a lot of acrimonious debate, that coordination and communication between agencies, volunteers and community has been really good and communities in fire prone areas have all got used to ‘having a fire plan’. As the fieries say, it makes such a difference when the community is well prepared!

Personally, I will never forget the evening of a similar heat-packed day in Kangaroo Ground, years ago, trying to stay cool on the deck of our ‘oiled cedar’ house. At 9.30pm – I still recall the time – the wind suddenly blew up, the CFA fire alarm went off, then in a split second the power went off and there were huge flakes of ash floating around. No power meant no radio or TV, so we had no idea what was going on! Have you been here?

Our eldest, who was seven, sat in the car listening to the radio for info – with no luck – while we parents raced around preparing to fight a fire! This did not eventuate but there were 30 plus car accidents in our community’s windy, bush streets that night as others, like us, acted desperately to deal with the unknown. Today the ABC does a fantastic job keeping people in fire prone areas informed. In 2006 we do have a fire plan. We also have a concrete bunker that we built after this fright!

Before the fire situation really escalated here in Victoria, I got an email from Horsham with a community problem of a different sort. Victoria’s northwest Wimmera region – currently facing a huge fire in the Grampians – is trying to find the ‘right person’ for three community development jobs – there are job share, full time or part time options.

One of the positions is the Coordinator of the Beaut Blokes Program kicked off initially in tiny Harrow, by publican Ange Newton, winner of an Alcoa Regional Achievers Award in 2004 for her efforts. The Wimmera Primary Car Partnership has since won a grant from Beyond Blue to continue the program. You can check out www.wimmerapcp.org.au and email Bernie Hetherington, Wimmera PCP Coordinator, for more info about these jobs: bernie.h@gchc.org.au.

Pigs Will Fly Jobs List is happy to post grassroots community & economic development jobs on the website. They are posted on a fortnightly basis, which this year began 19 January – email details to editor@pigswillfly.wpengine.com.