HardenUp.org  
A  Green  Cross  Australia  led  multi-­‐stakeholder  partnership  to  deploy  
cutting  edge  social  networking  tools  and  Australia’s  best  climate  
research  to  encourage  Queenslanders  to  assess  their  vulnerability  to  key  
natural  disaster  hazards  and  to  take  practical  action  to  become  more  
self-­‐reliant.

  1  
Green  Cross  Australia    
National  Disaster  Resilience  Program  (NDRP)  -­‐  QLD    
 
 
HardenUp.org    
Project  Overview  
 
1.   EXECUTIVE  SUMMARY ..........................................................................................................3  
GETTING  A  CLEAR  MESSAGE  OUT................................................................................................................. 3  
ENCOURAGING  VOLUNTEERING  AS  A  STEP  TOWARDS  COMMUNITY  RESILIENCE ......................................... 4  
DRAWING  ON  EXISTING  RESILIENCE  RESOURCES ......................................................................................... 4  
PRACTICAL  OUTCOMES................................................................................................................................ 4  
 
2.   DEVELOPING  &  DISTRIBUTING  MESSAGE ..............................................................................5  
COLLABORATION  WITH  LOCAL  GOVERNMENT,  EMERGENCY  MANAGEMENT  QUEENSLAND  AND  
VOLUNTEERING  QUEENSLAND  TO  ALIGN  MESSAGES  AND  AVOID  DUPLICATION.......................................... 5  
COMMUNICATION  ACROSS  QUEENSLAND  DISASTER  MANAGEMENT  SYSTEM ............................................. 6  
 
3.   POLICY  CONTEXT ..................................................................................................................7  
GREEN  CROSS  SEQ  CYCLONE  HYPOTHETICAL................................................................................................ 7  
 
4.   VISUALISATION  PLATFORM...................................................................................................8  
PHASE  ONE:  SUPPORTING  HAZARD  SELF-­‐ASSESSMENT ................................................................................ 8  
PHASE  TWO:  SUPPORTING  DEVELOPMENT  OF  PERSONAL  RESILIENCE  PLANS .............................................. 9  
PHASE  THREE:  POST  DISASTER  SUSTAINABLE  REBUILDING:  INTEGRATION  OF  MITIGATION ....................... 11  
WEB  DESIGN  (INDICATIVE  SITE  MAP  FOR  HardenUp.orgINCLUDED  UNDER  APPENDIX  2) ......................... 11  
 
5.   PARTNER  CONTRIBUTIONS ................................................................................................. 12  
RESEARCH  CONTEXT:  WHAT  THE  SCIENCE  IS  TELLING  US ........................................................................... 12  
CONTRIBUTION  OF  CORPORATE  PARTNERS ............................................................................................... 12  
 
6.   BUDGET  AND  MILESTONE  OVERVIEW ................................................................................. 13  
 
7.   PROGRAM  MANAGEMENT,  PERFORMANCE  TARGETS......................................................... 14  
STEERING  COMMITTEE .............................................................................................................................. 14  
PERFORMANCE  TARGETS........................................................................................................................... 14  
BROADER  PERFORMANCE  INDICATORS ..................................................................................................... 14  
 
APPENDIX  1:  PROJECT  BUDGET.................................................................................................. 15  
APPENDIX  2:  PORTAL  SITE  MAP ................................................................................................. 17  
APPENDIX  3:  SUPPORT  LETTER  FROM  NETWORK  TEN................................................................ 18  
APPENDIX  4:  SEQ  CYCLONE  HYPOTHETICAL ............................................................................... 19  
APPENDIX  5:    HARDENUP.ORG  PARTNER  CONTACT  INFORMATION……………………………………..…….24  

  2  
  

1. EXECUTIVE  SUMMARY   “In  our  current  paradigm,  many  view  extreme  events  
Climate  change  and  population  growth  combine  to  present   as  such  rare  exceptions  to  the  normal  that  preparing  
new  challenges  for  Australia’s  severe  weather  resilience,   for  them  is  a  waste  of  time  and  money  and  that  if  an  
testing  the  effectiveness  of  traditional  emergency  response   event  should  occur  the  government,  the  Red  Cross,  
systems.  New  paradigms  that  leverage  private  sector  and   and  others  should  be  able  to  meet  their  needs.  U.S.  
community  engagement  are  needed  in  order  to  encourage   response  doctrines  imply  that  disasters  produce  
self-­‐reliance  to  growing  hazard  exposure.  Social  media  offers   victims  that  must  depend  upon  the  assistance  
provided  by  those  trained  and  equipped  to  do  so.    
the  potential  for  community  interaction  with  accessible    

scientific  trends  and  practical  resilience  advice.  Green  Cross   Reacting  to  past  events,  we  have  created  larger  and  
Australia  is  Australia’s  leading  social  media  NGO  and  brings  its   more  capable  government-­‐centric  response  systems.      
 

community/research/business  partnership  model  to  address   This  system  has  worked  well  for  large  events  such  as  
the  challenge  of  improving  Queensland’s  disaster  resilience.     the  9/11  attacks  and  the  1984  Florida  hurricanes,  but  
has  failed  during  catastrophic  events  such  as  
HardenUp.org  will  build  community  resilience  to  severe   Hurricane  Andrew  and  Hurricane  Katrina  with  
weather  by  raising  awareness  of  hazard  exposure  through  a   devastating  social  and  economic  impacts.  
John  Harrald  
scalable  social  media  platform  that  encourages  
 Professor  Emeritus,  US  Institute  for  Crisis,    
Queenslanders  to  1)  identify  their  personal  risk  exposure  to   Disaster,  and  Risk  Management  at  George  Washington  
cyclone,  severe  storm  and  storm  surge;  2)  take  practical   University  at  a  March  2010  US  Senate  hearing.  
actions  to  reduce  hazard  exposure;  3)  build  community   http://dels-­‐old.nas.edu/dr/jack_testimony.shtml    
resilience  by  getting  involved  in  local  volunteering  programs;    
and  4)  adopt  sustainable  practices,  especially  by  making  green    
choices  when  recovering  from  severe  weather  events.    
HardenUp.org‘s  self-­‐reliance  message  will  integrate  community  natural  hazard  resilience  and  climate  
mitigation  objectives,  with  a  focus  on  how  to  prepare  for,  survive  through  and  recover  sustainably  from  
major  weather  events.  We  will  draw  on  deep  resilience  and  climate  prediction  expertise  and  materials  of  
our  corporate  and  research  partners.  By  enabling  world-­‐class  visualisation  solutions  and  simple  user-­‐driven  
navigation  pathways  our  platform  will  create  a  lasting  scalable  platform  for  online  community,  government,  
business  and  research  preparedness  engagement.  

GETTING  A  CLEAR  MESSAGE  OUT   “We  are  rapidly  evolving  from  centralized,  rigid,  
closed  government  systems  to  decentralized,  agile,  
The  campaign  will  be  distributed  through  a  state  wide   open,  private  sector  owned  and  operated  systems.    
Network  10  community  service  announcement  which  will   The  challenges  of  the  future  are  three  fold  and  will  
direct  a  large  audience  back  to  an  online  platform.  This  online   include:  
platform  capable  of  engaging  with  the  public  “bottom-­‐up”    (1)  recognising  the  new  capabilities  technology  is  
and  building  business  and  community  resilience  networks   providing  rather  than  being  constrained  by  
using  social  media  tools.  Suncorp  Insurance  will  reinforce  the   narrowly  designed  systems,    
message  through  customer  communications  and  marketing   (2)  creating  ways  to  capture  and  integrate  the  
channels.     flood  of  information  from  unanticipated  sources  
rather  than  relying  on  pre-­‐existing  formal  lines  of  
The  campaign  will  be  strategic  yet  simple,  outlining  three   communication,  and    
steps  to  become  self-­‐reliant  and  linking  into  Green  Cross   (3)  creating  the  relationships  and  networks  
Australia’s  new  Build  It  Back  Green  portal  funded  by  the   needed  for  each  event  rather  than  living  with  
Victorian  government  to  offer  practical  green  disaster   artificial  organizational  and  physical  constraints.”  
recovery  support.  Green  Cross’s  award  winning  social  media   Professor  John  Harrald  
team  will  use  innovative  widgets  that  encourage  the   March  2010  US  Senate  hearing  
community  to  share  the  message  across  Facebook  and    
Twitter.  Television  and  banner  advertising  messages  will  be    
delivered  by  Green  Cross  Australia’s  Queensland  based  “Extreme  W   eather  Heroes”,  highly  trained  and  
engaging  young  emergency  volunteers  from  our  partner  agencies  includes  SES  and  Rural  Fire  Service.  

  3  
ENCOURAGING  VOLUNTEERING  AS  A  STEP  TOWARDS  COMMUNITY  RESILIENCE  
The  Federal  Department  of  Family,  Housing,  Community  Services  and  Indigenous  Affairs  acknowledges  that,  
“The  impacts  of  disasters  on  the  community  are  not  necessarily  determined  by  the  scale  of  a  disaster  but  
are  significantly  influenced  by  the  preparedness  of  the  community.    Community  resilience  is  the  capacity  of  
groups  to  withstand,  recover  from,  and  respond  positively  to  crisis  or  adversity.”1  
 Resilience  is  promoted,  FAHSIA  notes,  “through  programs  that  encourage,  create  and  develop  resources  
and  connections  that  can  be  drawn  on  in  times  of  crisis.”    Programs  “that  encourage  community  
connection,  financial  independence,  social  inclusion,  [and]  volunteer  assistance”2  are  supported  by  the  
Federal  government  in  the  context  of  enhancing  disaster  resilience.  

HardenUp.org  will  direct  traffic  on  to  www.extremeweatherheroes.org  in  order  to  inspire  young  
people  concerned  about  climate  change  to  get  involved  with  emergency  volunteering.    Links  to  
Volunteering  Queensland’s  listed  local  volunteering  opportunities  will  encourage  community  participation  
to  deepen  resilience  more  broadly  as  awareness  of  our  growing  severe  weather  challenge  builds.  

DRAWING  ON  EXISTING  RESILIENCE  RESOURCES  

Self-­‐reliance  advice  and  practical  resilience  building  tips  accessible  through  HardenUp.org  will  draw  on  
the  extensive  materials  and  expertise  of  our  corporate  partners  Suncorp  Insurance  and  RPS  Group  
Australia,  with  content  support  links  to  Ergon  Energy.    
Suncorp  Insurance  has  a  deep  interest  in  community  engagement  given  its  40%+  coverage  of  home  and  
contents  insurance  in  Queensland  and  sound  insights  into  property  resilience  factors.  RPS  Group  -­‐  which  
has  delivered  climate  adaptation  risk  management  frameworks  for  several  Local  Government  Authorities  -­‐  
will  contribute  the  expertise  of  their  Director  of  Climate  Change  and  Sustainability  towards  synthesis  of  
partner  materials  and  production  of  tailored  video  interviews  addressing  major  regional  hazards.
The  research  power  of  CSIRO  and  the  Bureau  of  Meteorology  will  power  the  science  that  underpins  a  
platform  that  enables  Queenslanders  to  visualise  the  history  of  hazards  in  their  local  area,  learn  about  what  
climate  scientists  are  predicting  for  severe  weather  given  warming  trends,  and  locate  particular  risk  areas,  
for  example,  those  impacted  by  rising  seas  combined  with  storm  surge  and  those  exposed  to  southern  
cyclone  movement  predictions.  The  platform  will  then  enable  residents  to  develop  and  share  
straightforward  “personal  resilience  plans”  building  on  the  disaster  preparedness  resources  of  our  partners  
including  Emergency  Management  Queensland  materials.  

PRACTICAL  OUTCOMES    
Practical  outcomes  of  HardenUp.org  include:  
 
1)  Measurable  awareness  tracked  through  website  analytics  and  participation  in  social  networks.    
2)  Hazard  visualisation  platform  that  encourages  community  engagement  supported  by  sound  science.    
3)  New  volunteers  placed  through  network  –  tracked  online  and  through  surveys.    
4)  Tracking  of  campaign  awareness  though  mainstream  and  online  media.    
5)  Tracking  of  “personal  resilience  plans”  that  include  measures  taken  to  protect  properties  and  families.  
6)  Creation  of  a  scalable  rich  media  platform  that  can  add  new  layers  of  corporate,  community  and  
government  resources  and  tools  as  Queensland’s  climate  adaptation  and  disaster  resilience  research  and  
response  programs  grow  and  as  more  datasets  become  available  for  widespread  visualization.    
7)  A  partnership  with  Australia’s  severe  weather  research  community,  volunteering  organisations,  
businesses  that  have  a  commercial  interest  in  resilient  and  sustainable  practices,  and  media  partners  that  
can  deliver  a  new  style  of  disaster  community  messaging  at  scale.  

                                                                                                               
1
 See:  http://www.facs.gov.au/sa/communities/progserv/Pages/business_continuity_pandemic_planning.aspx    
2
 Ibid.  
  4  
2. DEVELOPING  &  DISTRIBUTING  MESSAGE    
Green  Cross  and  our  partners  fully  appreciate  the  importance  of  developing  a  message  that  is  aligned  with  
existing  Local  Government,  State  and  community  agencies  with  critical  disaster  response  roles.  We  also  
recognise  the  potential  for  inadvertent  message  duplication  given  the  complex  nature  of  how  the  
emergency  response  system  interacts  with  the  public.  
The  unique  features  of  this  proposed  program  include  a)  the  integration  of  hazard  awareness  building  tools  
underpinned  by  state-­‐of-­‐the-­‐art  science  with  top  resilience  building  support  using  materials  and  insights  
from  corporate,  community  and  government  sources;  b)  use  of  world  class  multi-­‐media  tools  that  
encourage  high  levels  of  individual  engagement  and  social  interaction;  and  c)  a  practical  way  of  
encouraging  the  community  to  close  the  gap  between  adaptation  and  mitigation  in  the  aftermath  of  major    

COLLABORATION  WITH  LOCAL  GOVERNMENT,  EMERGENCY  MANAGEMENT  QUEENSLAND  AND  

VOLUNTEERING  QUEENSLAND  TO  ALIGN  MESSAGES  AND  AVOID  DUPLICATION  
To  maximise  platform  outreach  and  impact,  Green  Cross  will  actively  engage  with  Local  Government  
authorities  and  Emergency  Management  Queensland  as  well  as  with  Volunteering  Queensland  in  
developing  the  messaging  for  this  program  and  in  finalising  distribution  strategies.  

Green  Cross  has  discussed  the  HardenUp.org  project  with  the  

Local  Government  Association  of  Queensland  (LGAQ).  We  are    
committed  to  a  close  working  relationship  with  the  LGAQ  through   “LGAQ  is  certainly  interested  in  working  with  
the  Natural  Disaster  Resilience  Program  Senior  Advisor  to  ensure   Green  Cross  to  make  this  project  work.”  
that  we  identify  appropriate  councils  to  participate  in  the  project   Scott  Leonard  
Natural  Disaster  Resilience  Program  Senior  Advisor  
across  Queensland  and  to  ensure  that  delivery  of  community   Local  Government  Association  of  Queensland  
engagement  and  media  messages  are  aligned  with  local    
government  requirements.      
We  are  committed  to  ensuring  that  there  is  no  overlap  between    
our  program  and  LGAQ  &  Council  community  engagement  programs.  Indeed  it  is  our  aim  to  offer  a  
platform  that  is  able  to  broaden  awareness  of  existing  local  government  resilience  programs.    
Likewise  we  have  briefed  the  Acting  Chief  Officer  of  Emergency  Management  Queensland  about  this  
initiative,  and  have  invited  EMQ  to  fully  participate  in  developing  our  public  messages  and  resilience  
building  materials.  EMQ  is  supportive  of  the  direction  of  HardenUp.org  and  will  support  the  program  as  
has  been  the  case  with  Extreme  Weather  Heroes.    
Over  the  next  four  years  EMQ  will  develop  a  number  of  resilience    
programs  supported  by  a  multi-­‐million  dollar  climate  funding   “Social  media  is  like  a  great  big  conversation  
program  that  will  include  a  focus  on  property  resilience,  working   going  on,  which  government  does  not  
with  the  Building  Services  Authority.  This  EMQ  resilience  program   engage  with  well.”  
will  include  practical  measures  that  households,  businesses  and   Bruce  Grady  
Aboriginal  communities  can  take  for  example  to  retrofit  their   Acting  Chief  Officer  
homes.    HardenUp.org  will  include  EMQ  property  resilience   Emergency  Management  Queensland  
 
materials  as  part  of  our  “what  you  need  to  know”  resource  that  
 
supports  participants  as  they  develop  simple  Personal  Resilience  Plans.  
 
From  the  perspective  of  EMQ’s  Acting  Chief  Officer,  the  distinctive  contribution  of  our  proposed  platform  is  
its  ability  to  engender  bottom  up  community  participation  and  especially  our  use  of  social  networks  to  
achieve  leveraged  outreach.  “Social  media  is”,  according  to  Bruce  Grady,  “like  a  great  big  conversation  
going  on”  which  government  has  difficulty  engaging  with.  Mr.  Grady’s  support  for  a  science  based,  
community-­‐business  partnership  that  will  participate  in  and  indeed  guide  this  conversation  is  much  
appreciated  by  our  partnership.  
 
 
 
  5  
  
 
In  addition  to  core  engagment  with  local  government  and  Emergency  Management  Queensland,  
HardenUp.org,  Green  Cross  will  maintain  regular  communications  about  program  developments  across  
Queensland’s  Disaster  Management  System  particularly  in  relation  to  messages  associated  with  major  
events  or  major  public  information  campaigns  where  our  platform  can  assist  in  delivering  consistent  
messages.    
Disaster  management  agency  stakeholders  identified  in  the  chart  below  will  receive  our  regular  e-­‐news,  
and  we  will  work  with  the  Department  of  Community  Safety  to  develop  a  comprehensive  stakeholder  list  
through  which  we  can  seek  feedback  and  report  progress  as  the  program  scales.    

COMMUNICATION  ACROSS  QUEENSLAND  DISASTER  MANAGEMENT  SYSTEM  

 

Diagram  sourced  from:  http://www.disaster.qld.gov.au/about/      

  6  
 ‘  

3. POLICY  CONTEXT    
HardenUp.org  builds  on  the  themes  from  2009  papers  “Hardening  Australia”3  and  the  “Taking  the  punch”4  
that  suggest  we  “require  a  much  more  vigorous  strategy  to  engage  ordinary  Australians  on  what  they  
should  be  doing  in  the  face  of  a  range  of  risks  and  shocks.”5  
Our  program  also  draws  on  Green  Cross  
Australia’s  expert  driven  innovative  thinking.  
6
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

   http://www.extremeweatherheroes.org/what-­‐you-­‐can-­‐
do.aspx    
GREEN  CROSS  SEQ  CYCLONE  HYPOTHETICAL  
In  May  2010  Green  Cross  and  the  Property  Council  of  Australia  hosted  a  Hypothetical  discussion  of  
implications  for  Southeast  Queensland  should  a  category  4  cyclone  hit  directly.  This  event  conducted  in  
Parliament  House  Canberra  involved  CEOs  and  senior  executives  from  the  property,  insurance,  research  
and  community  sectors  as  well  as  Minister  Penny  Wong  and  Shadow  Minister  Bruce  Billson.  
 
In  order  to  share  the  conclusions  of  this  panel  discussion  conducted  in  front  of  300  business  leaders  as  part  
of  the  10th  Annual  “National  Business  Leaders  Forum  on  Sustainable  Development”  Green  Cross  wrote  an  
open  letter  to  Premier  Bligh  and  Mayors  Newman  and  Clarke,  which  included  recommendations  for  action  
which  directly  relate  to  this  proposal.  It  is  our  intention  that  HardenUp.org  will  become  a  platform  to  
deliver  key  recommendations  listed  below  from  the  Hypothetical.  The  program  also  offers  the  opportunity  
to  engage  new  corporate  partners  associated  with  Green  Cross’s  broader  resilience  building  efforts  (see  
APPENDIX  4  for  all  hypothetical  recommendations  and  associated  stakeholder  network).  
 
Risk  mitigation  -­‐  Katrina  proved  to  be  an  abject  failure  of  integrated  severe  event  response  and  government  leadership.  We  have  
learned  important  lessons  from  Black  Saturday  that  now  need  to  inform  community  resilience  strategies  and  methods  for  fully  
integrated  responses  from  all  tiers  of  government.  Stakeholders  copied  in  this  open  letter  need  to  talk  constructively  before  our  next  
major  weather  event,  not  afterwards.  We  look  to  government  to  assist  engaged  community  and  business  sector  leaders  in  developing  
integrated  response  strategies.  We  look  to  all  stakeholders  to  improve  community  understanding  of  and  resilience  to  severe  weather  
risks.  
 

Information  asymmetry  –  Compared  to  government  and  business  stakeholders,  the  community  at  large  is  ill  informed  about  coastal  
severe  weather  risks.  Conflicting  reports  about  the  extent  of  sea  level  rise  and  severe  weather  trends  make  it  challenging  for  informed  
investment  decisions  to  be  made.  Many  residents  in  storm  surge  exposed  areas  do  not  understand  under  what  circumstances  they  
are  insured.  As  digital  elevation  mapping  information  becomes  more  readily  available  through  research  investments  by  all  level  of  
governments,  communities  need  to  access  this  in  better  ways.    
 

Retrofitting  for  resilience  –  Modest  investments  in  practical  resilience  measures  can  reduce  building  damage  rates  significantly.  For  
example  during  Cyclone  Larry  buildings  built  to  the  post  1980  building  code  level  incurred  much  less  damage  than  pre  1980  buildings.  
Poorly  maintained  buildings  also  incurred  significantly  more  damage.  The  opportunity  to  incentivise  retrofitting  for  resilience  at  the  
same  time  as  encouraging  household  energy  efficiency  measures  should  be  explored.  

                                                                                                               
3
   “Hardening  Australia  Climate  change  and  national  disaster  resilience”,  August  2009  —  Issue  24,  by  Athol  Yates  and  Anthony  Bergin,  page  3.  
4
   “Taking  the  punch”,  May  2008  –  Issue  39,  by  David  Templeman  and  Anthony  Bergin,  page  2  –  5  
5
 “Taking  the  punch”,  May  2008  –  Issue  39,  by  David  Templeman  and  Anthony  Bergin,  page  2  –  5  
 
  7  
4. VISUALISATION  PLATFORM  
PHASE  ONE:  SUPPORTING  HAZARD  SELF-­‐ASSESSMENT  
The  platform  will  
build  on  overseas  
examples  of  overseas  
climate  adaptation  
and  awareness  
building  online  tools  
including  the  State  of  
California’s  
“CalAdapt”  
visualization  grid  that  
was  developed  
through  a  partnership  
with  Google  and  
Swedish  research   http://www.climatechange.ca.gov/visualization/grid.html    
agency  partners.    
However  the  content  generated  for  specific  geographic  grids  will  address  the  three  natural  disaster  hazard  
focus  areas  of  this  proposal:  cyclone,  storm  surge  and  severe  storm,  within  the  context  of  climate  change  
drivers  drivers  and  local  case  studies  developed  with  support  from  the  CSIRO  Climate  Adaptation  Flagship  
and  drawing  on  climate  information  from  the  Center  for  Australian  Weather  and  Climate  Research,  a  
CSIRO/BOM  joint  venture6.  
 

HardenUp.org  will  enable  the  public  to  

pinpoint  their  home/work  address  on  a  
grid  map  that  links  into  pop-­‐up  
information  boxes  that  will  include:  
o Moving  storm  surge  maps  using  
qualified  Google  Earth  tools  until  
Statewide  Digital  Elevation  Mapping  
datasets  are  released  (these  will  be  
updated  as  further  data  is  released)  
 
o Historical  Bureau  of  Meteorology  
severe  weather  data  for  specific  
quadrants,  contextualized  with  rich  
media  case  studies  of  what  happened  
 
o Deep  case  studies  on  property  and  
livestock  impacts  of  major  events  such  as  Cyclone  Larry  –  with  focus  on  how  impacts  can  be  avoided  
with  practical  preparedness  steps  
 
o Office  of  Climate  Change  regional  impacts  highlights  
 
o Case  studies  of  climate  adaptation  risks  and  plans  provided  by  RPS  Head  of  Climate  Change  and  
Sustainability  where  available,  including  tailored  video  interviews  with  a  community  infrastructure  
focus.  
 
o Video  interviews  with  CSIRO  scientists  and  RPS  planners  that  speak  directly  to  local  resident  and  
business  impact  risks  and  science  predictions  to  help  people  gain  a  personal  understanding  of  hazards  
they  confront.  
 
  8  
PHASE  TWO:  SUPPORTING  DEVELOPMENT  OF  PERSONAL  RESILIENCE  PLANS  
This  area  of  the  website  will  offer  practical  information  from  trusted  corporate  partners  that  can  encourage  
Queenslanders  to  “plan  for  war  during  times  of  peace”  by  taking  practical  steps  that  will  save  lives  and  
protect  property  during  major  events.  
HardenUp.org  will  incorporate  existing  corporate  and  government  preparedness  resources  including  links  
to  advice  areas  on  existing  websites  and  contextualized  downloads  of  existing  documents  including  tip  
sheets  and  advice  on  home  preparedness  kits.  Importantly  we  will  include  short  video  interviews  of  experts  
from  building,  energy  and  insurance  sectors  as  well  as  emergency  volunteering  groups  that  help  to  tell  
stories  about  how  and  why  people  and  property  survive  during  major  events.  
A  simple  three-­‐step  Personal  Resilience  Plan  ticklist  will  be  generated  to  encourage  people  to  confirm  the  
steps  they  have  taken  including  actions  that  protect  property,  storage  of  communications  and  food/water  
supplies,  actions  that  protect  infrastructure  and  supply  of  first  aid  kits.  We  will  enable  users  to  share  their  
plans  through  an  edgy  Facebook  widget  that  can  be  shared  across  social  networks  and  tagged  through  
Twitter  to  encourage  viral  awareness  building.  
An  important  part  of  a  Personal  Resilient  Plan  is  community  participation.  We  will  encourage  participation  
of  young  people  in  emergency  volunteering  by  enhanced  links  back  into  www.extremeweatherheroes.org  
and  we  will  encourage  Queenslanders  to  take  up  active  volunteering  roles  in  their  local  communities  to  
enhance  resilience  and  local  connectedness  more  broadly.  Links  to  Department  of  Community  Safety’s  
volunteering  portal  will  be  included:  and  also  links  to  Volunteering  Queensland’s  website  for  emergency  
response  and  general  volunteering  roles.  
In  order  to  visualize  Queensland’s  growing  resilience,  HardenUp.org  will  enable  participants  to  log  into  a  
map  of  Queenland  that  shows  growing  message  take  up.  We  have  modeled  this  part  of  the  site  after  the  
very  successful  global  advertising  industry  Copenhagen  community  engagement  campaign  located  at:  
http://www.hopenhagen.org/home/map  ,  a  program  that  has  attracted  6.2  million  global  users  through  
top  visual  engagement:  

  9  
 Central  to  Hopenhagen’s  global  distribution  and  take-­‐up  success  was  development  of  a  Facebook  widget  
that  enables  citizens  around  the  world  to  share  a  passport  indicating  support  for  strong  leadership  in  
Copenhagen  climate  talks.  
In  computer  programming,  a  widget  (or  control)  is  an  element  of  a  graphical  user  interface  (GUI)  that  
displays  an  information  arrangement  changeable  by  the  user,  such  as  a  window  or  a  text  box.7  Widgets  are  
becoming  popular  social  networking  tools  for  sharing  multi-­‐media  information  for  commercial  or  social  
outcomes.  For  example,  Domino’s  Pizza  uses  a  widget  for  social  marketing:  
 
 
 
 
 
In  the  case  of  Hopenhagen,  designers  introduced  a  widget  that  enables  Facebook  users  to  sign  up  for  a  
passport  and  to  take  particular  actions  that  get  stamped.  Users  can  then  share  their  passport  with  
Facebook  friends  who  can  then  continue  share  the  idea  on.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This  example  is  offered  as  a  method  for  visualising  graphically  the  steps  that  Queenslanders  might  take  to  
assess  their  hazards  and  take  practical  steps  to  implement  a  Personal  Resilience  Plan.    
This  method  allows  us  to  simplify  action  steps  that  Queenslanders  are  taking  to  become  more  resilient  
According   to  Blogger  
including   steps  Ltaurel   Papworth,  
hat  encourage   as  of  February  
community   1  2010,  “tthe  
engagement   number  
hrough   of  Australians  
volunteering.   on  eFnable  
It  will   acebook  
the  champaign’s  
as  shot  
through   the  rtoof”  
reach   expanding  
o  leverage   to  n7etworks  
social   .9  million   monthly  
that   active  duominate  
increasingly   sers,  of  wAhich   6.9  miillion  
ustralia’s   are  over  
nformation   18  years  old.  
environment. 8  Facebook  
 
itself  allows  users  to  log  in  and  see  how  many  users  are  in  different  geographic  areas.    
 
Green  Cross  calculates  that  currently  there  are  1,337,200  Facebook  users  over  the  age  of  18  in  Queensland.  
 
Surprisingly,   there  are  408,440  Facebook  users  in  Queensland  over  the  age  of  40,  and  74,740  over  the  age  of  sixty.    
 
 
HardenUp.org  has  the  potential  to  spread  resilience  messages  at  scale  by  using  social  media  effectively.  
 

                                                                                                               
7
 From  Wikipedia  definition  available  here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUI_widget    
8
 Box  statistics  sourced  from  blog:  Laurel  Papworth  The  Business  of  Social  Media,  Online  Communities  and  Social  Networks,  
http://laurelpapworth.com/australia-­‐number-­‐of-­‐australians-­‐on-­‐facebook-­‐2010/      
  10  
  

PHASE  THREE:  POST  DISASTER  SUSTAINABLE  REBUILDING:  INTEGRATION  OF  MITIGATION  

Green  Cross  Australia  has  been  selected  to  be  a  “Foundation  Partner”  under  the  “Q2”  state  government  
future  planning  framework.  Our  “Build  it  Back  Green”  initiative  has  been  specifically  selected  for  support  in  
the  aftermath  of  Queensland’s  next  severe  weather  event.  
Our  US  affiliate  has  been  leading  a  successful  “eco-­‐resilient”  Katrina  rebuilding  effort  in  New  Orleans,  and  
we  have  incorporated  tools  and  lessons  from  this  four  year  effort  into  a  new  “Build  it  Back  Green”  project  
to  support  Black  Saturday  affected  communities.  The  Victorian  government  has  provided  funding  to  Green  
Cross  Australia  to  build  a  major  new  post-­‐disaster  rebuilding  portal  BuilditBackGreen.org,  a  project  which  
involves  the  Green  Building  Council  of  Australia,  Australian  Conservation  Foundation,  Habitat  for  Humanity  
Australia,  Alternative  Technology  Association,  the  CSIRO  Climate  Adaptation  Flagship  and  the  Community  
Recovery  Committees  of  Flowerdale  and  Kinglake  Ranges.  
BuilditBackGreen.org  will  be  released  in  pilot  with  support  from  Sustainability  Victoria  in  September  
2010  and  fully  in  November  2010,  and  will  include  a  “WetWeatherResponse”  area  anticipating  the  
opportunity  to  involve  Queensland  community  and  business  partners  to  encourage  low  emissions  
responses  to  seasonable  floods  and  storms.  If  a  major  weather  event  occurs  in  Queensland  the  new  portal  
will  be  scaled  for  these  circumstances.  
HardenUp.org  will  encourage  Queenslanders  to  consider  upgrading  to  energy  efficient  appliances,  
insulation  and  renewable  energy  and  energy  efficient  solutions  during  severe  weather  recovery  periods.  
We  will  link  traffic  from  Queensland  back  into  the  wet  weather  section  of  BuilditBackGreen.org  so  they  
can  find  corporate  incentives,  government  rebates  and  practical  consumer  information  to  encourage  
mitigation.    

WEB  DESIGN  (INDICATIVE  SITE  MAP  FOR  HardenUp.orgINCLUDED  UNDER  APPENDIX  2)  
A  mock  sitemap  is  provided  from  Green  Cross  web  development  partners  ZeroSeven.  We  look  forward  to  
refining  the  navigation  and  functionality  elements  of  this  proposal  with  the  Department  of  Community  
Safety  and  our  partners  if  this  proposal  is  successful.  
ZeroSeven  is  an  award  winning,  Brisbane  based  web  development  company  who’s  accolades  include  the  
global  award  received  from  the  New  York  City  based  Interactive  Media  Council  for  
www.extremeweatherheroes.org.  Together  with  Green  Cross’s  social  media  expertise  and  CSIRO’s  
emerging  climate  visualization  focus,  ZeroSeven  will  create  powerful  and  practical  visual  engagement  
overlays  in  the  site.  For  example  the  ZeroSeven  site  developed  to  grow  Griffith  University’s  rapidly  
expanding  global  appeal  demonstrates  creative  directions  that  are  possible  for  HardenUp.org  
 
 
 
 
 

  11  
  

5. PARTNER  CONTRIBUTIONS  
RESEARCH  CONTEXT:  WHAT  THE  SCIENCE  IS  TELLING  US  
 
The  Queensland  Climate  Change  in  Queensland:  What  the  science  is   “We  must  also  move  quickly  to  implement  
telling  us  report  captures  the  latest  peer  reviewed  data  on  climate   adaptation  measures  to  reduce  the  impacts  
change  describing  the  current  situation  and  projected  impacts   likely  to  result  from  greenhouse  gases  
Queensland9.     already  in  the  atmosphere.  Putting  in  place  
  actions  to  minimise  the  potential  impacts  
The  report  is  based  on  two  main  sources:  the  Intergovernmental   of  climate  change  is  essential  to  ensuring  
1
Panel  on  Climate  Change  (IPCC)  Fourth  Assessment  Report  (2007)  and   Queensland’s  future.”  
the  Commonwealth  Scientific  and  Industrial  Research  Organisation   Office  of  Climate  Change  
 June  2008  Report  
(CSIRO)  and  Australian  Bureau  of  Meteorology  Climate  Change  in  
Australia  —  Technical  Report  2007.    
 
With  respect  to  hazard  risks,  “Increased  intensity  of  tropical  cyclones  in  the  Queensland  region  is  likely,  but  
total  numbers  of  cyclones  may  decrease.  Storm  surge  risk  is  also  projected  to  increase  from  sea-­‐level  rise  
and  increased  cyclone  intensity”.  Queensland  communities  are  therefore  particularly  vulnerable  to  natural  
hazards,  given  most  of  our  population  lives  on  the  coast  and  are  at  risk  from  more  extreme  weather  and  
rising  sea  levels.  

HardenUp.org  will  build  its  science  based  drawing  on  expertise  of  the  CSIRO’s  Climate  Change  Adaptation  
Flagship  and  the  partnership  between  CSIRO  and  the  Bureau  of  Meteorology  called  the  Centre  for  
Australian  Weather  and  Climate  Research.  The  combined  capability  of  this  partnership  base  will  enable  our  
platform  to  expand  to  include  new  datasets  and  research  findings.  
 

CONTRIBUTION  OF  CORPORATE  PARTNERS  

 Network  Ten  -­‐  Network  Ten  has  committed  to  broad  programming  support  for  this  initiative  as  per  the  
attached  support  letter  and  financial  in-­‐kind  contributions  as  outlined  in  the  project  budget.  
Participation  includes  pro  bono  development  of  HardenUp.org  TV  advertisement  and  state-­‐wide  
community  service  television  advertising  program  to  introduce  the  campaign.  
 Sputnik  Campaigns  -­‐  50%  discount  creative  cost  HardenUp.org  TV  ad  copy  and  banner  advertisement.  
The  proprietor  of  Sputnik  Creative  is  former  head  of  Television  for  Publicis  Mojo  and  she  offered  pro  
bono  services  to  develop  the  Television  advertisement  which  introduced  Extreme  Weather  Heroes  
nationally  in  2009  with  a  Network  Ten  Community  Service  Announcement.  
 Suncorp  Insurance  -­‐  Disseminate  the  Green  Cross  Harden  Up  message  through  stakeholder  
communication  activities  –  community,  media,  customers,  regulators;  Suncorp  Insurance  will  fund  the  
means  to  do  this,  either  print,  online,  media  release,  community  education  and  the  use  of  external  
support  (PR  firms  etc)  as  necessary.    
 RPS  Group  Australia    
Pro  bono  distribution  of  existing  expert  climate  adaptation  research  and  will  offer  expert  for  video  
interviews  to  build  case  studies  about  particularly  vulnerable  Queensland  locations;  RPS  will  also  
provide  access  to  existing  climate  adaptation  local  area  reports  that  feature  severe  weather  risks  
especially  in  the  context  of  community  infrastructure.  
 Ergon  Energy  -­‐  Ergon  will  offer  existing,  valuable  resilience  information  through  targeted  weblinks  with  
a  focus  on  how  to  protect  power  sources  and  how  to  prepare  to  survive  without  power  after  major  
events;  Ergon  is  also  exploring  participation  in  green  recovery  processes  including  encouraging  
upgrading  to  more  energy  efficient  appliances  and  building  practices  after  major  events.  
 

                                                                                                               
9  Office  of  Climate  Change,  Environmental  Protection  Agency,  in  June  2008  
  12  
6. BUDGET  AND  MILESTONE  OVERVIEW  
A  total  investment  of  $1.034  million  is  proposed  including  In-­‐kind  partner  contributions  to  the  value  of  over  
$250,000  over  two  years.  A  budget  outlining  $779,800  in  NDRP  funded  costs  and  $254,300  in  partner  
contributions  is  included  as  Appendix  1  to  this  report.  
 
Value  for  money  is  achieved  through  the  significant  reach  of  the  platform  and  through  leverage  provided  by  
the  significant  in-­‐kind  contributions  of  our  partners  which  include  the  cost  of  message  development,  
outreach,  project  liaison  support  and  in  the  case  of  Network  Ten  state-­‐wide  community  service  
announcements  to  supplement  paid  TV  advertising  offered  at  a  discount  to  commercial  rates.  
 
 

 
 

Assuming  that  contracts  are  finalised  and  funding  is  received  by  January  2011  we  aim  to  have  a  live  fully  
functional  site  by  June  2011,  with  promotional  outreach  in  place  leading  into  storm  season  and  continuing  
into  2012  when  our  focus  will  build  into  social  networking  pull  and  viral  media  marketing.  

We  are  confident  in  our  ability  to  actively  engage  a  minimum  of  60,000  Queenslanders  through  
HardenUp.org  with  20%  of  these  fully  participating  in  the  program  and  sharing  progress  across  Facebook,  
which  considerably  leverages  the  outreach  of  the  program.  If  12,000  Queenslanders  shared  their  Personal  
Resilience  Plans  including  rich  media  severe  weather  graphics  with  30  friends  each,  the  project’s  reach  
would  include  360,000  people  whose  awareness  has  been  improved  at  some  level.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

  13  
  

7. PROGRAM  MANAGEMENT,  PERFORMANCE  TARGETS  

The  project  will  be  managed  by  a  dedicated  Green  Cross  Australia  Project  Manager  reporting  the  GCA  CEO  
who  will  work  closely  with  a  CSIRO  Project  Officer  to  ensure  delivery  of  all  partner  contributions  along  with  
a  robust  and  scalable  site.  

STEERING  COMMITTEE  
A  Steering  Committee  consisting  of  Green  Cross,  CSIRO,  Network  Ten,  Suncorp  Insurance,  LGAQ,  the  
Department  of  Community  Safety  and  Volunteering  Queensland  will  be  establish  to  track  project  
expenditure  and  milestone  performance  as  well  as  performance  targets  outlined  below.  
 
Regular  reports  will  be  provided  to  the  Green  Cross  Australia  Audit  Committee  Chaired  by  Senior  Actuary  
Tony  Coleman  (retired  former  Chief  Actuary  for  Insurance  Australia  Group  and  current  Director  of  Actuarial  
experts  Lonergan  Edwards),  and  the  Green  Cross  Australia  Board  will  evaluate  milestone  progress  reports  
after  approval  by  the  Steering  Committee.  An  overview  of  Green  Cross  Australia  Board  members  is  
available  here:  http://www.greencrossaustralia.org/about-­‐green-­‐cross/our-­‐people/board-­‐of-­‐directors.aspx    

PERFORMANCE  TARGETS  
The  project’s  success  will  be  measured  based  on  hard  awareness  targets  such  as  the  number  of  “unique  
visitors”  that  visit  the  website  and  the  number  of  people  who  register  a  Personal  Resilience  Plan  and  share  
it  on  their  Facebook  page  and  through  a  dedicated  Twitter  feed.  
 
We  aim  for  60,000  Queensland  residents  to  visit  the  site  over  24  months  with  12,000  participating  fully  
across  diverse  regions,  including  development  of  Personal  Resilience  Plans  that  are  shared  across  their  
Facebook  pages.  
 
As  the  attached  Project  Overview  document  highlights,  Green  Cross  calculates  that  currently  there  are  
1,337,200  Facebook  users  over  the  age  of  18  in  Queensland.  Surprisingly,  there  are  408,440  Facebook  users  
in  Queensland  over  the  age  of  40,  and  74,740  over  the  age  of  sixty.  We  expect  that  the  age  of  
HardenUp.org  users  will  broadly  mirror  the  background  Facebook  age  take-­‐up  profile  for  Queensland.  
To  put  our  take-­‐up  performance  indicators  into  perspective,  consider  that  since  going  live  in  February  2008,  
www.greencrossaustralia.org  has  received  165,000  pageviews  from  36,000  unique  visitors;  and  
www.extremeweatherheroes.org  has  received  62,000  pageviews  from  16,000  unique  visitors  -­‐  not  
including  more  than  20  dedicated  Extreme  Weather  Heroes  Facebook  and  Twitter  sites.  These  results  have  
been  achieved  with  $0  marketing  investment.  

BROADER  PERFORMANCE  INDICATORS  

Broader  measures  of  success  will  include:  
 Quality  of  user  interface  (tracked  through  online  survey  and  final  project  external  evaluation  which  
will  include  quantitative  and  qualitative  aspects)  
 Quality  of  science  base  (including  external  evaluation  expert  stakeholder  interviews)  
 Number  of  partners  that  join  the  program  over  the  proposed  24  month  period  (we  expect  that  
other  research,  corporate  and  community  partners  will  become  involved  as  exposure  grows)  
 Extent  of  integration  with  existing  and  evolving  Queensland  government  resilience  messages  that  
can  be  incorporated  into  the  platform  over  time  
 Increased  traffic  to  www.extremeweatherheroes.org  measured  back  to  this  program  and  number  
of  volunteering  positions  filled  through  tracked  links  to  www.volunteeringqld.org.au    
 
A  budget  of  $20,000  has  been  set  aside  to  hire  an  external  evaluation  expert  to  review  the  project’s  impact  
at  the  end  of  24  months.  Online  surveys  to  assist  this  process  will  be  incorporated  into  the  platform  itself.  
 
 

  14  
APPENDIX  1:  PROJECT  BUDGET  
 
 

APPENDIX  1:  PROJECT  BUDGET  

  15  
 APPENDIX  1  continued:  NDRP  FUNDING  REQUEST    
 
 
We  seek  $779,800  in  NDRP  funding  including:    
⎯ core  management  costs  for  Green  Cross  and  CSIRO  (total  of  $440,000  including  project  evaluation)  
⎯ web  development,  upgrading  and  maintenance  costs  of  $123,000  led  by  ZeroSeven  
⎯ distribution  costs  of  $180,500  including  cost  of  placing  banner  advert  prominently  in  major  
Queensland  portals,  paid  TV  advertising  

  16  
APPENDIX  2:  PORTAL  SITE  MAP  

  17  
APPENDIX  3:  SUPPORT  LETTER  FROM  NETWORK  TEN  
             
N E T W O R K   T E N  

27th August 2010

Network TEN Brisbane is delighted to partner with Green Cross and provide significant support to
the Harden Up Programme.

In recent years TEN has developed its own identity in the areas of environment and sustainable
living through the introduction of its ‘Making Your Mark’ brand under which it promotes its
involvement in and commitment to the space and provides support to like-minded organisations.

As a major Australian corporation the TEN Network’s commitment to the communication of the
environmental message has been recognised with acceptance onto the FTSE 4 Good Index and
the ASX Sustainability Index (AuSSI)

On a local level TEN has thrown its support behind a number of local and state government
initiatives including the Ezygreen Project, a combined Queensland State and Brisbane Local
Government initiative aimed to promote positive changes in the use of energy at a household level.

The Harden Up programme is an exciting initiative aimed at encouraging individuals to take

responsibility for their own security and safety in the event of a serious environmental occurrence
and TEN is very happy to work with Green Cross and its commercial and government based
partners to targeted conduit to the market.

In providing its support to the Harden Up Programme TEN will aim to actively engage with all
programme partners to ensure the messages for all involved are delivered in the most effective
and efficient manner.

In addition to the promotional messages TEN is happy to provide their weather presenter as an
ambassador for the launch period of the programme. The station also produces environment and
science based programmes aimed at children and teenagers aged 12 to 18 years. We would also
be happy to consider the opportunity to link the programmes to the Harden Up programme and
provide access to the personalities where appropriate.

I am looking forward to supporting this valuable initiative including the delivery of community
service announcements to improve community awareness and resilience.

Please contact me if you have any further questions.

Chris O’Connell
General Manager

  18  
APPENDIX  4:  SEQ  CYCLONE  HYPOTHETICAL  
Hon.  Anna  Bligh   Lord  Mayor  Campbell  Newman   Mayor  Ron  Clarke  
Premier  of  Queensland   Brisbane  City  Council   Gold  Coast  City  Council  
PO  Box  15185   Office  of  the  Lord  Mayor   GCCC  Chambers  
City  East   GPO  Box  2287   135  Bundall  Road  
Queensland    4002   Brisbane  QLD  4001   Surfers  Paradise  QLD  4217  
Fax:  07  3221  3631   Fax:  0734039930   Fax:  07  5581  6054  
ThePremier@premiers.qld.gov.a lordmayor@brisbane.qld.gov.au     mayor@goldcoast.qld.gov.au    
u         In  partnership  with    
Green  Cross  
    International    
16  June  2010    
Mikhail  S.  Gorbachev    
  Founder    
Dear  Premier  Bligh,  Lord  Mayor  Newman,  and  Mayor  Clarke    

Mara  Bún    
  CEO  
 
RE:  2010  CYCLONE  HYPOTHETICAL   Green  Cross  Australia  
BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS    
   

Board  Chairman    
As  you  may  be  aware  Green  Cross  has  been  involved  in  a  significant  Cyclone   Khory  McCormick  
Senior  Partner,    
Hypothetical  on  a  national  stage  that  addressed  the  very  real  prospects  of  a  major   Minter  Ellison  Lawyers  
cyclone  hitting  Southeast  Queensland  directly.    
 
Brett  Godfrey  
  Founder,  Virgin  Blue    
 

Clem  Campbell    
A  discussion  of  Queensland  severe  weather  exposure  involving  Federal  Ministers,   Chair,  Earth  Charter  Australia  
business  and  community  leaders  is  rapidly  emerging.  The  risk  is,  as  you  know,  not    

Peter  Ellyard    
hypothetical.   Director,  Preferred  Futures  
Institute  
   

Paul  Hardisty  
I  am  writing  to  you  to  place  key  points  coming  out  of  the  Cyclone  Hypothetical  on  your   Executive  Director,  
Sustainability,  WorleyParsons  
radar.  Please  consider  the  attached  briefing  in  this  light.  I  have  copied  business  and    

Tom  Kennedy    
community  stakeholders  engaged  in  this  dialogue  on  the  final  page.   Head  of  Digital,  Omnilab  
Media
 
 

 
Kerry  Gardner    
Yours  faithfully   Environmental  &    
social  philanthropist  
   

Tony  Coleman  
  Director,  Lonergan  Edwards  
  &  Associates    
 

Nadia  McLaren  
  Ecologist  &  Consultant        
   

Blair  Palese  
Mara  Bún   CEO,  350.org  
 

Chief  Executive  Officer     Andrew  Ash  

Director,  CSIRO  Climate  
Green  Cross  Australia   Change  Adaptation  Flagship  
 
79  Adelaide  Street,  Level  2,  PO  Box  12117   ADVISORY  PANEL    
George  Street  Brisbane  QLD  4003    
 

Alastair  McCracken  
P:  07  3003  0644      |    M:  0448  848  860      |      F:  07  3003  0855   Angie  Cathcart  
E:  mara@greencrossaustralia.org         Cam  Mackenzie  
Charlie  Hargroves  
W:  www.greencrossaustralia.org  |W:  www.extremeweatherheroes.org  |W:  www.greenlanediary.org     Cheryl  Desha  
  Damian  Morgan    
Di  Morgan    
 
Heather  Jeffery  
cc:              Penny  Wong,  Minister  for  Climate  Change   Ian  Dunlop  
Ian  Lowe  
Bruce  Billson,  Shadow  Minister  for  Sustainable  Cities   James  Bradfield  Moody  
Caryn  Kakas,  Executive  Director,  Residential  Council,  Property  Council  of  Australia       James  Porteous    
James  Woods  
Rod  Leaver,  CEO  –  Australia,  Lend  Lease   Jelenko  Dragisic    
John  Cherry    
Tony  Coleman,  Director  Lonergan  Edwards   Judy  Magub    
Andrew  Ash,  Director,  CSIRO  Climate  Change  Adaptation  Flagship   Kylie  Ahern  
Louise  Erbacher  
Nicole  Gamerov,  Vice  President,  Swiss  Re   Max  Standage    
Marianne  Hanson  
Martin  Myer,  Chair,  National  Business  Leaders  Forum  on  Sustainable   Molly  Harriss  Olson    
Neil  Davidson    
Development   Noel  Preston  
Molly  Harris  Olson,  Convenor,  National  Business  Leaders  Forum  on  Sustainable   Philip  Bangerter  
Phillip  Toyne  
Devp   Richard  Sanders    
Ros  Kelly    
Khory  McCormick,  Chair,  Green  Cross  Australia   Sonia  Caton  
[A  broader  group  of  copied  stakeholders  is  included  on  page  5  below] Tony  Fry    
Tor  Hundloe  
Wilson  da  Silva  
    19  
Linda  Dreghorn  
Company  Secretary  
 
 On  May  28  2010  a  “Southeast  Queensland  Cyclone  Hypothetical”  took  place  in  Parliament  House  
Canberra  as  part  of  the  National  Business  Leader’s  Forum  on  Sustainable  Development.  Green  Cross  
Australia  addresses  community  resilience  in  the  context  of  mitigating  environmental  stresses.  To  
address  Queensland  cyclone  exposure  risk,  Green  Cross  and  the  Property  Council  of  Australia  invited  
Radio  National  Breakfast’s  Fran  Kelly  to  moderate  a  frank  dialogue  between  government,  business  
and  community  leaders.  Outcomes  of  this  exchange  are  outlined  below,  with  the  following  
background  in  mind.  
 
 
Queensland  policy  context  
Green  Cross  has  been  selected  as  “Foundation  Partner”  of  the  Bligh  
Government,  to  assist  in  reducing  household  greenhouse  emissions  by  30%  by  
2030  through  our  post-­‐disaster  “Build  it  Back  Green”  program.  We  are  grateful  
for  the  Brumby  government’s  support  for  our  “Build  it  Back  Green”  initiative  in  
Victoria  –  this  work  is  modelled  after  a  successful  green  recovery  effort  in  the  
Ninth  Ward  of  New  Orleans  led  by  our  US  affiliate.  
 
In  Queensland  Green  Cross  and  our  business,  research  and  community  partners  
are  preparing  for  a  similar  sustainable  recovery  following  on  from  the  next  
major  weather  event.  We  work  in  a  bi-­‐partisan  fashion  consistent  with  our  role  
of  catalysing  and  convening  collaborative  initiatives.    
 
Our  post-­‐disaster  engagement  occurs  within  the  context  of  Queensland’s  
Natural  Disaster  Resilience  Program.  Green  Cross’s  youth  emergency  
volunteering  program  “Extreme  Weather  Heroes”  is  dedicated  to  building  
community  severe  weather  resilience  led  by  young  people  in  their  communities.  
 
 
SEQ  major  weather  event  cycles  
Gold  Coast  City  Council  funds  an  important  research  facility  
at  Griffith  University  led  by  Roger  Tomlinson  who  has  
researched  coastal  vulnerability  in  SEQ  for  over  20  years.    
 
I  encourage  you  to  watch  this  short  video.  It  stresses  that  
major  weather  events  occur  in  this  region  in  30-­‐year  cycles.  
The  last  major  event  happened  in  1967.  The  video  highlights  
the  risk  of  a  cyclone  impacting  on  the  shallow  water  
environment  of  Moreton  Bay  then  building  into  a  storm  surge  
that  comes  through  the  Broadwater,  possibly  reaching  over  4  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS2HJv8
metres  in  height  as  it  flows  through  exposed  canal  developments.   p5kk    
 
 
Historical  cyclone  tracking  patterns.  
This  Bureau  of  Meteorology  slide  shows  a  100-­‐year  profile  of  
cyclone  activity  around  Australia.  Historically  cyclones  tend  to  
veer  off  the  Queensland  coast.    
 
Cyclone  activity  has  been  predicted  by  CSIRO  to  decrease  by  up  
to  44%  in  some  areas  of  Australia.  The  number  of  extreme  
cyclone  events  (Category  3-­‐5)  is  expected  to  increase  with  
intensities  increasing  by  over  100%  by  2070.  On  the  east  coast  of  
Australia  cyclones  are  projected  to  be  longer  lived  and  the  
average  decay  location  of  cyclones  is  predicted  to  move  
http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-­
southwards  by  up  to  3  degrees  of  latitude.10   bin/silo/cyclones.cgi?region=aus&syear=19
06&eyear=2006&cyclone=all&loc=0      

                                                                                                               
10  Climate  Change  in  Australia  (2007).  CSIRO,  Australia.    
  20  
 Potential  financial  impact  of  a  major  cyclone  event  
The  global  re-­‐insurance  industry  is  acutely  aware  of  growing  
severe  weather  risks  associated  with  a  warming  planet  and  
growing  coastal  population  growth  and  economic  development.    
 
This  slide  shows  Munich  Re’s  assessment  of  the  estimated  
insured  losses  if  the  1967  event  referred  to  by  Roger  Tomlinson  
had  taken  place  100  to  150  kilometres  further  south.  Potential  
losses  could  reach  US$8-­‐14billion  –  which  does  not  take  into  
account  un-­‐insured  economic  losses.  This  factor  becomes  
increasingly  important  as  the  price  of  residential  severe  
weather  insurance  becomes  prohibitive  for  SEQ  residents  
exposed  to  flooding  and  storm  surge.  
 
 
Gold  Coast  exposure  
This  image  borrowed  from  Jim  McNoulty’s  presentation  to  the  
Queensland  Growth  Summit  helps  to  focus  the  mind  on  the  
dramatic  changes  that  have  taken  place  on  the  Gold  Coast  (not  
to  mention  across  Brisbane  and  the  Sunshine  Coast)  since  our  
last  major  weather  event  took  place  in  the  1960s.  
 
Within  this  context,  the  Hypothetical  unfolded  in  Parliament  
House  with  the  following  participants  and  background  setting.  
 
The  event  was  conducted  without  media  coverage  to  encourage  
an  open  exchange,  and  took  place  in  the  presence  of  an  audience  
of  200  business  sustainability  leaders  from  across  
manufacturing,  service  and  resource  sectors.  We  were  delighted  that  Climate  Change  Minister  Penny  
Wong  and  Shadow  Minister  for  Sustainable  Cities  Bruce  Bilson  were  able  to  participate  in  our  vibrant  
discussion.  
 

  21  
 
 Key  points  arising  from  the  2010  Cyclone  Hypothetical  
 

Risk  mitigation  -­‐  Katrina  proved  to  be  an  abject  failure  of  integrated  severe  event  response  and  government  leadership.  We  
have  learned  important  lessons  from  Black  Saturday  that  now  need  to  inform  community  resilience  strategies  and  methods  for  
fully  integrated  responses  from  all  tiers  of  government.  Stakeholders  copied  in  this  open  letter  need  to  talk  constructively  
before  our  next  major  weather  event,  not  afterwards.  We  look  to  government  to  assist  engaged  community  and  business  sector  
leaders  in  developing  integrated  response  strategies.  We  look  to  all  stakeholders  to  improve  community  understanding  of  and  
resilience  to  severe  weather  risks.  
 

Information  asymmetry  –  Compared  to  government  and  business  stakeholders,  the  community  at  large  is  ill  informed  about  
coastal  severe  weather  risks.  Conflicting  reports  about  the  extent  of  sea  level  rise  and  severe  weather  trends  make  it  challenging  
for  informed  investment  decisions  to  be  made.  Many  residents  in  storm  surge  exposed  areas  do  not  understand  under  what  
circumstances  they  are  insured.  As  digital  elevation  mapping  information  becomes  more  readily  available  through  research  
investments  by  all  level  of  governments,  communities  need  to  access  this  in  better  ways.    
 

Retrofitting  for  resilience  –  Modest  investments  in  practical  resilience  measures  can  reduce  building  damage  rates  
significantly.  For  example  during  Cyclone  Larry  buildings  built  to  the  post  1980  building  code  level  incurred  much  less  damage  
than  pre  1980  buildings.  Poorly  maintained  buildings  also  incurred  significantly  more  damage.  The  opportunity  to  incentivise  
retrofitting  for  resilience  at  the  same  time  as  encouraging  household  energy  efficiency  measures  should  be  explored.  
 

Invest  in  coastal  protection  -­‐  Investments  in  protective  infrastructure  can  deliver  significant  savings  in  light  of  growing  severe  
weather  risk.  A  $1b  investment  in  raising  levy  walls  in  New  Orleans  identified  in  2001  could  have  saved  losses  of  $125  billion  
from  Hurricane  Katrina  in  2005.  A  1991  US  EPA  study  quantified  the  cost  of  protecting  resorts,  coastal  developments  and  
prominent  wetlands  from  a  1-­‐metre  sea  level  rise  at  US$471  billion  (in  1991  dollars).  Australia  should  quantify  coastal  
adaptation  priorities  and  cost  these  to  identify  immediate  “value  for  money/life”  investment  priorities.    
 

Harmonising  standards  and  aligning  them  to  research  trends  –Standards  and  building  codes  vary  across  geographies  in  
Australia,  and  this  makes  it  challenging  for  developers  and  planners  to  achieve  uniform,  best  practice  results.  At  the  same  time  
research  findings  are  out-­‐pacing  code  development  so  more  flexible  mechanisms  are  needed  to  encourage  resilient  new  
developments  in  response  to  population  growth  and  housing  shortages.  
 

Integrating  mitigation  into  adaptation  investments  –  Unless  all  retrofitting,  new  building  and  protective  infrastructure  is  
delivered  through  low  emissions  technologies  and  materials,  the  greenhouse  cycle  will  be  refuelled.  Given  affordability  
challenges  a  revitalised  focus  on  incentives  for  affordable  sustainable  solutions  is  needed.  The  combination  of  sustainability  and  
resilience  must  be  applied  with  particular  emphasis  in  post-­‐disaster  recovery  efforts  to  achieve  ECO-­‐RESILIENT  outcomes  
consistent  with  Green  Cross’s  “Flowerdale  Build  it  Back  Green”  sustainable  bushfire  recovery  initiative.  
 

Aligned  incentives  –  Eco-­‐resilient  new  developments  can  result  in  cost  savings  for  some  sectors  (eg  energy  providers)  and  
extra  costs  to  others  (eg  developers).  Likewise  the  payback  on  eco-­‐resilient  investments  will  occur  over  difference  timescales  
for  different  stakeholders.  In  order  to  progress  model  eco-­‐resilient  new  developments  and  retrofitting,  incentives  need  to  be  
aligned  across  sectors.  
 

Cost  curve  for  adaptation  –  Just  as  McKinsey  and  more  recently  ClimateWorks  have  quantified  the  cost  curve  for  the  full  suite  
of  mitigation  measures  required  to  deliver  emissions  cuts  across  the  Australian  economy,  adaptation  cost  curves  should  also  be  
developed  to  enable  fast-­‐tracking  of  best  value-­‐for-­‐money  investments  and  provide  net  economic  benefits.  This  will  enable  
practical  action  priorities  to  be  adopted  transparently.  Practical  actions  are  likely  to  include  community  behavioural  change  
priorities  according  to  recent  insurance  research  and  these  should  be  encouraged.  
 

Novel  insurance  responses  should  be  investigated  –  The  potential  for  government  schemes  which  trigger  immediate  payout  
under  specified  severe  weather  conditions  should  be  evaluated.    The  historical  debate  about  government  underpinned  flood  
insurance  takes  on  a  difference  sense  of  urgency  given  climate  modelling  predictions.  In  the  US  FEMA  has  compulsory  but  
affordable  flood  insurance  requirements  for  hazard  identified  high  risk  zones  –  its  time  for  Australia  to  seriously  consider  new  
approaches  to  insurance  because  this  can  become  a  good  educational  tool  as  well  as  improving  preparedness.  
 

Public  information  campaign  –  Federal,  State  and  Local  governments  have  invested  considerable  funding  into  research  that  
can  inform  households  across  Australia  about  severe  weather  resilience  challenges  in  their  local  areas.  However  less  progress  
has  been  made  in  community  engagement  with  this  vital  information.  Collaborative  business/government/community  
programs  that  raise  awareness  about  severe  weather  preparedness,  risk  exposure  and  response  strategies  must  now  be  
prioritised.  Community  self-­‐reliance  and  informed  investment  objectives  should  underpin  awareness  campaigns.  
 

Greater  coordination  of  research,  public  outreach  and  stakeholder  engagement  activities  across  all  levels  of  
government  and  community  action  would  strengthen  Australia’s  ability  to  become  resilient  from  and  respond  to  
severe  weather  risks.    Green  Cross  encourages  stakeholders  to  consider  the  merits  of  involving  the  Australian  Carbon  
Trust  in  a  greater  coordination  role  that  links  mitigation  efforts  while  improving  community  resilience.    The  UK  
Carbon  Trust  has  engaged  on  resilience  and  adaptation  matters  in  the  context  of  decarbonisation  programs  and  this  is  
a  model  that  could  greatly  benefit  Australia.  

  22  
Stakeholders  copied  in  this  “Open  Letter  –  Cyclone  Hypothetical”  
Green  Cross’s  resilience  activities  are  reaching  a  growing  stakeholder  audience  including  guests  from  two  
luncheons  hosted  by  Minter  Ellison  in  Melbourne  and  Lend  Lease  in  Queensland.  To  continue  to  catalyse  a  
dialogue  the  following  individuals  are  copied  in  this  open  letter:  
• Victorian Premier - John Brumby john.brumby@parliament.vic.gov.au
• Victorian Environment Minister - Gavin Jennings Gavin.Jennings@parliament.vic.gov.au
• Victorian Emergency Services Commissioner – Bruce Esplin oesc@justice.vic.gov.au
• Vic. Building & Plumbing Commissioner (Chair Green Building Council of Australia) - Tony Arnell tarnel@buildingcommission.com.au
• Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority Chair - Christine Nixon c/o Bianca.M.Davey@dpc.vic.gov.au
• Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority CEO - Ben Hubbard Ben.Hubbard@dpc.vic.gov.au
• Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority Senior Environment Adviser - Jane Tovey Jane.Tovey@dpc.vic.gov.au
• Queensland Emergency Services Minister - Neil Roberts police@ministerial.qld.gov.au
• Queensland Climate Change Minister - Kate Jones ccs@ministerial.qld.gov.au
• Garry Sharman. Policy Advisor to Kate Jones garry.sharman@ministerial.qld.gov.au
• Australian Carbon Trust – Robert Hill robert.hill.aus@gmail.com
• Attorney General’s Department – Peter Channels Peter.Channells@ag.gov.au
• Brisbane City Council – Greg Scroope Greg.Scroope@brisbane.qld.gov.au
• Queensland Department of Community Services – Douglas Magendanz douglas.magendanz@dcs.qld.gov.au
• Federal Department of Climate Change – Patricia Willington patricia.willington@climatechange.gov.au
• Federal Office of Climate change – Hannah Angus Hannah.Angus@climatechange.gov.au
• Green Building Council of Australia - Romilly Madew Romilly.Madew@gbca.org.au
• CSIRO Climate Change Adaptation Flagship (Green Cross Australia Director)- Andrew Ash andrew.ash@csiro.au
• Infrastructure Australia - Mark Birrell mark.birrell@minterellison.com
• Flowerdale Resident - Peter Auty peterjauty@gmail.com
• Flowerdale Community Recovery Community Chair - John Burgess aandjburgess@bigpond.com
• Flowerdale Community Leader (CEO Deloitte Digital) - Peter Williams pewilliams@deloitte.com.au
• Property Council of Victoria - Jennifer Cunich jcunich@vic.propertyoz.com.au
• Allen Consulting Group - Vince Fitzgerald c/o tsimonow@allenconsult.com.au
• Environment writer – John Collee johncollee@bigpond.com
• Myer Foundation (Green Cross Australia Director) - Kerry Gardner kgardner@tremarne.com.au
• Worley Parsons (Green Cross Australia Director) Paul Hardisty Paul.Hardisty@WorleyParsons.com
• Australian Conservation Foundation - Monica Richter m.richter@achonline.org.au
• Habitat for Humanity Australia – Jo Brennan JBrennan@habitat.org.au
• Alternative Technology Association – Ian Porter ian.porter@ata.org.au
• Our Community - Carol Schwartz c/o lyn@schwartz.net.au
• Parliamentary Secretary Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction - Bill Shorten bill.shorten.mp@aph.gov.au
• Committee for Melbourne - Susan Vale c/o kbrowne@melbourne.org
• Stockland - Ramana James ramana.james@stockland.com.au
• Grocon Construction - David Waldren DavidWaldren@grocon.com.au
• Arup - Andrew Wisdom – Andrew.wisdom@arup.com.au
• Arup – Su Groome – su.groome@arup.com.au
• Property Council Queensland - Steve Greenwood sgreenwood@propertyoz.com.au
• Building Codes Queensland - Glen Brumby glen.brumby@dip.qld.gov.au
• Bovis Lend Lease - Peter Ward peter.ward@lendlease.com.au
• Bovis Lend Lease - Tony Orazio tony.orazio@lendlease.com.au
• Bovis Lend Lease - Jeremy Mansfield Jeremy.mansfield@lendlease.com.au
• Delfin Lend Lease - Guy Gibson guy.gibson@lendlease.com.au
• Ergon Energy - Dean Comber dean.comber@ergon.com.au
• Office of Climate Change – Greg Withers, John Ridgeway greg.withers@climatechange.qld.gov.au john.ridgway@climatechange.qld.gov.au
• Office of Clean Energy - Travis Bates Travis.Bates@deedi.qld.gov.au
• Green Building Council of Australia - Adam Beck adam.beck@arup.com.au
• Architectus - Caroline Stalker caroline.stalker@architectus.com.au
• IAG - Susan Hawkins susan.hawkins@iag.com.au
• IAG – Nola Watson Nola.Watson@iag.com.au
• Energex - Mark Paton markpaton@energex.com.au
• Volunteering Queensland - Jelenko Dragisic jelenko.dragisic@volunteeringqld.org.au
• Aecom - Nicole Moffatt nicole@moffatt@aecom.com
• Endless Solar - Stephen Standish sstandish@endless-solar.com
• Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management - michael.gerlach@derm.qld.gov.au ,,
• Queensland Department of Infrastructure Mal Grierson - mal.grierson@publicworks.qld.gov.au
• Local Government Association of Queensland - John Hallam Greg_hallam@lgaq.asn.au
• Southeast Queensland Council of Mayors - John Cherry john.cherry@seqmayors.qld.gov.au
• National Climate Change Research Facility - Jean Palutikof j.palutikof@griffith.edu.au
• Griffith University - Rodger Tomlinson r.tomlinson@griffith.edu.au
• Australia Industry Group - Chris Rodwell Chris.Rodwell@aigroup.asn.au
• Australian National University - Michael Smith michaelharrisonsmith@yahoo.com.au
• Suncorp – Gopal Edwards Gopal.EDWARDS@suncorp.com.au

  23  
  

APPENDIX  5:  HARDENUP.ORG  PARTNER  CONTACT  INFORMATION  

 
Andrew  Ash    
Director  Climate  Change  Adaptation  Flagship,  CSIRO    
07  3214  2346  
 
 
Chris  O’Connell    
General  Manger  Queensland,  Network  Ten    
07  3214  1004  
 
 
Monica  Vardabasso    
Corporate  Affairs  Manager,  Personal  Insurance,  Suncorp    
02  8121  3104  
 
 
Dean  Comber    
Manager,  Sustainability  Ergon  Energy    
07  3023  2531  
 
 
Robyn  Dodd  
Sputnik  Campaigns    
0413  873  133  
 
 
Jelenko  Dragisic    
CEO,  Volunteering  Queensland    
07  3002  7600  
 
 
Andrew  Zuch    
Technical  Director,  Climate  Change  and  Sustainability,  RPS  Group  Australia    
07  3237  8853  
 
 
Mara  Bun    
CEO,  Green  Cross  Australia    
07  3003  0644  
 
 
 

  24