Government resilience in times of crisis

• Lack of central coordination of emergency operations, with two or even three levels of government needed to manage even basic responses in many areas;

• Unclear command, control and coordination arrangements for critical infrastructure, leaving emergency management agencies unsure of who is in charge;

• "Silos" among governments and departments around their prevention, preparedness, response and recovery (PPRR) arrangements; and

• Uncertainty around public and internal communications protocols.

These institutional failings are compounded by the fact that government does not give clear guidance to industry or operators of critical infrastructure on the emergency preparedness arrangements, the communications linkages and the command and control arrangements that the entities should tie into in the event of an emergency.

In answer to the many questions and complaints about the Queensland floods – including critically whether SEQ Water contributed to the flooding – that state's government has convened the Commission of Inquiry mentioned at the start of this article.

However, already questions have been raised over the limited terms of reference given to the Commissioners by the State Government, and whether public servants are under pressure not to criticise the government's systems and responses.

Despite its promises of a full investigation, the government is less answerable to the public for the adequacy of its preparations – than a private company in the same situation would be.

What other conclusion can be drawn from the initial decision of Natural Resources Minister Stephen Robertson to cite Parliamentary Privilege as a reason to withhold vital documents from the Commission?

If this is the government's attitude at the start of the inquiry, what faith can the community have that they will make any meaningful changes to the way they operate as a result of the inquiry's findings?

We've seen plenty of these inquiries in the past. What we have rarely seen is real action from State and Federal Governments to change the way they prepare for natural disasters.

To make a lasting difference this time, the inquiry must look at more than the actions of the government departments and agencies at the time of the flood. It must analyse the organisational framework the government employs to manage the day-to-day business of its own utilities and agencies.

It must look at who is actually in control, and address these constant questions around

command, coordination and communication that continue to hinder whole of government responses to natural disasters.

And all levels of government in all states must pay attention to the findings, in order to ensure they do better in future crises.

Politicians like to talk about how "resilient" Australians are in times of crisis. This is true, but it's largely in spite of the efforts of our governments, rather than because of them.

If politicians want to take credit for the response to an incident, it's time that they matched this rhetoric with clear action before an incident.