Southern Highlands Branch Meeting 2024-10

“Community Resilience and
National Readiness”

Vince Di Pietro AM CSC FRSN
Independent Consultant and
Former Commodore, Royal Australian Navy

Date: Thursday, 21 November, 6.30–7.30 pm AEDT
Venue: RSL Mittagong, Carrington Room
All are welcome

Summary: A significant majority of Australia’s national capability and capacity exists in its regional and rural areas. However, the small population numbers in rural and regional areas do not attract the returns on investment that motivate improvements in infrastructure, services and amenities which affect directly community resilience. The 2019/2020 Black Summer bushfires devastated significant areas of land, destroyed much property in the Shoalhaven, and offers a worthwhile opportunity to investigate the essential dependence of national readiness on community resilience. Four years on the psychological damage continues to be felt by many, the emergency response and subsequent recovery exposed many shortcomings in our nation’s capacity and capabilities. The concurrent emergency of early COVID-19 amplified the shortcomings beyond reasonable doubt. While much of the spotlight is afforded to the readiness possibilities offered by technology and equipment, the essential nature of national resilience needed to underpin preparedness may be in need of closer understanding, analysis, and improvement. Whether discussing high-end military equipment, cyber-attacks on our docks, or regional childcare, are our assumptions correct? Are we investing in success or repeating previous experiences and expecting a different outcome?

Vince Di Pietro is an independent consultant. Vince draws upon 40 years of service in the Royal Australian Navy specialising in aviation, flight training, professional military education, international diplomacy, risk management, certification, and safety. In addition to Command appointments, Vince served twice as a Director-General, as a Naval Attache to the United States, and as Commander of the Fleet Air Arm. On his retirement from the Navy, Vince was appointed Chief Executive of Lockheed Martin Australia and New Zealand until retiring from that position in April 2019. After many moves in Australia and overseas, Vince settled permanently in the Shoalhaven. During and after the Currowan Bushfire, Vince was the Local Recovery Coordinator for the Shoalhaven City Council overseeing the recovery coordination of the damage sustained by 82% of the Shoalhaven’s 4600 square kilometers. Having learned much during the fire emergency, Vince designed, coordinated, and implemented the Recovery into Resilience Project in the Shoalhaven. The Project was delivered on time and budget in October 2023 and is now fully operational at 26 Community Information Hubs powered by solar and battery and connected via satellite internet.

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