On 6 April 2020, the Secretary of the Department of Communities and Justice advised members of the following:
Today the Premier announced the creation of new NSW Government agency, Resilience NSW, to “drive world-leading disaster preparedness and recovery approach for the NSW community”.
Resilience NSW will be headed by Mr Shane Fitzsimmons, the current Commissioner of the Rural Fire Service, who in the new role will report to the Secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet, Mr Tim Reardon.
It will be staffed by our colleagues in the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), who will move to the DPC cluster on 1 May when the new agency is created. The new agency will take on all of the work of OEM, including the work of the Bushfire Disaster Recovery Office.
Resilience NSW will be responsible to the Premier for emergency recovery, to the Minister for Police and Emergency Services for emergency management and to the Deputy Premier in relation to co-ordinating the recovery from the 2019-20 bushfires.
Earlier in the year, the PSA sought information from Human Resources about likely changes to OEM. However, nothing was forthcoming until now.
With the information above, the PSA will seek to meet with management about the implications for members at OEM. The PSA notes that for many members the announcement comes as a surprise. The first many heard of the announcement was in the news. If members have specific questions for management, please get in touch.
A members’ meeting will also be organised to discuss the move to DPC. A notice will be sent out shortly.
There has never been a more vital time for the union.
If you know someone who is not a member, encourage them to join the union so that their voice can be also heard. Join today at www.psa.asn.au/join.
Your PSA delegates and industrial staff are available for members who need support. If you would like to contact the PSA about this or any other matter, you can call the Member Support Centre on 1300 772 679.