NSW SES Unit Commanders head to Wagga for professional development

More than 50 representatives from NSW State Emergency Service units across the Southern Zone will gather for professional development in Wagga this weekend for the first time in three years.

Southern Zone Commander Benjamin Pickup said that while they have continued to meet online, it would be great to meet face to face after a challenging period.

“Between fires, floods, storms, COVID and now back to floods again, lots has been happening in the emergency space, so we’re keen to get all our commanders together and help them develop,” he said.

“Being involved in the COVID response was an unusual experience for us and we’ve also seen the severity of disasters increase. Not just the 2019/20 bushfires, there was also the flooding up in the Northern Rivers and also in our own zone last year and around the Lachlan River.”

The theme for this year’s conference is leadership and wellbeing.

“We’ll work on developing our command and different leadership techniques,” he explained.

“Also leading the units and their communities with some of the new projects and programs that are coming out as part of the New South Wales SES.”

With more than 700 volunteers across 44 units, Mr Pickup said strong leadership was vital.

“It’s important that we invest in our leadership teams to enable them to support our communities in their time of need,” he explained.

“They can take what they learn at the conference back to their local units and communities to support their local volunteer members.”

With SES volunteers regularly on the front lines of traumatic events, Mr Pickup said that leaders need a good understanding of mental health and wellbeing.

“We support communities in times of tragedy and disasters,” he said.

“Providing our commanders with the skills to ensure the wellbeing of themselves, communities and their team members is critical.”

The SES is called on to respond to a broad range of incidents from floods and fires to rescue operations and traffic incidents. Mr Pickup said they have been recruiting a broad range of volunteers.

“Disasters are multi-agency and we’re providing support across multiple different hazards,” he said.

“So we’re looking also for the different types of volunteers. It’s not just people on the ground cutting up the trees and putting down sandbags, it’s people that support community engagement – public information officers, media officers and those that help provide emergency management and incident control during events.”

Across the state, there are around 9000 SES volunteers from all walks of life. Mr Pickup said it’s a role worth considering.

“It’s fun and very rewarding to give back to your community and them provide support, often on their very worst days,” he said.

“We learn a lot of new skills as part of our training and make new friends and have the ability to travel to different communities to provide support during floods and storms.”

For more information on the NSW SES, visit their website. If you need help, call 132 500.