Lessons From Disasters? Looking For A New Way To Learn Associate Professor Dr Michael Eburn ANU College of Law The Australian National University CANBERRA

After every disaster - There’s an inquiry, but what do we learn? We learn issues about the last event But: Can they be applied to the next event? Does the learning involve the whole affected community? Why are we surprised at the next disaster?

Types of inquiries Internal agency reviews; Operational reviews; Special inquiries; Royal Commissions; and Coroners.

Types of inquiries Internal agency reviews; Operational reviews; Special inquiries; Royal Commissions; and Coroners.

The political nature of public inquiries ‘… public inquiries (and royal commissions) can be established for politically expedient reasons such as to show concern about an issue, give an illusion of action, show responsiveness to a problem, co‐opt critics, reduce opposition, delay decision‐making and reassert control of the policy agenda.’ Scott Prasser, ‘Royal Commissions in Australia: When Should Governments Appoint Them?’ (2006) 65(3) Australian Journal of Public Administration 28‐47, 34.

Or It is not the ‘inherent severity of an … event’ but rather ‘the interplay of the politics of blame, public agenda … and government popularity [that] determines the choice of whether to establish a commission of inquiry.’ Raanan Sulitzeanu‐Kenan, ‘Reflection in the Shadow of Blame: When Do Politicians Appoint Commissions of Inquiry’ (2010) 40 British Journal of Political Science 613–634, 632.

The desire to lay blame Finding someone to blame may help restore ‘fantasies of omnipotence and control’. Andrew D. Brown, ‘Authoritative Sensemaking in a Public Inquiry Report’ (2004) 25 Organization Studies 95‐112, 96. ‘The apportionment of blame to an individual or to human error … is a key impediment to organisational learning’. Dominic Elliott and Martina McGuiness, ‘Public Inquiry: Panacea or Placebo’ (2002) 10(1) Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management 14‐25, 20.

Do they help learning? ‘That it was allowed to happen, despite all the accumulated wisdom of so many previous reports and guidelines must indicate that the lessons of past disasters and the recommendations following them had not been taken sufficiently to heart… there is no point in holding inquiries or publishing guidance unless the recommendations are followed diligently. That must be the first lesson.’ Home Office The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster 15 April 1989; Inquiry by the Rt. Hon. Lord Justice Taylor, Final Report (HMSO, 1990) [22] and [23].

Reasons not to follow recommendations Impracticable or impossible; Conflict with other priorities; Too expensive.

Follow them but They’re not effective; or They reveal new vulnerabilities – the wicked problem.

Consider the story of the Sheriff and the Coroner Fatal Accident Inquiry Under the Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths Inquiry (Scotland) Act 1976 Determination by Sheriff Desmond J Leslie, Esquire, Sheriff for North Strathclyde [2011] FAI 51. Inquest into the death of Michael Wilson, State Coroner’s Court of New South Wales, 16 September 2014.

Adversarial inquiries hurt responders Royal commissions and coroner’s inquests often fall back on traditional legal methods and forms. ‘… many emergency responders experience the review process as more taxing than the critical event itself’. C. Regehr, J. Hill, G. Goldberg, and J. Hughes, ‘Postmortem Inquiries and Trauma Responses in Paramedics and Firefighters’ (2003) 18 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 607-622.

Witnesses don’t get to tell their story Or be heard. Affected communities don’t get to negotiate sense-making from the event or consider implications for the future – the wisdom is ‘handed down’. Responsibility is allocated not negotiated and accepted.

A safer way For responders; and For communities. Allow everyone to come together to resolve collectively how to deal with the aftermath of the event and its implications for the future.

Restorative practices Developed in criminal law; Move past blame and retribution and process. There are examples – Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children Restorative Inquiry Current community meetings following floods and storms in NSW.

Need to address compensation Disasters are a product of choices Choices about land use; Choices about emergency preparation and response funding. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and damaging. It adds little to knowledge. Settlement of liability doesn’t actually settle the case.

What do we want to achieve? Responders aren’t victimised by the process (particularly important for volunteers) and Communities understand that hazards are inevitable – what makes them disasters are collective choices and actions – not someone else’s fault.

Questions/Comments? Thank you for your attention. Dr Michael Eburn P: + 61 6125 6424 E: michael.eburn@anu.edu.au Discussion paper download: http://www.bnhcrc.com.au/news/blogpost/michael-eburn/2016/learning-lessons-and-about-post-disaster-inquiries