The Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements has launched a Bushfire History Project to document the 2019-20 bushfires for the historical record.
The commission is inviting people to submit videos or photographs taken during the bushfires or the ongoing recovery, or to submit a short video account explaining what they experienced during the bushfires.
The videos and photographs will be catalogued to allow future generations to understand what happened during the fires and the effect these had on our nation and its people.
In some cases, material collected as part of the 2019-20 Bushfire History Project may also be considered for use in evidence during the commission’s public hearings which began last week.
Further information about how to submit a video or photographs can be found on the commission’s website.
In related news, an extra 22 Community Recovery Officers are to be deployed in bushfire-impacted communities across NSW under Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
The officers will assist councils to lead community recovery over the next 12 months and also provide community feedback and insights to the National Bushfire Recovery Agency (NBRA).
The NBRA has also published a new factsheet providing an overview of how funding has been delivered to communities and the pockets of people who need it most.
About half of the $2 billion fund is already in the hands of impacted communities, with funding being rolled out over two years to allow communities to best determine their recovery needs and go at their own pace.