Witness statements & submissions: A treasure trove of disaster expertise
We all know that there are people with lived experience and professional expertise in the disaster field that have excellent knowledge we can learn from. For most of us though, the task of trawling through back catalogues of work can feel both daunting and time consuming.
If only there were summaries of what these people think is important, right?
Hurrah! There are summaries available! A treasure trove of stories of lived experiences, research summaries and opinion pieces that the authors have painstakingly written and submitted to help improve
Written by some of the best experts in our country with both lived experience and professional knowledge. Thanks to the large number of Royal Commissions and inquiries into disasters, collective trauma events and health systems, we have loads of publicly available witness statements and submissions that are free to access. For example, did you know that the Royal Commission into the National Natural Disaster Arrangements has a truckload of submissions available to you, ranging from people like Prof. Lisa Gibbs, through to organisations such as the Insurance Council of Australia?
In truth, I often forget how rich these statements are until something prompts me to go hunting for one and then I spend time going down submission rabbit holes wondering why I don’t use these generous resources more often.
Some stand out ones to get you started include: