Councils throughout Australia were profoundly touched by the extent and scale of the devastation caused by the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004. The initial response of local government was to assist in community fund raising activities and make donations to tsunami disaster fund raising appeals of appropriate charities and aid organisations.
The extent of the devastation is far greater than anyone had first envisaged and requires a structured long term approach to recovery and reconstruction is required. ALGA has been working with the Australian Government, the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) and other key organisations to identify strategic opportunities for how local government can participate in the re build of the tsunami-affected regions.
Donations
The best form of immediate assistance is cash donations to established charities with capacity on the ground. For information on non government organisations, please contact Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) - the peak body for non-government organisations.
AusAID
Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).
As at 30 June 2005, over $80 million in relief and rehabilitation assistance provided by Australia has already been effectively spent in tsunami affected countries in the region. Now that the emergency phase is over and people's immediate humanitarian needs are being met, preparations are being made for rebuilding.
The focus in this transition phase is on the restoration of vital community services such as village halls, and transport infrastructure, such as restoring port facilities, in order to accelerate the reconstruction phase. Rebuilding well-established communities will not happen overnight. What is important is that rebuilding of communities is well planned and promotes their longer term recovery.
For more information on the AusAID response please refer to Tsunami - Six months on
See also:
ACFID - NGOs partnering with local government.
Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) the peak body for non-government organisations (NGOs) has sought expressions of interest from its members who wish to partner with local government in rebuilding tsunami-affected regions. Councils who are interested in partnering with NGOs are asked to register an expression of interest.
ALGA and ACFID will facilitate councils and NGOs wishing to partner together, however, the onus will be on the councils and NGOs to follow due diligence processes and negotiate a relationship that is mutually beneficial to the NGO, council and the affected communities (that is, based on needs and priorities of the community).
Archive
ALGA contact regarding local government and the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami:
- Clare Hogan
- Director, National Events
- Australian Local Government Association
- Tel: 02 6122 9436
- clare.hogan@alga.asn.au
