Wollondilly mayor Matt Gould has hit back at the local independent MP Judy Hannan who is demanding that council release immediately the Hazards Analysis and Emergency Management Study (HAEMS).
Ms Hannan moved a motion in state parliament calling on the council to release the study to councillors and the public.
In a lengthy response on his social media account, Mayor Gould says the report will be released once outstanding feedback from emergency combat agencies has been received.
“The HAEMS is a high-level but critical study for the shire looking at how we can best manage the man-made and natural hazards we face and it’s incredibly important that it is as robust and complete as possible,’’ he writes in response to the Hannan call in state parliament.
“To this end having the subject matter experts in emergency management such as RFS, Fire & Rescue NSW, SES and Police heavily involved and providing their feedback has been critical to ensuring the HAEMS is as comprehensive as possible.’’
The agencies have now been given until the end of August.
“If we don’t receive a response, we will assume agency concurrence, which will allow the finalised version of the HAEMS to be reported by the September council meeting and made publicly available,’’ says Mayor Gould.
“All councillors unanimously supported this course of action at the council meeting last week, including the Member for Wollondilly in her capacity as a councillor.
“As a result, I find her comments this week in parliament not only incredibly disappointing but disingenuous given she not only supported the mayoral minute a week ago, but she has at no time sought to bring a motion to council to have the HAEMS released publicly.’’
Ms Hannan told parliament she was concerned that exit times from the villages around the Wollondilly shire would get much worse in future emergencies, so it was vitally important the report became public.
Her notice of motion called on the NSW Parliament to recognise the importance of the document for planning for the risks of emergencies.
“Notes Wollondilly Shire Council led the Hazards Analysis and Emergency Management Study (HAEMS) funded from disaster relief funding.
“Recognises Molino Stewart’s completed HAEMS presented evidence-based advice to mitigate risk associated with natural and human-made hazards across the Shire, including exit times for villages that will grow from 1 to over 8 hours.
“Notes Wollondilly Council has to date not released HAEMS to the public or even its own councillors despite public outcry and over $160,000 spent on the report.
“NSW Parliament calls on the Mayor to direct the CEO to release HAEMS and it be sent to the Legislative Assembly Committee on Environment and Planning for independent assessment.”
