Walgett Disaster Response and Recovery Project

The Walgett Disaster Response and Recovery Project aims to inform the improvement of responses to, and recovery from, disasters in Walgett and other similar communities, centring the knowledge and expertise of Aboriginal community-controlled organisations (ACCOs). The Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service (WAMS) and Dharriwaa Elders Group (DEG) in Walgett have been on the frontline of the consequences of poorly coordinated responses to disasters affecting their community, and have long advocated for better planning and resources for locally-led responses.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience a disproportionately negative impact when disasters occur. A major contributing factor to this is racism as perpetrated by the external stakeholders involved in, and leading, disaster response mechanisms, as well as a lack of understanding more broadly about how to resource and incorporate community-led disaster response and recovery. Disasters, including the COVID-19 crisis, exacerbate the well-documented and ongoing destructive impacts of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

This project involves staff from WAMS and the DEG working with research from the UNSW School of Built Environment and Division of Societal Impact, Equity & Engagement to understand the impact of recent disasters for Aboriginal people in Walgett and to determine what regulatory changes, resources, supports, services and environments are required to facilitate optimal survival, wellbeing and recovery when disasters strike.