With bushfire seasons getting longer and more intense, how can our communities be safer and better prepared?

Join us for a community forum focused on the increasing risk of bushfires in the Colac-Otway region. We’ll hear from experts, emergency services, and community leaders about what’s changing in our environment, what it means for fire risk, and — most importantly — what governments can do to prepare us.

Whether you live in town or on the land, this is a chance to hear from experts with lived experience of fighting and defending against bushfires, as well as those who have survived fires and now advocate on behalf of communities like ours. Come along to learn, ask questions, and connect with others working to protect our communities.

Keynote speaker Greg Mullins AO of Emergency Leaders for Climate Action (and former Commissioner of Fire and Rescue NSW) will be accompanied by speakers from Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action and Australian Firefighters Climate Alliance. After hearing from these speakers, candidates standing for the seat of Wannon in the 2025 federal election will be invited to share their views and answer questions.

We'll have some sandwiches and cakes from a local bakery available from 6pm. The forum will commence from 6:30pm.

Please register now to secure your seat.

Speakers

Greg Mullins AO became a major national figure in the 2019–20 bushfire crisis. From being a volunteer and career firefighter, he is an internationally recognised expert in responding to major bushfires and natural disasters. During his 39-year career, among many roles, he served as a Commissioner of Fire and Rescue NSW; President, Vice President and Board Chair of the Australasian Fire & Emergency Service Authorities’ Council; and NSW representative on the Australian Emergency Management Committee. In early 2019 he formed Emergency Leaders for Climate Action, a coalition of 34 former fire and emergency service chiefs from throughout Australia.
Jo Dodds came to climate advocacy after many years working in community and social services, including as a family counsellor, a journalist, and a councillor with Bega Valley Shire Council. These roles have given her a broad and personal understanding of the strengths and vulnerabilities of her community. After experiencing the Tathra Fire of March 2018 and the 2019-2020 Black Summer fires, Jo has joined with other bushfire survivors to advocate for stronger climate action and help others raise their concerns for their communities, homes, livelihoods and environment. As President and a founding member of Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action, Jo works to change the conversation around climate and put people who are enduring the devastating impacts of climate-fuelled bushfires at the front of the debate. Jo loves Western Victoria, as she was born in the Wimmera and lived in Warrnambool before moving to NSW.
Cam Walker lives in Central Victoria and is an active volunteer firefighter with 2 CFA brigades. He received the National Emergency Medal for his contribution to firefighting efforts during Black Summer. Cam is also campaigns coordinator at Friends of the Earth Melbourne, through which he has campaigned for stronger government resourcing of volunteer and career firefighting for many years. Following Black Summer, Cam joined the Australian Firefighters Climate Alliance, a grassroots network of firefighters who want to see governments take stronger action on climate change.
MC Kirsten Diprose has been a journalist for more than 10 years. Most of her career has been working as a TV and radio reporter for the ABC News in Melbourne. She's now settled on a farm in the beautiful Western Districts of Victoria. Kirsten founded her own successful podcast in 2021, Ducks on the Pond: a podcast for rural women, by rural women. She currently runs Rural Podcasting Co.

Several groups are collaborating to hold this forum:

The Colac Otway Climate Action Team has been active in the community for years, and has members who live in Colac and surrounding bushfire-threatened areas such as the Otway Forest.
Emergency Leaders for Climate Action advocates for fire and emergency services to be equipped to protect Australian communities from increasingly frequent and damaging extreme weather events.
Australian Firefighters Climate Alliance does similar work at the local level to organise volunteer firefighters.
Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action is a non-partisan community organisation made up of people from across Australia who have been deeply impacted by bushfires. They share their powerful stories and make the case for stronger action on climate change to protect communities from worsening bushfires.