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First fridge magnets, now Clover's Go Bag
Sunanda Creagh Urban Affairs Reporter
July 17, 2007
TORCH? Check. Maps? Check. Sense of impending doom? Check.
The Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, is urging Sydneysiders to prepare a "Go Bag" - packed with maps, running shoes, energy bars and even sticky-tape - so they can be ready for any disaster that may strike the city.
The Go Bag is part of a broader City of Sydney campaign called "Let's Get Ready Sydney", to be unveiled today with the release of posters and 200,000 booklets advising what to do in the event of a terrorist attack or natural disaster.
The $200,000 project, half-funded by the Commonwealth Attorney-General's department, advises city residents and workers to prepare for a hazardous materials incident, an explosion, an outbreak of contagious disease, civil disturbance, a natural disaster or other emergencies.
An accompanying website - www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/getreadysydney - advises residents that "you can carry your cat in a cotton pillow case", while city workers should pack important items into a "grab and go" drawer.
The campaign booklet advises people to pick an "emergency buddy" and flee to one of three CBD safety sites at Darling Harbour, Hyde Park or the Domain if disaster strikes.
The suggested Go Bag contents include disposable gloves, a phone card, medication, scissors and a portable radio tuned to pick up instructions that will be broadcast in an emergency.
Cr Moore says the campaign is responsible planning but the project has drawn fire from the Deputy Mayor, Chris Harris.
Cr Harris, a member of the Greens, suggested every Go Bag include a can-opener, a pair of sunglasses, inflatable floaties, a copy of a Sydney good food guide and a one-way ticket to Barcelona.
"I just find these fear campaigns personally offensive. Where are we supposed to go with our Go Bags? With our current public transport system, the roads would be clogged in minutes," he said yesterday.
"If it's part-funded by the Attorney-General's Department, it smacks of a Federal Government fear campaign. It's purely sensationalist."
A spokeswoman for the Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, said: "This project has been in train for more than two years, well before the election."
When asked if the campaign would result in a more fearful populace, Cr Moore said she was "sympathetic to that reaction".
"However, I would say that, really, we have got a duty of care in terms of helping people to prepare. I have to say living through the [1999] hailstorm, I realised at that time how unready we were for a catastrophe of that sort.
"All cities need to be aware of potential terrorism - that's a fact of life now - and of what we are experiencing in terms of our changing weather patterns in the wake of climate change. Do you sit on your hands and not do anything or do you do something and act responsibly?"
However, Cr Moore admitted she was yet to take her own advice. "I don't have a Go Bag ready. I haven't thought about it, yet."
Sunanda Creagh Urban Affairs Reporter
July 17, 2007
TORCH? Check. Maps? Check. Sense of impending doom? Check.
The Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, is urging Sydneysiders to prepare a "Go Bag" - packed with maps, running shoes, energy bars and even sticky-tape - so they can be ready for any disaster that may strike the city.
The Go Bag is part of a broader City of Sydney campaign called "Let's Get Ready Sydney", to be unveiled today with the release of posters and 200,000 booklets advising what to do in the event of a terrorist attack or natural disaster.
The $200,000 project, half-funded by the Commonwealth Attorney-General's department, advises city residents and workers to prepare for a hazardous materials incident, an explosion, an outbreak of contagious disease, civil disturbance, a natural disaster or other emergencies.
An accompanying website - www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/getreadysydney - advises residents that "you can carry your cat in a cotton pillow case", while city workers should pack important items into a "grab and go" drawer.
The campaign booklet advises people to pick an "emergency buddy" and flee to one of three CBD safety sites at Darling Harbour, Hyde Park or the Domain if disaster strikes.
The suggested Go Bag contents include disposable gloves, a phone card, medication, scissors and a portable radio tuned to pick up instructions that will be broadcast in an emergency.
Cr Moore says the campaign is responsible planning but the project has drawn fire from the Deputy Mayor, Chris Harris.
Cr Harris, a member of the Greens, suggested every Go Bag include a can-opener, a pair of sunglasses, inflatable floaties, a copy of a Sydney good food guide and a one-way ticket to Barcelona.
"I just find these fear campaigns personally offensive. Where are we supposed to go with our Go Bags? With our current public transport system, the roads would be clogged in minutes," he said yesterday.
"If it's part-funded by the Attorney-General's Department, it smacks of a Federal Government fear campaign. It's purely sensationalist."
A spokeswoman for the Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, said: "This project has been in train for more than two years, well before the election."
When asked if the campaign would result in a more fearful populace, Cr Moore said she was "sympathetic to that reaction".
"However, I would say that, really, we have got a duty of care in terms of helping people to prepare. I have to say living through the [1999] hailstorm, I realised at that time how unready we were for a catastrophe of that sort.
"All cities need to be aware of potential terrorism - that's a fact of life now - and of what we are experiencing in terms of our changing weather patterns in the wake of climate change. Do you sit on your hands and not do anything or do you do something and act responsibly?"
However, Cr Moore admitted she was yet to take her own advice. "I don't have a Go Bag ready. I haven't thought about it, yet."
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