ABSTRACT
This chapter provides in-depth analysis of the similarities and contrasts between the cases (Victorian bushfires and the Queensland floods), acting as a primer for a deeper analysis of crisis management. It focuses on understanding political, bureaucratic and operational level responses examined via the themes of whole of government, crisis management, leadership, coordination, organisational culture, social capital and institutions. In both the cases, participants noted that leadership needed to be shown from the Premier, Ministers and key figures in the bureaucracy as well as from operational agencies. The chapter reviews the synergies and differences which existed in regards to how organisational culture shaped whole of government responses to the case studies. In examining the responses which occurred in both cases, an important point of analysis occurs around institutional arrangements and the institutional response to each of the events. The chapter considers the role that social capital played in the preparation and response to the disaster events.
