Wildfire and Power Policy and Practice

This book brings together perspectives from sociology, political science, gender studies, and history to produce new ways of analysing wildfire preparedness and policy in Australia. Drawing on data from hundreds of interviews with residents, volunteers and emergency services professionals living and working in wildfire-prone areas, the authors focus on issues of power and inequality, the contested nature of community and the relationship between citizens and the state. The book questions not only existing policy approaches, but also the central concepts on which they are founded. In doing so, the aim is to create a more conceptually robust and academically contextualised discussion about the limitations of current wildfire policy approaches in Australia and to provide further evidence of the need for disaster studies to engage with a variety of social science approaches. Wildfire and Power: Policy and Practice will be of most interest to higher degree by research students, other academics and policy makers examining the evolving patterns and politics of work, employment, management and industrial relations as well as those involved in emergency and disaster management service delivery. It would be most suited to academic and public libraries as well as organisations in the field of emergency and disaster management.

1 Wildfire: A Social and Political Perspective Peter Fairbrother and Meagan Tyler 2 Concepts of Community Peter Fairbrother, Bernard Mees, Richard Phillips and Meagan Tyler 3 Cohesion and Complexity: The State, Community and Communities Peter Fairbrother, Bernard Mees, Richard Phillips and Meagan Tyler 4 The State and Communities Peter Fairbrother, Richard Phillips and Meagan Tyler 5 Communities: Relationships and Responsibilities Peter Fairbrother, Richard Phillips and Meagan Tyler 6 Engaging Communities: What happens Behind the Scenes Keith Toh, Bernard Mees, Yoko Akama, Vanessa Cooper and Peter Fairbrother 7 Wildfire Safety, Communication and Diversity Meagan Tyler, Bernard Mees and Peter Fairbrother 8 Power within Households: Gender Inequality and Wildfire Preparedness Meagan Tyler and Peter Fairbrother 9 Challenges for Wildfire Policy and Practice Peter Fairbrother and Meagan Tyler

Peter Fairbrother is Professor of International Employment Relations and Deputy Director, Centre for People, Organisation and Work, RMIT University, Australia. Meagan Tyler is Senior Lecturer, Centre for People, Organisation and Work, RMIT University, Australia.