April 22, 2025
Disaster Relief Australia has released the results of its “Big Map” project which investigated disaster risks and community resilience in the Burnett region.
Community feedback sessions using a 15m x 15m “Big Map” were held in the South, Central and North Burnett areas last year, with the results collated and compared between towns.
In the South Burnett, “Big Map” consultations were held in Murgon and Kingaroy last October.
The “Big Map” is based on military wargame theory. It aims to stimulate discussions which allowed Disaster Relief Australia to better understand community complexities and develop a risk profile.
The final report (see below) details the insights uncovered based on the strengths and weaknesses identified, and outlines potential opportunities and areas for improvement.
Results from the Murgon exercise are included but, unfortunately, the Kingaroy exercise was less well-supported by the local community.
“The event experienced significantly lower attendance compared to other locations in the Burnett region, resulting in insufficient data to inform meaningful analysis or evaluation for the purposes of this report,” the report stated.
“While the Kingaroy event did not yield actionable data for this report, it highlights the importance of understanding local context when planning community engagement activities. Future efforts may benefit from tailored outreach strategies to address the unique dynamics of larger towns, ensuring greater participation and input into disaster resilience planning.”
However, as well as the results of the report for the rest of the region, there is another bonus … the actual “Big Map”.
“Red Earth Community Foundation is currently the custodian of this amazing asset, and it can be requested for a wide range of uses, including training exercises, scenario mapping, disaster preparedness information events etc,” Red Earth projects manager Amanda Woodward said.
“If your organisation would like to request use of the map, please contact Kimberley at Red Earth.”
The Big Map exercises were provided by Disaster Relief Australia and hosted by Red Earth Community Foundation and the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal as part of the Disaster Relief: Future Ready program.
- Download: DRA Burnett Inland Report (4.4MB PDF)
