Local council welcomes ham radio 'insurance policy'

Kathy Sundsrom writing in Australia's Sunshine Coast Daily newspaper this week, highlighted the fact that the Sunshine Coast's communication strategy in a cyclone or other disaster could be in the hands of a group of amateur radio club volunteers from the Sunshine Coast AR Club.

Citing the well-known fact that radio clubs have provided the communication backbone in large-scale disaster and emergency situations across the world, including the devastating Hurricane Katrina and the Asian tsunami.

Sunshine Coast Amateur Radio Club (SCARC) spokesperson Richard Philp said amateur radio communication was the only form of communication available for months in Asia after the 2005 Boxing Day tsunami and for weeks after Hurricane Katrina created havoc in New Orleans.

Amateur radio clubs are able to set themselves up in a matter of minutes to a few hours where it can take a lot longer for other forms of communication, Mr Philp said.

Queensland is the only state which does not have the services of amateur radio clubs as part of its disaster management plan.

They have formed part of disaster management strategies in New South Wales and Victoria for years, but it hasn't happened in Queensland yet, Mr Philp said.

Emergency Services minister Pat Purcell has already expressed interest in the SCARC activities and suggested Maroochy could be a case study for the rest of Queensland.

Maroochy Council also identified it wasn't completely confident in its present communication strategy for disaster management and has welcomed the "insurance policy'' this group from the Sunshine Coast AR club will give.

Read the original article by Kathy Sundsrom

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