TAPPING into the community goodwill demonstrated during the pandemic, the ACT’s new State Emergency Service boss wants more young Canberrans to join the volunteer organisation.

Anthony Draheim, 51, who succeeds Georgeina Whelan as the ACT’s new SES chief officer, says the organisation is always looking for new volunteers.

“We saw such strong community spirit during covid and the fires at the start of the year, and so my advice to anyone thinking about joining is… do it,” says Mr Draheim.

“Volunteering is one thing that Australians do really well.

“It doesn’t matter what organisation it is, I don’t think Australia would be able to operate without its volunteers.”

Mr Draheim, who has been with the ESA since January as director of training co-ordination and management, says the 380-member team could do with more volunteers, particularly young people.

“We’ve got a large percentage of older members and that’s natural with volunteer service organisations anywhere in the country,” he says.

“Young people tend to come on board and then leave to have a family or go to a job, they do tend to come back, but later in life when things aren’t so busy.”

No previous experience is required to join, Mr Draheim says, the only prerequisite needed is – heart.

“Volunteering makes you feel good,” he says.

“Anyone can come and join us, not everyone has to be on a roof putting on a tarp, there are lots of different roles people can do.

“Serving is embedded into our DNA as Australians, it’s what makes us better people, a better community and a better country.”

Like so many SES volunteers, Mr Draheim’s decision to join the organisation seven years ago, was motivated by a strong sense of helping others.

“I grew up one of five kids into a family where volunteering was just something you did, it was all about giving back to the community,” he says.

“That was an era where you leant over the back fence and got to know your neighbour… we’ve lost a bit of that in this country and although covid has brought some of that back, it’s really important we engage with our neighbours and our community and volunteering is a good way of doing that.”

With more than 30 years’ experience in the Army, Mr Draheim is well prepared for his new role, having commanded and managed Defence logistics and supported humanitarian aid and military disaster responses in Australia and overseas in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.

“I worked a lot in strategic logistics and in that role I had the opportunity, although usually in tragic circumstances, to provide support and planning for international and domestic humanitarian relief and disaster aid, some of those events include during the Queensland floods in 2011 and after the Fiji cyclones in 2016.”

Given the La Nina weather event, which is forecast to bring more wet weather to the east coast, Mr Draheim says Canberra is likely to experience an increased risk of storms.

With that in mind, “now” is the time for Canberrans to talk to their family about what they would do in an emergency.

“The problem is we get little or no notice that these weather events are coming, so you need to enact a survival plan now if you don’t have one,” says Mr Draheim.

“If you haven’t got a survival plan, download one from the website, and be prepared for any event.

Survival plans can be downloaded from the ESA website at esa.act.gov.au