The work performed and support shown by the specialty societies, the New Zealand National Board, and state and territory committees have allowed RACS to be seen as вЂOne CollegeвЂ™ and our views appreciated and actively sought by the national and state governments. I would like to extend my gratitude to everyone for your understanding and support. I empathise with those who were impacted, particularly our Trainees and those whose livelihoods were affected. While these actions were necessary, I know that they were also terribly disruptive for many. We wanted to make sure that we acted consistently, transparently and fairly across all our training and educational programs. We agreed that we would act in the best interests of patient care and the community, and in consultation with our stakeholders and the healthcare systems in which we work. We followed a set of overarching principles to guide our decision-making. From the outset of the pandemic, our priority was the health and safety of our Fellows, Trainees, Specialist International Medical Graduates (SIMGs) and staff. At that stage no one quite comprehended what this would mean for our two countries and the rest of the world, but within weeks the urgency of the situation was clearly apparent. As the state of emergency escalated in Australia, news of the outbreak of COVID-19 first began to filter through. Thank you to everyone who was involved in preparing RACSвЂ™ submission. I hope the recommendations will lead to targeted improvements and meaningful insights and learnings about how we can best prepare and respond when the next natural disaster occurs. Part of the responsibility of the Royal Commission was to examine our preparedness for any natural disastersДЄnd to guide future emergency responses. Several of the issues we raised were addressed in the recommendations. I was pleased to see that the CollegeвЂ™s submission was referenced in the report.

The final report from the Royal Commission was released on 30 October 2020, and provided 80 recommendations covering a range of different areas. Professor David Fletcher, Chair of RACSвЂ™ newly formed Environmental Sustainability in Surgical Practice Working Group, was asked to participate in a videoconference consultation where he discussed our submission. In regard to the bushfires, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) made two submissions to the Royal Commission tasked with examining this disaster.

The Australian and New Zealand Burn Association must be congratulated on their excellent Emergency Management of Severe Burns Course, which has trained so many to be prepared. The small group of burn surgeons and their well-trained teams in both Australia and New Zealand were assisted by many others and did an unbelievable job. As I have said previously, these tragedies often bring communities together and I was so proud to see the surgical community contributing to this effort by caring selflessly for the many injured in both countries. The year 2019 ended in tragic circumstances with the Whakaari/White Island volcanic eruption in New Zealand and then we had devastating bushfires that raged across large parts of Australia and carried on well into 2020. As we come to the end of this very long year I think it is important to acknowledge the challenges that have been thrown at us in 2020, and the efforts of so many people who have helped us to deal with them.

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