Major Defence role in managing emergencies ‘unsustainable’, says minister

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More Australians may need to be paid to assist with flood and bushfire recovery as climate change worsens and volunteer rates decline, Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt says, as the defence strategic review makes clear the army should only be called in to respond to the worst natural disasters.

Watt rejected calls – including from Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie – for a new federal agency or separate branch of the military to be established to respond to disasters, saying the government was focused on improving existing organisations.

Australian Defence Force personnel have played an important role in recent natural disasters, such as floods in NSW.Credit: Wolter Peeters

The government’s defence strategic review, released on Monday, said defence personnel were increasingly being called upon to respond to natural disasters, but recommended they only be used as a “force of last resort” to ensure members of the military are not distracted from their responsibility to defend the nation.

“Defence is not structured or appropriately equipped to act as a domestic disaster recovery agency concurrently with its core function, in any sustainable way,” the review said.

It called on federal, state and territory governments to develop national resilience plans that do not rely upon the Defence Force except in extreme circumstances.

Watt said he had seen the morale boost the military provides to devastated communities, but said Australians should not expect the Defence Force to appear whenever natural disasters strike.

“We need to make sure the ADF are only being called in when things are really bad,” he said.

“It’s unsustainable to constantly rely on the defence force in the way we have been over recent years. We need to think differently about how we respond to natural disasters in the future because climate change is unfortunately going to make them even more frequent.”

Watt said the Department of Home Affairs was working on policies to improve natural disaster responses, but added: “We need to remember that the primary responsibility for disaster response lies with the states and territories.”

Responding to Lambie’s claim that an entirely new branch of the defence force may be needed to respond to natural disasters, Watt said: “Rather than create a separate arm of the federal government or defence force, we want to beef up the capacity of the state and territory services and build off existing organisations.”

Murray Watt said it was unsustainable to constantly rely on the Defence Force to respond to floods and bushfires.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen.

With state emergency services struggling to attract and retain younger volunteers, Watt said: “Volunteers will always be essential, but we need to be open to greater involvement of employed personnel because of the sheer increase in natural disasters.”

Noting that some state fire services employ casual auxiliary firefighters, he said: “We need to be open to the idea that something similar will be required in the future for natural disasters.”

The government will announce on Wednesday that it will spend $4.1 billion to acquire more long-range strike weapons and develop a local missile manufacturing industry, delivering on key recommendations in the strategic review.

The May 9 budget will include $1.6 billion over the next four years for long-range strike capability, including the accelerated delivery of high mobility artillery rocket systems and precision strike missiles.

The budget will also deliver $2.5 billion to acquire more stocks of guided weapons and develop a plan for 155-millimetre artillery shells and sea mines to be made in Australia.

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