‘Near persistent’ natural disasters placing intense pressure on Australian defence force
Defence department told incoming Labor government more cost-effective ways were needed to respond to climate emergencies
The defence department warned the incoming Labor government it was under intense pressure due to the need to respond to “near persistent” natural disasters, and noted “the impacts of climate change” when requesting more cost-effective ways to manage the continual callouts.
The incoming government brief prepared by the defence department – obtained by Guardian Australia under freedom of information laws – makes repeated references to the Australian defence force being under pressure.
Troops have been increasingly deployed to civilian roles in recent years. They were sent into aged care homes during the Covid pandemic and have responded to numerous floods and bushfire events.
Then-shadow defence minister Brendan O’Connor earlier this year floated a new civilian disaster response agency to take pressure off ADF resources while the new defence minister, Richard Marles, and the emergency management minister, Murray Watt, have acknowledged the increasing strain on staff.
The brief states that giving assistance to the civil community is one of the “competing pressures” the defence department has to balance with strategic challenges such as “regional contingencies”.
“The ADF has supported, in near persistent fashion over recent years, the civil community at home and partners abroad in managing a wide range of natural disasters,” the document states.
“We need to consider more cost-effective ways for managing what is rapidly becoming a consistent concurrency pressure for Defence, potentially through enhanced community-based disaster response arrangements, which are outside Defence’s remit.”
The federal government on Sunday announced another $58m for disaster relief in the Pacific region on the eve of an international conference. It also confirmed the new head of its emergency management agency.
Watt last month praised the work of the ADF in disaster recovery but said Labor was considering alternative disaster response arrangements.
“We think that there will always be a role for the defence force, but we do have concerns about how far they are being stretched … their core job is the defence of the nation,” he told the National Press Club.
The incoming brief states a new defence strategic mobilisation plan would identify how to bolster the department’s ability to respond “to a range of contingencies including large-scale domestic natural disasters and national emergencies”, as well as conducting a risk assessment of the national security implications of climate change.
It stated the defence department would engage with other groups to “manage concurrency pressures and maximise the capability available to respond” – noting natural disasters were expected to increase in frequency and strength. The other organisations were redacted as part of the FoI release. Read original full article
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