The most recent floods in Sydney were an unwelcome familiar sight for many communities on Australia's east coast - in the worst hit areas, it was the fourth flood this year alone. As with previous extreme weather emergencies, the Australian Defence Force was once again called upon to assist with rescue and evacuation operations.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
As the floodwaters recede and attention turns to clean-up and building resilience for future flood events - which are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change - it is time to do some deep thinking about the role the ADF plays in deploying to assist with these disasters.
Last month, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese directed the head of the Office of National Intelligence, Andrew Shearer, to lead a climate risk assessment. He will be assisted by Defence and other government departments. This presents an opportunity to ensure that past lessons are learned.
I was directly impacted by the Black Summer bushfires and helped coordinate a fantastic team of volunteers in a major, community-led, recovery effort. I have since visited community organisations and residents in flood ravaged areas of northern NSW and south-east Queensland. It is striking how the needs of affected communities are so similar.
They need communications as internet and phone services are massively disrupted. They need support to clear away fallen trees and other debris. They need assistance to distribute essential items to isolated families. Assistance in providing medical care and advice is also needed in many locations.
Existing emergency services cannot always provide this assistance as they are now frequently overwhelmed by extreme events.
Some have suggested that a new component of the ADF needs to be established with the express role of supporting communities in response to a major natural disaster. This might not be the best solution. It may be better to adjust elements of the existing ADF force structure to improve responsiveness and effectiveness.
Community assistance does not require armoured vehicles or oversize trucks that have difficulty moving around small settlements. Coordination mechanisms for tasking deployed ADF personnel should not be complex.
After the Black Summer fires, my community was sent a group of soldiers in Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles. They had to hire a minivan for transport in our community and could not load rubbish into the Bushmaster through the rear hatch. They worked really hard but achieved half of what they could have if they simply had some small trucks.
Another group of soldiers arrived in a small truck and were able to do so much more. But unfortunately, when we wanted them to remain a little longer, we were unable to contact their headquarters. The soldiers were redeployed prematurely, and they left feeling that they had let down our community.
ADF Reserve forces are an ideal choice to lead in the community assistance role. There would however need to be some major increases in their resourcing. Currently, ADF reserves have not been allocated sufficient support and resources.
There is expansion underway and planned increases will see ADF personnel numbers boosted by about 30 per cent by 2040. This is a huge task. Building an effective reserve component would be a significant contribution to the ADF's rapid expansion and would allow a sharp focus to be put on assisting in natural disasters.
The structure of the ADF Reserves needs to have a focus on engineering, logistics, communications and medical units. The primary role of these units should include response to major disasters. Their equipment should be suitable for both community assistance and combat operations (albeit not at high intensity conflict levels).
READ MORE:
The Reserve force needs more training. Ideally this would include up to 12 months full-time training followed by a period of mandatory part-time service in return for HECS free tertiary training and other benefits. This is very similar to the previous Ready Reserve Scheme disbanded by the Howard government without adequate consultation.
The location of Reserve units should also be considered. Many Reserve units already have a regional presence. This can be increased and allow a better understanding of the challenges communities might face in the event of a major disaster.
Finally, each state and territory should have a senior Reserve forces officer appointed to coordinate ADF responses to requests for assistance. This officer would be required to build relationships with premiers or chief ministers and with the heads of the relevant state and territory emergency services. They would have a responsibility to oversee the capabilities of the reserve elements in their jurisdiction relevant to disaster response.
A further step would be to allow Premiers and Chief Ministers to "call out" ADF Reserve Forces in their state or territory when emergency services were being overwhelmed. This may well require an amendment to the Constitution, but should not be ignored because of its complexity.
Andrew Shearer's Climate Risk Review and any forthcoming ADF capability reviews provide the ideal opportunity to ensure that the lessons from the recent series of major natural disasters experienced in Australia and our region are actually learned.
The Australian community has suffered through too many disasters with inadequate support in recent years.
As we enter a new era of compounding and worse climate fuelled disasters, it's absolutely essential this doesn't happen again.
- Major General Peter Dunn, AO (Retd), is former senior officer with the Australian Army, former Commissioner for the ACT Emergency Services Authority and Emergency Leaders for Climate Action member.
