Australia: Bushfire crisis demands a rethink on defence's role in national disasters

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By Anthony Bergin and Paul Barnes

With Australia in the grip of a bushfire crisis it is clear that disaster management in this nation is now a national security issue. Because of the scale and speed of such natural events they have similar potential for harm as other security challenges that threaten our normal way of life across significant areas of the country.

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A greater defence role might require additional personnel with specialist skills with defence running aerial assets including drones and air-traffic management in fire zones. Military logistic support capabilities can help free up more of our firefighters to deploy to the front line. Major fires are happening year-round.

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently announced an additional $11 million for the National Aerial Firefighting Centre. This would only cover a limited extension of some existing aircraft leases. And, as former senior air force officer Peter Layton has noted, a national fire-fighting fleet "would gain large economies of scale in terms of cost, staffing and training systems. The very long-term requirement means it's most cost-effective to fund an enduring and expandable national capability. The air force appears the logical organisation." The US Air Force has recently been contracted to install fire retardant delivery systems for seven C130s being transferred from the US Coast Guard to the US Forest Service.

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The federal government's Emergency Management Australia, the government body responsible for emergency management co-ordination, is a division in the Department of Home Affairs. But it now needs a mandate from cabinet to co-ordinate responses to national disaster crises. It should be a statutory authority and develop a national disaster resilience scorecard with the states as well as providing post-event reporting on before, during and after-event capabilities and capacities to cabinet.

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Hazards Wildfire
Country and region Australia
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