Former defence chief warns of continued ‘complacency’ in disaster recovery after Labor speech

A former defence chief has warned the new government against complacency in natural disaster recovery planning, saying army troops cannot keep being deployed to fire or flood zones and raising concerns about a "huge gap" in the resources needed to combat increasingly extreme weather events.

Admiral Chris Barrie made the comments after the federal emergency management minister, Murray Watt, acknowledged in a National Press Club address that ADF troops were being stretched by constant domestic deployments, but downplayed previous suggestions about setting up a civilian disaster response agency.

"The time for action is now," Barrie said. "There is a huge gap between what we have and what we need to do."

In March, Labor's then defence spokesperson, Brendan O'Connor, said in government Labor "would consider as a matter of urgency" proposals to set up a civilian disaster response agency, citing increased incidence of natural disasters that required ADF assistance.

The proposal had previously been floated by Barrie, who was chief of the Australian Defence Force from 1998 to 2002; his successor, Sir Peter Cosgrove, who held the position from 2002 to 2005; and other defence analysts.

On Tuesday, Watt praised the work of the ADFin disaster recovery, but said Labor was considering alternative disaster response arrangements.

Watt added that he "[doesn't] really envisage us setting up" a separate federal agency akin to the State Emergency Service.

Barrie, an executive on the Australian Security Leaders Climate Group, has long-suggested a volunteer scheme for young Australians, where people who filled areas of national need could get tax breaks or have their university fees refunded. He said this could fill the non-military gaps the ADF is currently used to plug.

"We need to put our thinking caps on to make it attractive and prepare ourselves for a future that's different from the one we've left," Barrie said.

"We don't have the workers to resource the lifestyles we have. We must find a better way to use the people we have."

He said deploying military was "the most expensive way to put people on the ground" in situations like disaster recovery or aged care, and called on the government to better engage local communities in disaster planning.

Watt's comments, Barrie said, "appear to reflect that same kind of complacency we saw in the previous government".

"I hope I am wrong and that the present government does not shy away from the demands of leadership to get our community involved in participation in the urgent climate-security risk assessment," he said.

Cosgrove, who is also a former governor general, has suggested a national disaster force that would work with state agencies.

"While it is not one of the primarily role of any element of the defence force to participate in disaster relief, it will of course always remain available in an emergency if not deployed on important defence tasks at that time," he said.

Greg Mullins, a former Fire & Rescue NSW commissioner and chair of Emergency Leaders for Climate Action, said setting up a separate national disaster agency would result in duplication and waste. Instead, he called on the federal government to fund existing agencies to meet the current need, and intraining up local volunteers like the "tinnie army" in the Lismore floods.

"Those structures are funded for the threat environment of the 1990s, not the 2020s," he said. "If you're going to invest money, build up the SES so it has enough flood boats in Lismore, enough people trained up to use them."