Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to stand here today and speak to this motion, and I thank Senator Lambie for bringing it to the Senate. I don't rise here and speak with the same authority or expertise as some of our speakers who have had the opportunity to speak today. We have our Special Envoy for Disaster Recovery, Senator Sheldon, who has been doing an excellent job since being appointed to that position. He has spoken with real knowledge of what is going on in those communities and is working very hard with our minister. The shadow minister also has a deep understanding of some of the issues that we are facing.

I know that we are having a real debate about the role of the Defence Force in dealing with these recurring disasters. I know, Senator Lambie, you have a working knowledge of and a real passion for our Defence Forces and a real understanding, from a mental health point of view, of the toll that participating in these types of exercises does take. So I quite humbly rise to speak in the context of people who are working in this space, but I do so as someone who lives in a state that has experienced natural disasters and continues to experience natural disasters. I live in a place prone to cyclones. It's a real, live experience for people living in northern Australia, particularly, about how we deal with ongoing natural disasters and the threat and the cost of cleaning up these disasters.

I think it's really important to point out that we have seen the climate change. We've seen changes to the way disasters impact our countries. I think the proposal from Senator Lambie to develop this select committee, importantly, comes at a time when there is a very different position from the parties of government on what we should do to deal with climate change and the cost of not dealing with climate change, particularly in relation to natural disasters. The government supports the proposal to establish a select committee on Australia's disaster resilience.

It would be remiss of me to not speak about this important topic without extending my sympathies to those Australians who are currently dealing with natural disasters. I know we can stand in here and have quite an academic debate, but there are real families, real communities and real businesses that are dealing with the impacts of flooding across the country right now, flooding that has seemed almost relentless in a new way, to which we are needing to come up with new ways to respond. Government is having to deal with new ways of preparing for disasters because, while it is important to be there when disasters occur, when families are cleaning up and when communities are facing the aftermath of a disaster, what we now know—and what I think was particularly important about the contribution from the then shadow minister Watt—is that being prepared for disasters is a real necessity and should be the emphasis of any government that holds itself out to care about communities. It is important to turn up the day after, but what were you doing six months before? I think that is the question and it's the emphasis of this government and, particularly, the minister, who has only recently taken on this role.

It feels as though there has been no end to Australia's incidence of natural disasters, and the frequency of these disasters don't dilute their devastating impacts. Every time we hear about another event, there are families, communities and workplaces contending with these terrible events. I express my deepest condolences to all of them. I also express my appreciation for the ADF, emergency services personnel and all volunteers who have put themselves, or are currently putting themselves, in harm's way in the service of these impacted communities. I know there are personnel particularly from the defence forces who are currently doing this work, and we could not be more appreciative of the contribution they make to our community.

As natural disasters become more intense and more frequent due to climate change, we need to think more seriously about what we can do to support emergency management workforce. When severe natural disasters hit, the ADF do play an incredibly critical role in responding to natural disasters. Speaking with the Guardian last week, Minister Watt said: 'You can't underestimate the morale boost that it gives communities to see those camouflage uniforms in there lending a hand.' Not only does their presence bring comfort and reassurance to communities but we've seen time and time again how they supercharge the recovery. In recent weeks, the Albanese government deployed Defence Force personnel across the east coast of Australia. Our service personnel do a fantastic job supporting communities in their immediate recovery.

The efforts of our ADF personnel on the ground are incredible, and I thank them for their sustained and tireless service. Still, we do need to acknowledge that our increasing reliance on the ADF may not be sustainable. Minister Watt has already flagged the government's intention to investigate how we can bolster Australia's emergency management workforce capability. A more coordinated response to more frequently occurring disasters, including the possibility of a standby workforce, is an important part of that as well. We're having this conversation at a time when there are skills shortages across the country. We will have political debates about who has been responsible for some of those skills shortages and for not training people, but we know that, certainly, where there were cracks in the system—and COVID created chasms—there is a real lack of skilled, trained workforce that isn't already completely exhausted and unable to participate in these types of work. The idea that there's this army of volunteers just waiting with nothing else to do—we all know that that's not the case. It's not a matter of there being a workforce that is ready and willing. There is a discussion that we need to have about where this workforce comes from, how this workforce is engaged, what this workforce is going to be required to do and what is the emphasis in terms of preparedness versus recovery of this workforce. Australia needs to be able to rely on a systematic response every time these kinds of events occur, instead of relying on ad hoc, last-minute arrangements.

I think the debate today has been very respectful and has really stayed away from too many political assessments, but it would be remiss of me not to comment on the previous government's response. It felt like, over a few years of disasters, there was a real reluctance to put in new systems that would allow there to be rapid response preparedness and mitigation. I am loath to say the 'M word'. I know the previous government didn't believe in investing in mitigation, as opposed to other methods. But this is all part of the conversation that we need to have, and it will be investigated by this select committee.

With disasters occurring more frequently, communities should be able to know what help to expect from government. I think there's definitely a case to be made that after a disaster there's an awful time period where people are waiting to see press conferences, to see what sort of help will be available. It would be nice to know, the day after a disaster, that the type of response and assistance available to you is going to be the same no matter where you live, no matter whose electorate you live in and no matter whether you live in a state run by a Liberal or a Labor government. If you live in Australia and you are affected by a natural disaster, there should be a federal response and a combined state and local government response that is the same no matter where you live.

Already, the Albanese Labor government is implementing these structural changes. In only five months of government, our government has established the new national Emergency Management Fund and a new resilience fund. I know that Minister Watt is very proud of these achievements in such a short time. I think this goes to some of the weather forecasts we've been getting and the high-risk season that we're heading into—or that we've already met. This has really exacerbated the need to get these things happening. That's why our government has been so quick to deal with these changes.

This is unlike the previous government, which focused on announcements and not delivery—even when it came to disaster recovery. We have every intention of ensuring that these funds and corresponding agencies are used. We don't want to have funding sitting in a bank when it could be spent on mitigation projects that would reduce the impact of natural disasters. That is not helpful to any community. A press release does not help you after a flood; a mitigation project that has been designed, planned, investigated and implemented is what communities want to see from a proactive government.

We have also established the $1 billion Disaster Ready Fund to support long-term preparedness and response to natural disasters. I'm sure there will be many submissions to Senator Lambie's proposed select committee for what this fund could possibly be used for and how this fund could be used to benefit preparedness and response. Just this week, with the handing down of the first federal budget under the new Albanese Labor government, we have renewed our commitment to a more proactive approach to disaster recovery, an important role that the Australian Defence Force and also Australian veterans play in this situation.

On Tuesday evening, the Albanese Labor government committed $38.3 million to the veteran led Disaster Relief Australia. This budget allocation proposes to enhance the existing operations of veteran led Disaster Relief Australia. This money was allocated with the concerns raised in the committee referral in mind. Adequately resourcing a range of groups will help to reduce the pressure on the Australian Defence Force when disasters hit. These funds aim to support 5,200 more disaster response volunteers.

I don't pretend to know about, nor have lived experience of, the lives of veterans, other than to have spoken to many communities and many people, particularly in North Queensland, who support and work very closely with the veteran community and who are looking for ways to deal, particularly, with veterans' ongoing mental health and also with their employment situation. The Oasis Townsville is one really good example. John Caligari, who I'm sure Senator Lambie and other ministers and other members of the opposition have had the chance to meet when they've been in Townsville, is really clear on giving veterans jobs that provide purpose and meaning, somewhere to go, someone to love, something to do. That is why we seek to engage veterans in this really important work. It's a two-pronged approach, and I think it's something that should receive support across this chamber.

Finally, the success of our emergency management system should not be a partisan issue. We'll all have a stake in making sure it's done and ensuring the full capacity of the Public Service provides communities the best possible support in their most difficult moments. That's why our government welcomes the intention to look into this issue through the Senate and work constructively across the chamber to deliver a more sustainable emergency management workforce capability. With the impacts of climate change on our doorstep right now, with communities across the country facing a high-risk weather season, with the reluctance of previous governments to invest in mitigation and preparedness, there could not be a more important time for this inquiry.