Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Defence Legislation Amendment (Enhancement of Defence Force Response to Emergencies) Bill 2020. As stated by my colleagues, Labor will support the passage of this bill through this House, which is an important thing, but it does need further legislative scrutiny via a Senate inquiry. The Australian Defence Force—the ADF as we affectionately know it—plays a vital role in assisting the Australian community, not only through its sovereign purpose of the defence of Australia but also in assisting us in emergencies and natural disasters. Having been a very young woman of the tender age of 19 when the Newcastle earthquake hit in 1989, I still remember the Army being called in to Newcastle to provide incredible support, assistance and reassurance. Really, it was a terrible shambles, in terms of buildings falling and danger all around. Knowing that the Army was there during that month or so when the city was completely shut down, on the streets, securing perimeters and helping residents, was a great comfort. It is not a recent thing that the Australian Defence Force has come to the aid of civilian society, in terms of natural disasters and incredible events in our community. They've always been there during these times.

We, of course, witnessed it more recently. In 2019—which was last year, even though it feels like it was about 10 years ago, as this year has really tested many of us—the bushfires were so incredible. I remember having to go home because there were fires in my own electorate that were circling not only my property but also neighbouring properties. We managed to hold off the fire and have a firebreak put in at a nearby road. We witnessed those devastating events that saw the loss of homes and sheds and lives. In fact, 33 of our fellow Australians were taken from us during last year's fires. I note that the member for Macquarie has just taken her place in this chamber, and I pay special tribute to her because I know she has worked tirelessly for her community amidst bushfires and, more recently, the coronavirus and all manner of things. She has suffered her own loss from bushfires. I think it's one of those situations where it's probably not until you've lost your home and all of your worldly possessions that you do think, 'This is incredible.' So I do want to take a moment to acknowledge the impact on those people who lost loved ones and homes, as well as photographs and all the things that you can't bring back. When those fires are bearing down on you, they have such an impact.

When the ADF are called out in circumstances like that, they come not only with the requisite training and skill but also with the gravitas of being the Army, the Navy, the Air Force—the Defence Force. Seeing those people in their uniforms does bring a certain sense of relief. Even though it can be a very frightening time, you know that the best of the best are there to give their best for you. Reservists are part of this. The Australian Defence reserves are, and have always been, a critical part of our nation's military. I really want to say thank you to those reservists and, just as importantly, to the businesses that employ reservists. Reservists often are not in a position to serve full time, but they make themselves available to help when they can, and their employers release them to do that. If you've got a small business, again, it is often a drain to lose a crucial staff member. So thank you to those businesses that release reservists and allow them to go and serve their country in this way. Thank you for doing that.

This bill aims to address issues identified in a review conducted by Defence in the aftermath of the 2019-20 bushfires, which, as I mentioned earlier, took the lives of 33 of our fellow Australians, including nine firefighters. Over 17 million hectares were burnt across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, the ACT, Western Australia and South Australia. We know that the Bureau of Meteorology, affectionately known as the BOM at our place, reported that these fires were likely to be the single largest fire event recorded in eastern Australia. It's hard to fathom the sheer scope of these fires, the area of the country affected and the determination of our people to try and stop them. We all witnessed the devastation and the loss of life, property and our natural environment. In circumstances such as these, it is easy to understand the necessity of calling upon our Defence Force reservists to assist in combating natural disasters of such scale.

The review identified that the process of calling out the reserve forces needed to be simplified in order to allow faster mobilisation. This bill seeks to address the need for expediency, which is really important, by simplifying the process for advising the Governor-General prior to the issue of an order to call out reservists; increasing the Chief of Defence Force's flexibility to determine periods and types of service that reservists render during a call-out, including by removing a requirement for continuous full-time service; providing to the ADF and Defence personnel—as well as to other protected persons, potentially including foreign military and police services—immunity from civil and criminal liability in certain circumstances, similar to that enjoyed by civil emergency services; and addressing a gap in current arrangements that means reservists providing continuous full-time service during a call-out do not receive superannuation, with the change to be retrospective from November 2019. Importantly, the bill does not confer additional authority nor expand the ability to deploy the ADF.

We really want to support these changes because they do make it easier and simpler and—let's face it—more practical and timely. When those fires are bearing down, when that tsunami tidal wave is bearing down, when any sort of natural disaster is bearing down, it is so important that we are able to deploy quickly and efficiently. The improvement of processes regarding the utilisation of defence people and equipment in times of national disaster should be supported and taken very seriously. As we all know, we are seeing more of these natural disasters as well.

We should also not forget the tardiness of this Prime Minister in acting to fight these horrific fires. We shouldn't forget that while the country burnt the Prime Minister was on a beach in Hawaii. I've heard many of his colleagues say he was having a holiday. Everyone accepts that he worked hard and he deserved a holiday, but when something of that magnitude was happening he really needed to truncate his holiday and come home, like every Prime Minister that has faced similar or equivalent disasters has done. I do think that's an important point to make. Yes, he's a human being and, yes, he's got a terrific family and, yes, he deserves a holiday, but you sign up to be the Prime Minister. It is a very important job. Whilst families are all-important, being the Prime Minister is, for that period of your life, the most important thing, and he really should have come home at his first availability. Given the fact that he has transport at hand, that shouldn't have taken the time that it did. Even though we recognise that, as the Prime Minister, he has worked hard, he should have gotten himself home much faster. I think even reasonable Liberal people would accept that observation.

We shouldn't forget that 23 former fire and emergency services leaders attempted, unsuccessfully, to meet with the Prime Minister. That leaves me aghast. We're always looking for experts and people with experience. Everyone who has been elected to this place over the years talks about good policy being formed when experience and expertise come together. So when 23 former fire and emergency services leaders reach out to a current leader and say: 'Look, we've got a bit of experience in this. We've walked a mile in these moccasins, and we'd like to share some experience with you,' wouldn't you think that a Prime Minister would be at least willing to give them an hour of his time? Again, I am still aghast at that one. These people have put their life on the line for many thousands of hours across their careers. For the Prime Minister, in the midpoint of his career, not to give them time last year was extraordinary.

This is the background to which the suggested changes to the administration of the Reserve Assistance Program have come about. This is why we're making this legislation. We're going to support this bill. We've said all along that we will. But it does require really good scrutiny, and that's what the review by the Senate committee will do. I implore the government to be proactive and to listen to the results of what comes out of the review in the Senate. We need to be able to combat these huge events. Had we listened to the experts in the community, much could have been saved, I dare say. So it is a great shame that the Prime Minister fiddled while Australia burnt.

Labor has consulted and will continue to interact with stakeholders in both government and the wider community. We note that representatives of key defence personnel and reservists associations are generally supportive of the changes that this bill proposes, and that's a good thing. There you have it again: people who have been involved in this and have history, providing examples and providing knowledge.

We must look after our reservists, as they look after us, and ensure that the gap in current arrangements is filled and they receive superannuation while providing continuous, full-time service. We must set them up for success so that they can do their job. The provision to provide immunity in certain circumstances from civil and criminal liability, for defence personnel and other designated protected persons responding to an emergency similar to that enjoyed by civil emergency services, is welcome, and that is very important. We want these people to feel as though they don't have to be thinking, 'Will this person sue me?' or 'Will I be in some sort of strife if I carry someone from a fire or a flood?' We need these people to fully do what they're trained to do and to be able to help, no matter what.

I want to take a quick moment to speak on schedule 2 of the bill, which provides immunity to certain personnel, while they're performing duties, to respond and to support emergency and natural disaster preparedness. I think that is very important. The manner in which the proposed amendments are drafted does raise the question of whether the bill, as well as providing certain immunities, provides the minister with the statutory power to direct use of the ADF and other defence resources in certain natural disasters and other emergencies.

We understand that the minister has some non-statutory executive power to direct assistance. The extent of that non-statutory power depends on the scope of the Commonwealth's nationhood power, which is not regarded as settled in constitutional law. It is possible that these provisions expand the existing executive power. These are things that really must be explored more and expanded in greater depth, and that's why it is good that it's going for further review in the Senate.

I would like to take a moment to also speak on schedule 3 of the bill, which will make amendments to the Military Superannuation and Benefits Act 1991, the Australian Defence Force Superannuation Act 2015 and the Australian Defence Force Cover Act 2015. These amendments will ensure that Reserve members who provide continuous full-time service under a call-out order will receive superannuation and related benefits commensurate with those reservists who provide the same service on a voluntary basis. I think that's really important. It's vital that we recognise the fantastic contribution our ADF make, especially during times of national emergency. With this, we must ensure that they're sufficiently compensated.

I welcome these amendments as they will provide greater flexibility in the call-out of our reserves, enable greater consistency in the treatment of our reserves and ensure that our defence personnel have all the appropriate legal protections when serving our nation, in good faith, during times of great crisis and emergency. We agree to support this bill and, in closing, again, I want to thank those people who pull on the uniform every day. They serve our country in conflict, in crisis and in natural disaster. This bill, for all intents and purposes, is a good bill because it brings about requisite change to those serving personnel and our reservists. But we must ensure that it's properly drafted and its intent is also what is delivered for those people who pull on that uniform every day.

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