Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Griff, in short, the answer is no, and there are very good reasons for that. Aerial firefighting is, as I've said, a very specialist core expertise which does not in any way reflect what, in this case, the ADF pilots of fixed-wing and rotary-wing air assets are for. Our air crews—Army, Air Force and Navy—have done an extraordinary job supporting the bushfires and supporting the bushfire volunteers and SES by doing what they do best—doing logistics, doing transport—and they are not specialist bushfire pilots. That's why we contract and engage them, mostly here in Australia and some from overseas.