Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Hansard source

I present the interim report of the Select Committee on Australia's Disaster Resilience, together with the Hansard record of proceedings and documents presented to the committee. I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

On 30 November last year the Senate resolved to establish a select committee on Australia's disaster resilience. As of Tuesday 12 September, the committee has received over 138 submissions from organisations and everyday Australians, many of whom are still living with impacts of bushfires and floods. As I speak, Northern Territory firefighters are battling a megablaze that has broken containment lines and is bearing down on the 3,000 residents of Tennant Creek. Australia and the rest of the world are experiencing an increase in disasters fuelled by a rapidly changing climate. The Department of Home Affairs told the committee the cost of natural disasters is estimated to increase from an average of $18.2 billion in 2016 to $73 billion in 2060. Findings from the recent royal commission into natural disasters show that extreme weather increases rates of stress, depression anxiety and, of course, PTSD.

I think most Australians would agree that, as a nation, we are resilient. There is no doubt about that. But you can only have so much resilience. Bushfires and floods are not new to us. We are tough. In the face of danger and threats to our communities, many of us go above and beyond to help each other or even put our lives on the line. The committee heard many of these stories, often bringing tears to our eyes. But we need to be more resilient and we need to be more prepared, and this is not just a job for the governments but for all Australians, unfortunately. We all have to contribute.

The big message to the committee from communities impacted by these increasing natural disasters is: without the Australian Defence Force, things would have been much, much, much worse. A number of submissions said that the ADF should not be the main agency for disaster relief, while others, including the Local Government Association of Queensland, argue that the ADF should complement existing capabilities. Defence has stated that it will, of course respond to government direction, but that deployment to natural disasters will undermine its capacity to fulfil its primary mission of defending Australia and its interests. Defence also went on to state the establishment of a force—