Commentary: The Australian bushfires are straining emergency disaster volunteers

SYDNEY: Australia is in the midst of inconceivably bad bushfires. The death toll is rising, thousands of buildings have been destroyed and whole communities displaced.

Although expensive, the cost of not acting on disaster risk, planning and preparation will be greatly outstripped by the cost of future climate and weather catastrophes.The states and territories are primarily responsible for disaster preparedness and response. Typically, the federal government has no direct responsibility, but lends a hand when asked through a variety of programmes, policies and initiatives.

NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons only learned that Defence reservists would be deployed when it was reported in the media. And it wasn’t immediately clear how new reservists would be integrated into existing response activities.The decade-long ideological battle between the left and right of Australian politics has paralysed climate policy development. This cannot continue.

Firefighters keep a watchful eye on a fire threatening homes along the Princes Highway near in Milton, Australia Jan 5, 2020. These might include contributing to land-use zoning plans, building design and standards for construction in at-risk areas, or building partnerships with the private sector.All this will cost money. Australia must accept that taxpayers will pay for future disaster preparedness, response and recovery. We need a bucket of cash for when disasters strike. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced A$2 billion for recovery, but disaster funds should be ongoing.

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