The recent rollover of two army trucks carrying Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel responding to ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred was unprecedented for a domestic emergency operation.
Thirty-two soldiers were hospitalised in the twin incidents, which occurred when a convoy of military vehicles was en route to assist flood-affected residents of Lismore. The accident reignited debate over the sustainability of the ADF’s expanding role in disaster response.
We are relying on the military more frequently because Australia’s renowned voluntary emergency workforce is shrinking. Not enough people are fronting up to fight the fires and floods, and other calamities that regularly blight the Australian landscape.
