How best to declare a “national emergency” during catastrophic bushfires and other natural disasters is expected to be among a raft of recommendations in a royal commission report.
The commission into natural disaster arrangements is also expected to outline how to make the role of the Australian Defence Force during bushfires clearer when it hands down its final report on Wednesday.
“Some state government agencies and some local governments did not understand what tasks the ADF could perform, how to seek ADF assistance or how best to interact with the ADF once it was deployed, during both the response and recovery phases,” the commission said in its draft report released earlier this year.
The final report is expected to outline further recommendations regarding wildlife management, mental health, disaster recovery funding arrangements, land management, aerial firefighting and the use of emergency warning apps.
It has already suggested a body such as the national cabinet, set up to deal with coronavirus, be tasked with managing the response to future bushfires, something Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud said had merit.
The commission began its work in February in the wake of Australia’s devastating summer bushfires.
Those fires raged across 10 million hectares, took 33 lives and destroyed 10,000 homes and other structures.
More than 80,000 head of livestock were killed and millions of native plants and animals were lost, including severe impacts on many World Heritage areas.
Since that time the commission has examined Australia’s preparedness, response and recovery from disasters, and looked at ways to improve resilience and adapt to changing climatic conditions.
It took more than 1700 submissions, with public hearings continuing until September.
Australian Associated Press
