100% agree on the ADF front. Logistics is supposed to be what the military is good at, and if responding to disasters is affecting their readiness, then we need to increase their resources.
I’m also 90% sure that if the ADF stopped doing emergency response, next budget cycle someone will push for reducing their excess headcount now that they are replaced by volunteers.
Yup, thats a huge if, especially amongst the younger people required for physical work like emergency services.
Its a pipe dream politically, but taxing our coal and gas industry to an inch of their life and using it to pay SES volunteers would be a nice start. Its pretty much established that they are responsible for the increased occurances of natural disasters, they should pay a part in cleaning them up. And I’ll take my unicorn in pink…
Eh, if its a dangerous job that needs to be done, they should get paid. I dont care if the ADF has to expand, or some other paid arrangement needs to be setup, but relying on volunteers is just exploitation.
And if the ADF can’t spare a few trucks worth of troops, how ready will they be if NZ pops over for a “special military operation”?
That is freakin’ adorable! I guess the real threat is the urak-hai inside