Stop using army for floods and fires, defence review says
Key Points
- Defence strategic review warns new threats require a reshaping of military capacity
- Defence force must be more focused on maritime and amphibious missions
- It recommends purchasing more missiles, fewer vehicles; and bolstering northern bases
- Defence spending will rise above 2pc of GDP over the next decade
Governments must stop relying on the military to help out in natural disasters as it is detracting from the capacity of the Australian Defence Force’s primary objective of defending Australia, the Defence Strategic Review says.
Amid an increasing dependence on using the armed forces to help with bushfires, floods and even during the COVID-19 pandemic with aged care and vaccine distribution, the review says Commonwealth, state and local governments need a different arrangement “to deal with all but the most extreme domestic disaster preparations”.
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