Qld SES at breaking point after relentless storms, flooding

Queensland’s response to natural disasters will become slower and more difficult amid stagnating State Emergency Service volunteer numbers and delays calling in the Australian Defence Force, experts say.

Queensland’s response to natural disasters will become slower and more difficult amid stagnating State Emergency Service volunteer numbers and delays calling in the Australian Defence Force, experts say.

Widespread damage following the series of severe weather events has stretched the capacity of emergency services, with the SES receiving more than 4000 calls for assistance since Christmas.

Frustrated residents in storm-ravaged communities have spent days calling for the Australian Defence Force to be mobilised, a call which was acted upon on Tuesday.

An increasing reluctance to deploy the army has prompted concern about how Queensland recovers from future disasters, with the number of SES volunteers down from 6200 in 2016 to a steady 5200 currently.

With the frequency and severity of weather events tipped to increase, a Queensland State Emergency Service Volunteers Association spokesman said the organisation’s response to future disasters could be harder.

“It becomes increasingly difficult if we do see a higher or greater workload,” he said.

“It’s about ensuring we can get and retain volunteers.

“You need to grow with the demand and if the demand is going to be there we need to grow accordingly.”

SES volunteers, despite reports of isolated incidents of abuse, are continuing to assist residents following the Christmas Day storm.

The spokesman said there should be a “broader conversation”, however, about how equipped the state would be to respond and recover from future disasters.

“We’ve heard the ADF has voiced publicly they potentially cannot continue the charge of responding to these events – something does need to be looked at,” he said.

Australia Defence Association executive director Neil James said the defence force should not be the immediate solution to a natural disaster.

“Everyone now expects the federal government to solve every issue from fixing a pothole to fighting a nuclear war,” he said.

“Because the ADF has been reasonably successful there’s an expectation the defence force will turn up and they’ll do so almost instantaneously no matter where you live in the country.

“They don’t step in straight away and that’s what people keep forgetting.”

Mr James said there was a community “ignorance” about the role of the ADF.

“Disaster relief is a state responsibility often managed at a local level … when regional, local and state resources are depleted you get reinforced by other states,” he said.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Assistant Commissioner Stephen Smith said work had been ongoing to boost the capacity of the SES.

“At the moment a significant investment over the last two years has been made into State Emergency Service to boost numbers, boost training equipment – so a general uplift in the State Emergency Service across the board,” he said.

“That work is under way and is delivering dividends in terms of training outcomes and recruitment outcomes.”