Call for Aurora Australis to be given a new life as an emergency response vessel
Jacqui Lambie is backing calls for the country’s flagship Antarctic icebreaker, the Aurora Australis, to be given new life responding to emergencies like this summer’s bushfire crisis.
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THE Aurora Australis, Australia’s flagship Antarctic icebreaker, could be given a new life as an emergency response vessel to help in events like the summer’s bushfire crisis.
Former crew members Dean McPherson and Darrin McDougall met with federal politicians in Canberra yesterday to push for it to be purchased as a special emergency response vessel after it returns from its final Antarctic journey.
A hospital, a helipad, hangar facilities for three helicopters and desalination equipment to provide clean water are just some of the facilities on board the icebreaker, which has been deployed for 30 years.
Powerful Tasmanian Senate crossbencher Jacqui Lambie has backed the plan as a “bloody great idea”.
“It’s a multipurpose vessel that can be used for communications, fuel, water and medical, and just to rock my boat it has a helipad,” she told the Mercury.
“It was there to help people at Dunalley in the terrible bushfires that ripped through in 2013 and it can be used for training. I reckon it’s a no-brainer.”
Tasmanian Senator Carol Brown has also urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to consider the request.
She said the ship would require some modifications but the costs of both acquiring the boat and upgrades could be as low as $10 million.
“When a wall of flames surrounded Mallacoota, trapping thousands of people, it was merchant seafarers who were among the first on the scene,” Maritime Union of Australia Assistant National Secretary Ian Bray said.
Mr Bray, who accompanied the former Aurora crew to Canberra, said the boat could be ready before the next bushfire season.
“As a specialist emergency response vessel, the Aurora would be able to reach much of the Australian coast within days, armed with fuel, food, freshwater, and a functional hospital,” he said.
“The vessel would allow the restoration of communications, which was a major issue during recent fires, while the helicopter pad and refuelling station providing a launch point for search and rescue.
“The Aurora would also be able to provide other services, such as support to regional neighbours in the Pacific following their own emergencies, as a backup to the Antarctic program, and as a training vessel for Australian seafarers, both naval and merchant.”
Independent Member for Clark Andrew Wilkie said there was merit in the plan, but there were other good ideas like turning the P&O-owned vessel into a permanent feature on the Hobart waterfront as a floating museum.
“I will also be meeting in a few weeks’ time with a proponent for this idea,” he said.
“There is merit in public consultation to gauge the broad community view to help guide a future for the Aurora Australis to be kept in service or connected in some way to Hobart, where it has been a much-loved, bright orange fixture for so long.”
“The Aurora Australis is owned privately by the P&O company so its future plans for the vessel of course need to be taken into account.”
P&O has been contacted for comment.
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