Interview with Greg Jennett, ABC Afternoon Briefing

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
ABC AFTERNOON BRIEFING
WEDNESDAY, 9 AUGUST 2023

SUBJECTS: Australia’s natural disaster response, disaster preparation; China trade; barley exports

GREG JENNETT, HOST: This year's Defence Strategic Review made it clear that the days of uniformed defence personnel being among the first to respond to the many natural disasters afflicting Australia are numbered. Instead, a discussion paper has been released on creating a civilian alternative. Murray Watt is the Minister responsible, he joined us here in the studio a few minutes ago.

Murray Watt, welcome back to the program. This time right here in the studio, always nice. Now if the ADF is going to be the force of last resort for natural disasters and clean ups in this country, are we right in assuming the first call out would be state-based emergency service organisations? What then becomes the federal force of perhaps second resort?

MURRAY WATT, MINISTER FOR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Well good to be with you, Greg. And that's exactly the questions that we're asking the community right now through a consultation process that starts today. What we do know is that we are likely to be facing much more extreme weather into the future as a result of climate change. And that means that we need to be much better prepared than we have been in the past. And we also know that our Australian Defence Forces are coming under increasing pressure because of the number and intensity of these disasters. So what we're doing is having a consultation process about how should we resource the personnel involved in disasters at a Commonwealth level. I do think that there is always going to be an increasing role for state and territory services - whether that be paid or volunteer-based services, the SES, Rural Fire Services - because, of course, disaster management is primarily a state and territory responsibility. But there is an important role for the Commonwealth here. We are already, as a result of an election commitment, funding an organisation called Disaster Relief Australia, which is a volunteer-based organisation, mainly made up of veterans and first responders. I've actually seen them out in the field in places like Lismore and Rochester, doing some of that clean up and recovery work that we've tended to use the defence force for. So, that might be an option. It might be about how can we boost volunteer numbers in the community more generally. How can we prepare communities to be much better prepared for disasters. So, there's a range of options and that's what this consultation is about.

GREG JENNETT: No, I understand completely you're going to want to listen to the community before you make pronouncements. So as you scope this out, do you foresee that it could be akin to the Defence Reserve in the sense that if a volunteer needed to go off and undertake regular training, an employer could be recompensed financially for their disappearance from the workplace?

MURRAY WATT: Those things, again, are options, and I've certainly heard different people suggesting those kind of things at the moment. But as you say, we're not prejudging this consultation process. We want to hear from the general community, and from states and territories and everyone who's got an interest in this. I think what we know is that we can't continue to just rely on the Defence Force in the way that we traditionally have. I guess I've learned in this role that very often there is an expectation in the community that the Defence Force will be called out very quickly after any kind of disaster. And that's just not sustainable, given their primary job is the defence of the nation. So there's a whole range of options that we'll consider and make some announcements after that.

GREG JENNETT: If that were the case and defence were to wait and wait until called, would it be envisaged that large assets, like dedicated ships for coastal evacuations we've seen that before or transport helicopters might be assets involved in this future force, whatever it's called?

MURRAY WATT: From the Defence Force, you mean?

GREG JENNETT: No from a civilian-

MURRAY WATT: Again, those sorts of things are options. And I do want to be clear that the Government absolutely sees that there will be an ongoing role for our defence forces in a disaster situation. The issue, though, is, as you said in the Defence Strategic Review, the recommendation is that they be seen as a last resort. There are always going to be disasters that are of such scale or unique characteristics that they're going to need the personnel or the equipment or the skills the Defence Force has. But as you say, there are civilian options out there, around aircraft, around shipping and around personnel. And what we need to do as a Federal Government is make sure that we've got a national solution that encompasses people, equipment, transport, to make sure that we're ready for the future.

GREG JENNETT: Does America's FEMA - Federal Emergency Management Agency - provide some model to design around for Australia?

MURRAY WATT: We're certainly intending through this process to look at what a number of other countries do, and FEMA is a good example. We've actually had some of our National Emergency Management Agency people in the US recently having a good look at what FEMA do, and we'll be doing similar things with other countries as well, to learn from what other people do. I mean, I do think in the end, Australia has a unique climate. We're in the most disaster-prone region of the world, the Asia Pacific, so we're going to need to build a solution that's right for Australia. But I think there are lessons from overseas that we can learn.

GREG JENNETT: Things don't come cost free when you're particularly trying to create a new entity in this country, so cost would come into this. We discovered through the Defence Strategic Review that there wasn't much excess funding the Government was able to provide into that. Would you be open to the idea of additional charges, levies, taxes, if you like, to fund what would be an important national service?

MURRAY WATT: Well, there's certainly no proposal at this stage to introduce new taxes or levies to help pay for this. But what it's really about is working out. What do we need and then how do we pay for it? Obviously, the recommendations of this consultation would feed into future budget processes and I'll need to fight with my colleagues around the Cabinet table and the ERC table to get what we need, along with other priorities. But there's certainly no proposal to be introducing new taxes or anything like that.

GREG JENNETT: Well, as your ideas firm up, we'll get you back to describe those to us, Murray Watt. Moving on to another area, agriculture, in your portfolio. I think you've been able to provide an update today. We know that barley is being reopened into China, but there's actually been a material development today. What is it?

MURRAY WATT: Yeah, there has. We've got some really good news for Australian farmers and our whole grains industry, particularly in states like Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria. As you would have seen last Friday, China announced the removal of tariffs on barley, which is a huge development for our grain producers. China was Australia's biggest market for barley. It was worth nearly a billion dollars a year until those tariffs were imposed. But one of the other complications was that two of our biggest grain exporters, CBH, which is primarily Western Australian-based, and Emerald, which is Victoria and South Australia, they had their own exports suspended by China because of what China said were some biosecurity issues. Today, we were advised by the Chinese Customs Agency that those suspensions have been lifted. So what that means is that every barley exporter in Australia is now able to re-export, re-enter that market with no tariffs of the kind we've seen over the last couple of years. So it's fantastic news.

GREG JENNETT: So what they will have to do is organise ships and shipments. How quickly?

MURRAY WATT: Well I know that they're literally on the job at the moment, maybe not necessarily those two companies who found out today, but other exporters have begun work even over the weekend. Since that decision was announced about removal of tariffs. I'd certainly be hoping that over coming weeks, we would see some real developments. Obviously so, you don't just put a ship out to sea the next day – it’s got to be booked, you've got to get bookings at ports, but that work has already begun.

GREG JENNETT: All right, thanks for the update, Murray Watt.