Recruitment incentives are needed to boost the number of emergency services volunteers to respond to natural disasters and take the pressure off the ADF.
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”?
I’m not looking forward to the day when we see columns of Bob Semple Tanks crossing the Ditch.
That is freakin’ adorable! I guess the real threat is the urak-hai inside
I keep seeing commentary saying that we shouldn’t use the ADF for disaster relief.
We have an organisation full of people with exactly the skills and organisation required that we maintain at great expense and barely use. Can someone give me a sensible explanation why it’s not a good idea to use them for disaster response.
On a second note I know for a fact that small scale politics and wasteful spending are endemic in volunteer emergency services. I’m not sure what reform is needed but something certainly is. I’m about to re-enter a volunteer fire brigade for the first time in years so I’m sure I’ll be full of opinions in a few months.
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.
