Seventy Australian Defence Force personnel will be deployed to the NSW mid-north coast to assist with the cleanup from the devastating floods.
The troops will be on the ground from Tuesday alongside the veterans-led Disaster Relief Australia, helping to clear debris, reopen roads and conduct welfare checks on residents in the flood zone.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, announced the ADF deployments as the massive cleanup operation began for communities across the region.
“Unfortunately we are getting far too much experience in dealing with extreme weather events,” Albanese told a press conference inside the national situation room in Canberra.
“Science told us that there would be more frequent events and that they would be more intense, and that is what we are seeing playing out with a devastating impact on communities; most significantly, a devastating human impact, with five lives lost during this event, but also a significant environmental impact, and of course a significant economic impact as well.”
After defence helicopters were used to conduct search and rescue operations during the height of the flood emergency, a team of 70 ADF personnel was assembled to provide on-the-ground assistance, with a particular focus on clearing transport routes.
The reliance on the ADF in domestic natural disasters has long been a point of contention, with the Defence Strategic Review warning the military must be the “force of last resort” to avoid stretching its resources.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, said coordination between levels of governments and the role of first-responders such as the SES was helping to ease the burden on the ADF.
“I think we are getting our policies better as we’re moving forward, but when there is a moment when there is a crisis, and that call is made for Defence, Defence will always come,” Marles said.
Albanese said the ADF’s presence also provided a morale boost to disaster-ravaged communities.
“From my experience, the presence of ADF personnel on the ground brings enormous confidence to communities that are really doing it tough. It’s a sign of how seriously we as a nation are taking what is a catastrophic event,” he said.
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The ADF personnel were being assisted by a contingent from Disaster Relief Australia, which was due to scale up from 25 to 100 by the end of the week, as well as emergency services personnel from the ACT, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia, and New Zealand.
While flood waters had receded, federal disaster authorities were concerned about the impact a “severe” cold front pushing through NSW would have on livestock that were stranded throughout the disaster.
Albanese spoke with the NSW premier, Chris Minns, on Monday morning as emergency financial support rolled out for affected residents, small businesses and councils.
The commonwealth’s disaster recovery allowance – which provides up to 13 weeks of income for people unable to work due to the disaster – was opening at 2pm for residents in an initial group of four NSW council areas: Kempsey, Port Macquarie Hastings, MidCoast and Dungog.
Residents in 19 council areas were also eligible for personal hardship payments of $180 per adult and up to $900 per family for emergency food, clothing and medicines.
A $1m fund for councils to cover cleanup costs and a package of support for primary producers – which would include concessional loans and freight subsidies – was also expected to be approved at a federal cabinet meeting on Monday.
