Right: Some politicians, as well as members of the public, have complained that today's under-35s do not volunteer as readily as previous generations. In the case of regional fire services, however, declining small-town populations have been cited as a factor.
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Arguments against conscripting youth into emergency services
1. The decline in Australian volunteerism has been exaggerated
Critics of attempts to force community service from sections of the Australian population point to the fact that volunteerism in this country is in a healthier state than is often claimed.
2015 Australian Bureau Statistics(ABS) data indicated a decline is volunteerism. However, some commentators have noted that this figure needs to be set in context. Australia's record of volunteerism is traditionally high. The 2015 decline was the first since records began to be taken in 1995. Further, commentators have noted that relative to most other nations, Australia has a robust volunteerism culture.
A 2015 report on 'Volunteering in Australia' noted 'Australia's giving culture as a whole is strong and vibrant.' Australia was ranked in the top six giving nations in the World Giving Index 2014, based on an average of three measures -the percentage of people who in a typical month donate money to charity, volunteer their time, and help a stranger". It ranked 16th out of 135 nations with respect to volunteering time. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' (ABS) surveys of voluntary work, both volunteering rates (as a percentage of people over 18 who have volunteered in the last 12 months) and the total number of hours volunteered have risen since 1995 when the first national survey of voluntary work was conducted. This increase exists across all states and territories, although the rate of increase varies. Surveyed volunteer rates were higher outside of capital cities in all survey years but increased both in and outside of capital cities over time. Volunteer rates increased over time for both men and women.
The 2016 Census has also revealed that Australians are still engaged and committed to volunteering activities. This census revealed that 3.6 million Australians aged 15 years and over, or 19 per cent of the population, engaged in voluntary work through an organisation or group. This is a 1.2 per cent increase from the 2011 Census results when 17.8 per cent of people responded that they were engaged in voluntary work.
It has further been argued that claims that young Australians are disinterested in volunteering are inaccurate. Mission Australia's 2013 survey of 14,461 young Australians aged 15 to 19, reported volunteering as one of the three top activities in which young people were engaged during 2013, 2012 and 2011, following engagement in sports as a participant and as a spectator. While the survey did not specify or categorise the nature of this volunteering, it did capture a large sample of young people who identified themselves as having engaged in volunteering activities. It also showed a marked escalation in rates of youth volunteering over recent years. In 2011, 33.5 per cent of surveyed young people identified themselves as participating in volunteer work. In 2012, the figure jumped to 60.5 per cent. While the 2013 figure shows a slight decline to 55.6 per cent, it still suggests a growth overall in youth volunteering in Australia.
This apparent trend toward an increase in youth volunteerism has been noted in other countries. Research indicates a substantial rise in United States teenage volunteers from 13.4 percent in 1989 to 28.4 percent in 2005. Data from Canada reported in 2000 indicate 33 percent of young people between the ages of 15 and 24 were engaged in volunteering. In 2005, 38 percent of students in United States high schools were participating in service-learning programs through their schools.
Research has further indicated that Australian youth find volunteerism appealing for a variety of reasons. The appeals of volunteering for young people include the social benefits of being with friends, strengthening social relationships and working collaboratively with others. It has been discovered that young people look for volunteering opportunities that are of interest and reflect their values and priorities, but they also look for volunteering opportunities that link them to other young people. In several studies, young people identify considerable benefits of their involvement in volunteer activities including acknowledgement, appreciation, and a sense of being socially engaged.
2. Australian emergency services are developing new ways of attracting members
In response to the increased demands being placed on Australia's emergency services, these agencies are developing new recruitment and staff management strategies designed to increase volunteerism and to retain volunteers within their different services. Critics of Senator Lambie's proposal argue that increasing and retaining volunteers is a better strategy than co-opting young people into emergency services.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) is building its new strategy around three guiding principles. The first is that volunteers are respected, recognised and rewarded for their local knowledge. A culture of respect will be reflected in the way QFES collaborates and communicates with its volunteers during their everyday work. QFES recognises the need for people to feel capable to execute their tasks properly in their local area based on their local knowledge. As such, it will engage more with its volunteers to develop volunteer-owned solutions to challenges and opportunities rather than imposing departmental-directed ideas onto the local volunteer groups.
The second guiding principle is that the life experience and knowledge of volunteers is utilised. QFES is committed to recognising the unique attributes that each of its members brings to the workforce and utilising these attributes to find solutions that best suit each individual community's needs.
The third guiding principle is that the volunteering experience is enhanced, valued and mutually beneficial. Future QFES mechanisms and structures are designed to support flexible individual volunteer needs, life-stages, cultures and practices ensuring a more inclusive workforce. QFES plans to focus on improving the working environment of volunteers by actively seeking alternative strategies and solutions that may better assist volunteers to do their job in the community. This may include producing clearer role descriptions, managing staff and volunteers' expectations, requiring future QFES staff to be experienced in engaging with volunteers, and providing uniform inductions across all local community volunteering groups ensuring consistent information is provided to all.
The New South Wales State Emergency Service has a 'volunteering reimagined' scheme that has lifted its volunteer base by 21 percent, with the total number of volunteer members standing at 9110 in June of 2018.
'Volunteering Reimagined' was launched in September 2017 with new policies and procedures to increase flexibility. Three new categories of membership were introduced to enable community members to get involved in new ways. Each pathway has a varying level of commitment and training required to enable a diverse range of community members to engage with the Service. Current research into volunteering in emergency services suggests a fundamental shift is required for agencies to recruit and retain volunteer members in the future.
As a result of these new initiatives, not only has the New South Wales State Emergency Service volunteer workforce grown by more than 21 percent but another 1000 people have expressed an interest in volunteering in the future and have registered their details with New South Wales State Emergency Service.
One of the pathways New South Wales State Emergency Service. Has made available is open to 'spontaneous volunteers', that is, people who are called on to perform short-term, low-risk activities in the wake of a natural disaster. For example, during December 2018 the community of Berowra was impacted by a significant hailstorm with jagged hail stones of up to 8 cm impacting almost every property in the community. A call was put out to the local community via the Berowra Community Facebook page and locals came in large numbers to fill sandbags, door knock, act as radio operators and assist with community liaison and catering.
3. Conscripting people to emergency services would be ineffective
Critics of the proposed scheme to have conscripts take part in combatting natural disasters have argued that it would be ineffective. They claim that work such as firefighting requires aptitude, skill and commitment, none of which qualities or attributes are likely to be possessed by a group of unemployed young people forced to take on such tasks.
Leader of One Nation. Senator Pauline Hanson, commenting on Senator Lambie's suggestion, noted that unwilling young people would be unproductive and difficult to manage, in part because they would be likely to see their forced attendance as emergency service personnel as an infringement of their civil liberties. Hanson stated, 'A lot of these kids can't even turn up for a job application or turn up to get a job. It's going to be very hard to get them to do it because they know their rights.'
Others have raised related concerns. One Facebook commenter posted, 'To be honest this is a horrendous idea. It takes a special sort of person to be a member of an emergency service, be it paid or volunteer. You're not going to get the quality of service out of a lot of vulnerable people if you force them to pick up a fire hose and do things they're not willing to do like CPR on a child or do property protection on your house at a bushfire.'
Another Facebook poster observed, 'I think it's best to not have people who don't want to be there in these kinds of positions. Do we really want people who don't know what a spade or sandbag is in range of raging fires?' A further Facebook commenter posted even more vigorous objections, arguing, 'Oh great...people who don't want to be there put into dangerous positions where not only their lives but the lives of other volunteers are depending on them [are at risk]...it's already very obvious that not everyone is capable of doing this (shown by the small percentage of people in a community that are volunteers and the number that join and then leave because they can't do it or handle it).'
Similarly, one of the reader comments published in The Australian on the issue observed the risk posed by those undertaking dangerous assignments without a serious commitment to do so. The poster states, 'Part of the ethos of volunteering is having enough get-up-and-go to look into it, do your own research and, if you think you're right for it, putting your hand up. If you don't have enough drive to do that your value in an emergency is going to be questionable.' Another stated, 'Why would you want to force unwilling people into a voluntary organisation that at times [is]... life-threatening for responders and civilians? You want a green army to clean your beaches, rivers, roadside verges, etc., fine, just don't push them into areas where they or others could die because they really do not want to be [there].' A related observation read, 'Bushfires are not an area for learning. You need to know that the person standing beside you knows exactly what to do next, and has your back, at all times,' while another reader ironically noted, 'Take people who don't want to be there and place them in life-threatening situations where discipline is essential but where command and control is difficult. What could possibly go wrong?'
Other reader comments from The Australian featured concerns regarding the physical preparedness of conscripts to undertake this work. One noted, 'Volunteering for emergency services organisations sees the lowest participation rate across the board. And for entirely understandable reasons, fitness being foremost amongst those.'
Readers of The Australian also argued that training these conscripts would be likely to prove an unreasonable burden for existing emergency service personnel. One reader noted, 'Those press ganged into Jacqui's service would simply be a "bridge too far" for the already heavily burdened [emergency] services to manage.'
4. Conscription is not a means of promoting volunteerism and discounts the value of social contributions already being made by young people
Critics of the suggestion that young people should be conscripted into an 'emergency national service' argue that such a measure will discourage youth from subsequently volunteering.
James Law, a journalist for Channel 9's The Today Show has stated, 'You don't foster a spirit of volunteerism by forcing people to do stuff like this.' Law argued that coercion would actually turn people away from volunteering, suggesting that rigid processes were part of the reason why current volunteers were not prepared to remain. Law claimed, 'Volunteering numbers are actually falling off and it's because people aren't having positive experiences when they're doing it and there is not enough flexibility...
We need to give people the opportunity to volunteer once in a little while rather than having to sign up every week...I don't think forcing people to do things is a way to empower them. It becomes an obligation. They will do the bare minimum and move on.'
Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) directions for prospective volunteers stresses the flexibility that the Authority recognises as intrinsic to the role. The CFA states, '[Our Authority] encourages flexibility for volunteers, and your level of involvement will depend on your personal availability together with brigade and community needs. Commitment to the brigade simply requires the time and skills that you can afford to give...
Our volunteers are offered a range of development opportunities such as formal training, scholarships, self-paced learning via online portals, mentoring and attendance at forums and conferences... There is no obligation to volunteer with CFA for a minimum period of time... Some brigades allow seasonal volunteering to assist during their fire season.'
Critics note that this is in direct opposition to any form of conscription. Additionally, it has been argued that young people do not need conscription in order to perform some form of community service. A national youth survey in 2018 found volunteering to be one of the top three activities for young people-ahead of arts, culture and music activities. Australian Bureau of Statistics (BS) figures from 2014 also showed that while overall rates of volunteering were on the decline, young people aged 15-17 had the highest rate in the nation at 42%.
It has further been noted that Senator Lambie has a narrow view of what community service might involve and so discounts much of what young people currently contribute. Lucas Walsh, Professor of Education Policy and Practice, Youth Studies in the Faculty of Education, Monash University, has noted, 'For young people, many types of volunteering take place invisibly through online activities like constructing news groups on Facebook that contribute to a wider cause. Such online activities may not be for a particular organisation or group and may be conducted internationally.'
Professor Walsh further noted, 'Young people are also increasingly motivated to take part in another form of civic participation: peaceful protest. For many, protesting for important causes is considered an equally valid way to give back to society.
The most prominent example of this are the student climate strikes around the world that have been galvanised by youth activist Greta Thunberg.'
Supporters of this form of action note that although it is not a traditional form of emergency service, protest regarding climate change has the capacity to sway public opinion and prompt governments to take action which may help to reduce the hazards attributable to climate change.
5. Developing community-wide resilience is needed to reduce the pressure on emergency services
Opponents of schemes such as Senator Lambie's which would conscript young people into Australia's emergency services argue that such proposals merely encourage an excessive reliance on these services. Instead, these commentators maintain, what is required are communities which can share the responsibility of disaster prevention and response with emergency services. These critics maintain that the increased incidence of natural disasters cannot be met by services alone and must be faced by all who live within at-risk communities.
On 7 December 2009, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed to adopt 'a whole-of-nation resilience-based approach to disaster management, which recognises that a national, coordinated and cooperative effort is needed to enhance Australia's capacity to withstand and recover from emergencies and disasters...'
This resilience-based approach stresses that responsibility for disaster management must be widely shared, including within communities. The Council of Australian Governments' National Strategy for Disaster Resilience states, 'A resilience-based approach is not solely the domain of emergency management agencies; rather, it is a shared responsibility between governments, communities, businesses and individuals.'
In New South Wales the development of community resilience is organised through the Community Resilience Innovation Program (CRIP). CRIP's aims are to foster ways to effectively engage the local community in creative, community focused activities that build local capacity and capability for disaster resilience; to develop effective partnerships and build networks between local community organisations, councils, businesses and emergency services agencies; to share knowledge and lessons learnt about approaches and models through project evaluation and to support initiatives that can be integrated into current business and maintained in the longer term.
Projects supported through the CRIP are designed to respond to the specific needs and characteristics of the local community. Projects may involve the entire community or be tailored to the needs of particular groups, such as people identified as more vulnerable to disaster events.
One example of a CRIP supported initiative in New South Wales is a program designed to increase the disaster-preparedness of the state's deaf community.
The Deaf Society Get Ready program began as a one-year project under the Natural Disaster Resilience Program. Get Ready is the implementation of recommended interventions arising from university research into disaster resilience in the deaf community.
Get Ready Deaf Community New South Wales is a highly successful emergency preparedness program undertaken by The Deaf Society. It is a partnership between The Deaf Society and New South Wales State Emergency Services, New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Fire and Rescue New South Wales, Australian Red Cross and the University of Sydney.
The Get Ready program helps deaf, deafblind and hard-of-hearing people to increase their readiness for, and recovery from, disasters. It helps emergency services personnel increase their deaf awareness and ability to communicate with deaf people. Consistent with the National Strategy for Disaster Resilience, the deaf community and emergency services organisations share responsibility for helping the deaf community prepare and recover from emergency events.
In Victoria, an example of building community resilience is the way in which the Victorian State Emergency Service (VICSES) is attempting to increase flood preparedness within local communities. The VICSES Kerang Unit, Kerang and District Community Centre, Kerang CFA, Kerang Woolworths, and MIXX FM held a relaunch of the Local Flood Guides for Kerang, Quambatook, Murrabit and Benjeroop which had been updated following the flood of 2016.
VICSES continues to provide up to date, localised information to targeted communities on flood risk, including a guide for planning, preparing and responding to flooding, as part of the Local Flood Guide program.