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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed that the Australian Defence Force will be deployed to parts of Victoria currently suffering severe bushfires, leaving at least one dead.
“Our Australian Defence Force is providing support, whether that be accommodation or through catering and access to staging areas.
“And the Australian Defence Force stands ready to provide further assistance, led of course by another great Victorian, my deputy, Richard Marles,” Prime Minister Albanese said in a press conference on Sunday.
“My message to Victorians is pretty simple – we’ve got your back. Not just during this crisis, but through the recovery as well.
“And we’ll work cooperatively with the Allan government to make sure we deliver what is necessary so that people and communities can get back on their feet after what has been a very difficult period.”
On top of personal hardship grants, the PM and Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan additionally announced an extra $19.5 million of funding for affected communities over the weekend.
Nearly 400,000 hectares of Victorian land has been burnt as dozens of fires continue across the state.
The last time the ADF was deployed to provide aid in bushfires was during the catastrophic Black Summer fires in 2019–20, which saw 6,500 ADF members deployed across the nation, including 3,000 Reservists.
