What is happening with Creation? What is the planet telling us? Australia has always had droughts, fires and floods but what has been happening in the last years has been unknown to all the emergency personnel and local people who know their bushlands and rivers.

All of us have been shocked by the images of the severe floods in NSW and also in Victoria and Queensland. The protections that were built to stop flooding were very inadequate and the engineers who designed these protections, based on data going back many decades, did not know that such amounts of water could gather in such a short amount of time. 

The group of 37 retired emergency services leaders in Australia have warned for several years that Australia is not prepared for an increase in these major natural disasters. The fires in 2019 – 2020 and these recent floods were predicted by this group and communicated to the federal government in 2018. This eminent group, who have had our lives in their hands, strongly state that climate change is the cause for these unprecedented disasters. They have and are still advocating with federal, State and local governments to increase preparedness significantly. The emergency work that is needed during these recent disasters is often beyond what the local SES volunteers and bush fire brigades can do.  These volunteers all say that they have never before encountered such ferocious circumstances. https://emergencyleadersforclimateaction.org.au/who-we-are/

As well, a group of retired Defense Force leaders, The Australian Security Leaders Climate Group, https://www.aslcg.org has also come together and state that the biggest threat to Australia’s security is climate change, resulting in more major and very costly natural disasters that disrupt supply lines, displace people in Australia, force climate refugees out of neighbouring countries, etc. This group is also approaching the federal government to develop climate change action and other responses. Submarines, tanks, AI attack drones etc are not going to stop these serious disruptions to safety in Australia and in our neighbouring countries.

The damage to the natural environment from these disasters, to trees, plants, native land and water animals is enormous and needs many years to recover. The natural balances are disrupted.

How do we care for Creation and what actions can all of us take to reduce the impacts of climate change? These former emergency leaders and Defense Force leaders can go public now as during their employment, they can’t go public. I fully accept their assessments and recommendations of the urgent need for climate change action in Australia. We all need to alert our local, State and federal leaders to the need for urgent action. We can also support ARRCC, the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, arrcc.org.au or support your faith tradition’s environment or climate change action program. 

Wies Schuiringa