Australia's disaster preparedness chief has brushed off calls for the Commonwealth to purchase its own fleet of firefighting aircraft, insisting the nation is prepared for the coming summer.
As climate change results in longer and more intense fire seasons around the globe, emergency management experts say Australia risks being deprived aircraft - such as firebombers or helicopters - used to put out fires in the northern hemisphere winter.
Joe Buffone, acting coordinator-general of the National Emergency Management Agency, has rejected calls for the Commonwealth to acquire its own fleet of fire-fighting aircraft.
While developing a sovereign aerial firefighting capability was a key recommendation of a royal commission after the devastating Black Summer bushfires of 2019/20, Australia was meeting those requirements, he said.
Former ACT Emergency Services Authority commissioner Peter Dunn said a Commonwealth-owned and operated fleet was essential, as northern and southern hemisphere fire seasons increasingly overlap.
"It is something we desperately need as a country," he told AAP.
While contracts were yet to be finalised ahead of the upcoming fire season, 163 aircraft had been contracted by the National Aerial Firefighting Centre, which manages the fleet.
None were owned by the Commonwealth, but 126 were owned and registered in Australia.
Only eight were foreign owned and ferried into the nation for the season, while the rest were based in Australia.
Additional aircraft can also be engaged on a "call-when-needed" basis to take the total available fleet to more than 500.
Mr Buffone said Commonwealth ownership was not necessarily the right solution.
"The important thing is that we have the aircraft - the right mix of aircraft - for the season ahead," he told reporters in the National Situation Room in Canberra on Tuesday.
The government is conducting a review of its aerial fleet.
Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain said the government was focused on expanding the capabilities of the fleet, so it could be used in flood response and relief drops, as well as fires.
Mr Dunn, an inaugural member of Emergency Leaders for Climate Action, said the government had been dragging on its response to the royal commission and Commonwealth-owned aircraft were important for transparency and sovereign capability.
An alarming National Climate Risk Assessment, released earlier in September, predicted Australia was on track for more severe weather, including floods, fires and cyclones, as a result of climate change.
Bureau of Meteorology national climate manager Karl Braganza said Australia's east coast was in for higher-than-average rainfall and flood risk this summer, as very warm ocean temperatures continued to surround the continent.
Western Victoria and southeast South Australia remained dry, heightening the risk of fire in the region.
Northern parts of Western Australia were also at higher risk of fires, but in general fire risks across the nation remained lower than 2019/20.
Dr Braganza said there was also a risk of more severe tropical cyclones and marine heatwaves, which could prolong SA's devastating algal bloom.
