Hi finestkind; you raise some interesting points.
Firstly; disaster relief events all differ in nature and scale so cannot really be accurately categorized as one being worse than another and the risk of flying feats required might vary significantly between smaller happenings and larger commitments. Dare I say, the overriding bulk of helo effort required in most flood relief situations will be airland recovery of people and logistic support which some might term pretty routine stuff depending on weather conditions. Initial response efforts may of course involve more rescue activities in adverse weather situations. We should also look beyond flood relief at bushfire, regional volcanic eruptions and earthquake intervention operations and maybe ask the question: 'Does the ADF any longer have an adequate capability for swift tactical air deployment of helos for regional aid to the civil power requirements?'
Secondly; in the incident I referred to in post #51, it may not have even been a squadron executive who decided on immediate response, just a more experienced pilot exercising some common sense and good judgement and he would have been supported to the hilt by his CO and flight commanders, whatever the outcome. In those days, there was adequate flying to maintain currency and thus categorization status whereas today, AAAvn boys and girls seem to be struggling to get more than a few hours a month. This of course is a direct consequence of foolish ADF helicopter force rationalization planning instead of progressively optimizing the proven cost-effective types that were in service. The flying currency scenario will likely worsen downstream when the Defence hierarchy eventually wake up to the huge jump in operating costs for outrageously expensive types being introduced.
I do feel very sorry for those serving today regarding the culture that has emerged within Defence concerning military justice in particular. Air Force Courts of Inquiry into aircraft accidents/incidents were generally very equitable and objective processes and subject to further review at higher levels of authority and there was seldom if ever to my knowledge any persecution of some aviators whose judgement may have been astray in particular happenings and many subsequently achieved well career-wise; but that management approach may no longer be in vogue in the ADF. If military officers are vested with the responsibility to run flying units, they must also be able to exercise the authority to effectively perform their roles. Threat of career damaging sanction if their actions do not conform with the current Defence version of 'political correctness' is unlikely to see the best aircraft operators and leaders remain within the military.