As global anxiety mounts, more Australians are embracing prepping—the practice of preparing for worst-case scenarios such as nuclear war, economic collapse, or climate change. The Doomsday Clock recently moved to two minutes to midnight, signaling heightened risks, and this has spurred a rise in survivalist activities across the country.
Jim Greer, an IT worker from Rockingham, Western Australia, typifies this trend. He has an eight-tonne truck ready to go at a moment's notice and a 'bug out' location with a 10,000-year-old stream. Greer learned survival skills from the Scouts and the navy, and from spending time with the Anangu Luritja people, who taught him to make traditional spears. He believes threats from AI, economic collapse, or an electromagnetic pulse could trigger chaos, and he is ready to flee the city.
Greer criticises public complacency, noting that many people only worry about a supermarket closing for a few days. 'Imagine how quickly things would go to shit with two and a half million people not being able to get what they need,' he says. He emphasises that mental strength is as crucial as supplies: 'It doesn’t matter how many containers of food you have... if you are not mentally ready for it you probably won’t survive.'
Mel, a geography teacher from West Perth, runs Chilli Preppers, offering courses in food cultivation and other skills. She describes herself as a 'latte prepper'—preparing in style, with chocolate included. She aims to break the stereotype that all preppers are paranoid, noting a middle ground of people stockpiling food and worrying about climate change or geopolitical tensions. 'People do want to know what to do and how to survive,' she says.
