Tasmanian Senator Jacquie Lambi has called for Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel to plug staff shortages in the country’s health workforce caused by surging COVID-19 cases, increased hospitalisations, and vaccine mandates. “Whether it is in a war—conventional or against Omicron or anything else—I don’t understand why you have a defence force sitting there while you aren’t doing what you need to do, and get them on the ground right now,” she told Nine’s Today program. This comes as around 20 ADF personnel have been deployed to drive ambulances and assist paramedics at the request of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews after his state declared a code brown for Melbourne’s metropolitan hospitals and some regional centres, as the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus creates a critical staff shortage in multiple industries. The ADF is sending additional staff and planners to support those efforts, and the federal government will provide public service …