Annette Ellis (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on a motion that I do not think any of us would really want the opportunity to speak on—that is, when such a tremendous disaster hits so many people and affects so many people close to and far from this place. As we know, the Yogyakarta air crash on 7 March claimed 21 lives, five of them Australian. Much has been said both here and in the other place in the last 24 hours with regard to those five Australians. The reason for my participating in this condolence motion is that, as the member for Canberra—and I am sure my colleague the member for Fraser would agree with me—whilst I personally did not know all these people and may have regarded some of them only in passing, there is a connection for each one of them and their families to my community. It is on behalf of my community that I am here speaking today. I want to represent the many people from my community who would have known many of these sadly deceased Australians.

Federal Agent Mark Scott and Federal Agent Brice Steele, both of the AFP, will have had very close connections. I know that Mark, in particular, began his policing career down in my patch of the world, in Tuggeranong, where he undertook community policing in the early part of his career. His career brought him back to Canberra on several occasions in the years to follow. I was able to attend the very moving service for him yesterday at St Andrews church here in Canberra. It is fair to say that his colleagues within the AFP are devastated by the loss of Mark and equally by the loss of Federal Agent Brice Steele.

Mark is survived by his wife, Sally, and by their children, James, Stephanie and Emily. On behalf of my community, I wish to most sincerely convey condolences and sympathies to that family and to thank them for the fact that Mark Scott was able to perform the duties in his policing career that he did so well on behalf of our community. A similar comment could be made about Brice Steele, although I do not know quite as much about him—but again, a tragic loss. Both of these gentlemen were very experienced, Brice in particular. We heard many things said in relation to his capabilities and the work that he undertook in the AFP. To his wife Kellie, again, I convey our very sincere condolences and sympathies.

Liz O’Neill, the DFAT officer who sadly perished in this crash, is survived by Wayne Adams, her husband, and their baby daughter, Lucinda. Allison Sudradjat, the AusAID officer, is survived by her husband Ris and their children Jamila, Imran, Zaini and Yasmin. In both cases, these people will have had many friends, colleagues and acquaintances within this community here in the ACT. We all bring different things to these particular motions, and when I hear of the work undertaken by Liz and Allison I have a particularly close understanding. Even though it is some decades ago now, I did have the honour of serving in the Department of Foreign Affairs, and in the role that I now have I have seen from both sides the effort undertaken in our foreign missions by people who are posted to them. It is definitely not the cocktail circuit, I can assure everybody, and I think the evidence of the past few years has brought a finality to that particular argument. But having worked overseas in our foreign missions in the past and having now visited overseas as a parliamentarian with the assistance of the people within our foreign missions, I know and understand very clearly the sort of work undertaken by these people. It is dedication at the public level that many Australians really need to understand and appreciate. I think we are now beginning to do that.

I wish to pay due regard to the accolades that have been laid upon both Liz and Allison. I know that in both cases, with families, friends and colleagues, there is going to be a long period of mourning and a long period of remembering. I hope that during that period—for colleagues, in particular—there will be a period of celebration of two particularly impressive lives.

I did not know Morgan Mellish, the journalist from the Australian Financial Review, but many people in my community will have known him. It was moving for me to hear the speeches made about Morgan. He is said to have had two really strong ambitions in life: one was to become a foreign correspondent and the other was to win a Walkley award. He has done both in a very short life. I am impressed with that: while some young boys might wish to become fighter pilots or foreign correspondents—there is a certain romance attached to that from youth—wishing for a Walkley award is a different thing. Not very many people even think about winning one of those, and they are a cherished award in the world of journalism. Morgan’s family, friends and colleagues would be most impressed, as am I, with his ability to do that and to be held in the regard that he was held in.

I also want to send once again, on behalf of my community, our best wishes to Cynthia Banham and her partner, Michael Harvey. Again, they are two people who will be known very broadly within my community here in Canberra. The previous speakers have remarked upon Cynthia’s survival, and I have to agree that it is a bit of a miracle. But from what I have heard of her it should not be a surprise, given her strength, her fitness and her determination to achieve. To Cynthia and Michael, I send my very warmest wishes, and I join with my colleagues who yesterday in the main chamber made a very strong point of looking forward very much to the return of both of them—in particular of Cynthia—to their journalism roles here in the building. I am sure that all of the friends, colleagues and family of Cynthia and Michael have that in their hearts as well. I join them in looking forward to hearing of the continued progress that she is making and to knowing that she is going to re-enter this building as an active journalist with a good career ahead of her.

I conclude by saying that we must also recall the other people who perished or who were injured, including Indonesians and people of other nationalities. We hope and pray that they can reach the end of this tragedy successfully and get on with their lives as best they can. In remembering our five Australians, I would like to also pay regard to the other people who perished and to the large number of people who suffered injuries in this terrible tragedy.

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