Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House:

(1)

extends its deepest sympathies to families and loved ones of those Australians killed in the weekend’s tragic bushfires in Victoria;

(2)

records its deep regret at the human injury, the loss of property and the destruction of communities caused by the weekend’s fires;

(3)

praises the work of emergency services, volunteers and community members in assisting friends and neighbours in this time of need; and

(4)

acknowledges the profound impact on those communities affected and the role of governments and the Australian community in assisting their recovery and rebuilding.

I offer the deepest and most sincere condolences of this House and our nation’s parliament to those families suffering most, to the communities lost and to a state that will never be the same. It is a tragedy beyond belief, beyond precedent and, really, beyond words. 7 February 2009 will now be remembered as one of the darkest days in Australia’s peacetime history. The beautiful towns and hamlets of Kinglake, Marysville and Narbethong are no more. At least 640 homes and their irreplaceable contents, like the photographs of children and the memories of family life, have been destroyed. The weekend’s fires and particularly 7 February 2009 are surely Victoria’s blackest time.

Whilst as yet it does not have a tragic name, it is blacker than the human tragedies of Black Friday of 1939 and Ash Wednesday of 1983, and in this dark time there has been a human cost without comparison. 7 February 2009 will be remembered as the day when more than 400 fires burned across the state during the most severe weather conditions ever recorded. It will be a day remembered for the lives lost—107 at last count—and families and communities were changed forever. It will be remembered as the day when the fires raged across the state from Horsham in the west, Bendigo and Beechworth in the north and, in an arc of destruction, from West Gippsland to Kinglake and Kilmore. It will be remembered as a day of tragedy, courage and sheer luck.

Let me share some of the media reports with the House: the tragedy of Rebecca Buchanan, who lost her 15-year-old son, ‘Macca’ Mackenzie; nine-year-old daughter, Neeve; and her brother Danny Clark, who was 37 years old. Two young girls from down the street also perished inside the house of Rebecca’s mother, Jenny Clark. Jenny is seriously injured with burns to 30 per cent of her body after she desperately tried to save her grandchildren. That is perhaps the greatest tragedy of all—that children were involved.

There is the tragedy of Strathewen resident Mary Avola, 67, who told how she lost her husband of four decades, Peter, after the couple fled their home. She said:

We were trying to save our house. We had our cars lined up out the front and he told me to go. He was behind me in another car. He was behind me for a while and we tried to reach the oval but the gates were locked. He just told me to go and that’s the last time I saw him. It was just like World War Three. I’ve never seen anything like it.

There is the courage of Kinglake resident Karen Drenan and her son Jakob. Karen was lying in the bath with her son, neighbour and a dog when she realised the front door was on fire. She then put wet blankets over her 10-year-old son Jakob and told him to run to the other side of the road. His shoes had melted, so he grabbed a pair of high-heeled boots. She said of her son:

He was so brave, he did everything that was screamed at him to do. We called him the high-heel hero.

There is the courage of the stranger who saved Traralgon South resident Eileen Scott and her baby daughter, Lily. Eileen had drawn all the blinds on her home to try and protect herself and her daughter Lily from the searing heat when she heard banging on the door and someone screaming at her to get out. The stranger was Melissa Falzon, who got Ms Scott out of the house and picked up little Lily before the house erupted in flames. Ms Scott yesterday called Ms Falzon her angel.

And there is the story of seven months pregnant Nicole Berry, who nagged her husband Andrew to build a fire bunker behind the water tank because she was worried that sprinklers would not do enough to protect their timber home. Andrew recalled saying to her: ‘Stop nagging. I’ll build the bloody thing.’ It saved their lives and that of their 14-month-old son.

But, while we rejoice in the tales of courage and lives saved, unfortunately it is the tragedy that will collectively remain with us today and tomorrow and beyond. As a Melburnian and a Victorian, the reality of the loss took on a familiar face with the death of Brian Naylor and his wife, Moiree, at their Kinglake West home. I am one of the millions of Victorians who for years only got the news because ‘Brian told us’. He was loved and trusted like a reliable uncle. But Brian and Moiree Naylor are just one set of parents, friends and neighbours lost in these tragic events.

Victorian authorities inform us that 107 people are confirmed as deceased. This total has already outstripped those of Ash Wednesday of 1983 and Black Friday of 1939, and the grisly reality is that the record number of lives lost will continue to rise. More bodies will be found and identified by our emergency services. Burns victims will sadly succumb to their severe injuries despite the intensive efforts of our health professionals. We need to brace ourselves for the increase in fatalities and be mindful of the grief and circumstances of those families and communities. To be clear and frank, it will get worse and Australians need to prepare themselves for more bad news.

In this time of mounting tragedy we need to extend our support to those fighting the remaining fires, particularly in the Beechworth and Yackandandah regions in Victoria’s north-east. The stories of commitment by volunteers in these fires have been extraordinary. Jason Webb from Kinglake knows firsthand what a remarkable and heroic job the CFA do. After making sure his wife and children were safe, he spent four hours trying to save his house. One media report stated that, as he hid behind his hot water system pointing a hose towards his neighbour’s roof with a wet blanket over his head, Mr Webb thought his home was gone. Then someone ran around the corner and said the CFA were there. This is just one story of many and one volunteer of thousands.

All Australians, whether they are in Victoria or the capital cities and regional and rural communities around our nation, have been hit hard by these events and are at one in supporting our emergency services. To each person who fought these fires we say thank you. Most importantly, as a nation and as a community we need to extend a helping hand to rebuilding these towns and lives in the weeks and years ahead. The Australian government stands shoulder to shoulder with the Victorian government in this emergency response and rebuilding effort. To the Premier of Victoria and the people of Victoria: we stand with you.

Under the Commonwealth disaster plan, the Australian government has responded to three requests for assistance: the provision of beds for relief centres, heavy equipment for control lines and tents and bedding for accommodation. Emergency payments are being made to help families who have lost their homes get a roof over their heads. Assistance with funeral and medical costs is being provided to families who have lost loved ones or have family members who are seriously injured. These payments are being made through Centrelink and are available from today. The Australian government Victorian fires hotline, 180 2211, has been established to take claims and inquiries. I ask other community members with non-urgent Centrelink business to do us a favour and postpone their calls for a couple of days so we can keep the lines and Centrelink offices free for those who need them in this time of emergency.

The Australian and Victorian governments have established a $10 million community recovery fund to assist the recovery effort. The fund will cover the immediate costs of clean-up and restoration of community infrastructure. The Victorian bushfire relief fund has also been established and the Australian and Victorian governments have each donated an additional $2 million. As this emergency unfolds, communities are being identified for assistance under the government’s natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements. Through natural disaster relief assistance, the government can help with rebuilding essential infrastructure and providing assistance to local businesses to help them get back on their feet.

The Australian defence forces are ready to further assist the Victorian authorities with the recovery operations. Emergency bedding for firefighters has been arranged so that they can get some well-earned rest, as have bulldozers to help deal with the destruction. The armed forces are also on standby to help, with aerial imagery of fire ravaged areas, chainsaw teams to help clear roads, assistance with search operations and transport and temporary site office buildings to house the recovery effort.

This is only the start of our efforts. The Prime Minister, the cabinet and the government as a whole will do what is required to assist the individuals, families, local organisations, businesses and communities affected by these tragic events. The Prime Minister joined the Victorian Premier yesterday to be briefed on the fires and visited Kangaroo Ground and Whittlesea to talk with displaced residents and emergency service personnel. He visited Alexandra earlier today and remains in Victoria now. The Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs will remain in Melbourne this week to work directly with authorities, our Victorian colleagues and members such as the member for Bendigo. I acknowledge the support of the Leader of the Opposition and members opposite in these efforts, and I know that he and the member for McEwen were in Whittlesea today hearing about the impact of these events firsthand.

The support of employers is also needed to ensure the release of volunteer firefighters and other emergency personnel to attend these efforts. Their continued support is crucial to allow these volunteers to continue their emergency services work. More generally, the community response in the regions that have felt the full force of these fires has been extraordinary but it is also consistent with our national character. This commitment to helping our neighbours and fellow citizens needs to be a national and ongoing one. I encourage all Australians to make a contribution to the appeals that are underway. The rebuilding of these lives and communities will take months and years rather than days and weeks. Just as the strength of our communities ensured many survived these very devastating events, it will be that strength and resilience of the Australian community that will help our fellow citizens rebuild.

Every one of us here today will do everything that we possibly can to respond, to rebuild and to make certain that, to the extent that we can ever combat nature’s might, such tragedies cannot happen again. That will not be easy. There will be a time for analysis when we seek to understand what happened, how it happened and why it happened, but our immediate task is to pull together as a family, to provide comfort and to heal.

Today, on behalf of the Prime Minister, the members of this parliament and the nation, I want to grieve for those we have lost, pay tribute to the victims and praise the courage of those without whose help the death toll and the physical destruction would have been much, much worse. I commend the motion to the House.

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