Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support this motion. It is one of the saddest motions this House has ever had to debate. It recalls equally sad events, such as the Bali bombing. It is not an easy time for the Australian people.

I also seek to make some remarks on behalf of the member for Jagajaga, the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, about support services that are available to all of those who are affected by this tragedy. We are enduring extremes. At one end of the continent we are facing flood. Yesterday I was in North Queensland, in Ingham, where there has been a metre of rain in only seven days and there is the prospect of more to come. At the other end of the country we have savage fires. It is a stark demonstration of the power of Mother Nature and how harsh and unforgiving our environment can be. The extent of the tragedies is almost too horrible to contemplate. As the Deputy Prime Minister has reported, sadly the death toll in Victoria has risen to 107. Our countryside has been torched. Pretty towns and hamlets which have endured for most of our nation’s European history are gone, flattened to embers—their people evacuated, surviving in isolated shelters or even worse.

Country people are pretty much used to such dangers, but this time the fires have threatened and continue to threaten even the boundaries of our large cities, like Melbourne and Bendigo. The consequences of our changing climate are becoming more severe. Bushfires are no longer, if they ever were, a trial for regional Australia. They are a trial for the whole of the country. And the whole of the country is responding with donations, with medical care and, of course, with courage. That courage is being shown as the fires rage and the floods rise, because the dangers are not over yet. Without that courage, how many more lives would have been lost? What greater measure of courage could there be than the fact that so many were prepared to risk their lives to save the lives of others? This is something that you see as you move around and talk to the volunteers who have put their lives on the line to save the lives of others. We know that many people were fighting the fires knowing that all was lost for some of them—but they went back out to help their friends, to help their neighbours or to help people they did not even know, because they have such a commitment to their community. Many of them may well have returned home to nothing. That is the spirit of Australia.

We owe these people—those who have lost their homes, those who have lost loved ones, especially children—every ounce of energy and help the Commonwealth government is capable of giving them. We in this place frequently disagree about many things. We may disagree about financial crises, and that is proper, but today we all come together to help fight the joint crises of fire and flood that affect the people of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. The Australian government will be providing comprehensive support to those affected by the fires in Victoria. There will be counselling. Centrelink family liaison officers will be made available in relief centres in Victoria to provide counselling. Social workers will be deployed in consultation with the Victorian Department of Human Services. There will be disaster recovery assistance. The Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment will be made available to those people adversely affected by fires. One thousand dollars will be available for eligible adults, with an extra $400 per child. This payment will be made to those who have been seriously injured and hospitalised as well as to those who have lost their homes or those whose principal place of residence has been destroyed or seriously damaged as a direct result of the bushfires. The payment will also be made available to an immediate family member of those who lost their lives in the fire. It will be paid through Centrelink and will be available from Monday. Centrelink staff will also be in relief centres today to take claims for the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment.

The Victorian government is also providing some immediate cash assistance through the emergency recovery centres. This will help tide people over until the Centrelink payments are processed tomorrow. The Commonwealth government will be there with information and advice. The Australian Government Victorian Fires Hotline, 180 2211, has been established to take claims and inquiries about the Centrelink services and payments. We do ask members of the public who may be calling Centrelink about matters such as the government’s Nation Building and Jobs Plan to hold off, to leave a bit of space and give the Centrelink staff more time to deal with people from Victoria and also people from Queensland who may be seeking to access assistance right now. It is important that the hardworking staff of Centrelink can dedicate as much of their efforts as possible towards helping communities to deal with the unfolding tragedy. At a time like this, Australians pull together, and I am sure this request will be responded to in a very positive way by the public.

Sadly, there will also be funeral assistance. The Australian government will provide funeral assistance for the immediate family of a person who lost their life as a direct result of the fires. This assistance will be up to $5,000. The armed forces will also play their role in response. The Commonwealth disaster plan has been activated. Under this plan, authorisation has been provided to deploy 12 Army bulldozers and support crews to help fire protection efforts near Yea in north-east Victoria. Defence Force personnel will help build containment lines surrounding the town, which is still seriously threatened with fire. Under the Commonwealth disaster plan, the Australian government is providing 150 portable beds or mattresses to relief centres in West Gippsland. This is to provide emergency workers with facilities to get sufficient rest to continue their tireless work.

The federal government and the state governments are working closely together to ensure that the people and emergency workers in Victoria have all the support they require during this difficult time. We are helping begin rebuilding through the Commonwealth Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements. This includes a range of assistance measures, such as partial reimbursement to the Victorian government to provide assistance such as grants for food, clothing, accommodation and emergency housing repairs and expenditure on public infrastructure and restoration. We are joining with the Victorian government to channel community support to where it can make the most positive impact. The Australian government has agreed with the Victorian government to establish a $10-million Community Recovery Fund to assist the recovery effort in affected communities. The Community Recovery Fund will cover immediate costs of clean-up and removal of debris. It will also cover the restoration of community infrastructure damaged or destroyed in the fires above and beyond the replacement of essential public assets.

The public can make tax-deductible donations to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund. The Australian and Victorian governments have also donated an additional $2 million each to this fund. The NAB, ANZ Bank, Commonwealth Bank and Bunnings have made their respective branches and stores donation points for Australians who wish to make a contribution to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund. Today, a number of large corporates have also made very sizeable donations to that fund, and that is a tremendous indication of support from those organisations. Individuals and organisations wishing to make a donation to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund can go to www.redcross.org.au or call the toll-free number: 1800811700. It is very important that we get the maximum community support behind that appeal. The Australian Red Cross is accepting blood donations especially to help with burns victims. I urge Australians to donate if they possibly can. People who need additional information and Commonwealth help can get it by phoning the Victorian bushfire hotline: 1800240667. The Centrelink assistance information line is 1802211. The Australian government website relating to the bushfires is www.disasterassist.gov.au.

It is fair to say that people all over Australia are shaking their heads in disbelief and asking: ‘What can I do? How can I help?’ There is so much that everyone can do to help—whether it is donations or joining the voluntary effort. I am sure all Australians will give generously to these appeals and those who are in a position to help on the ground will do so. I am certain all Australians will open their hearts. In times like this, we pull together to make us a stronger community. An event like this does not have a great deal of precedent in our history, but we know that at times like these Australians are at their finest. It is times like these when the Australian spirit and the Australian character really come through. Amid the charred landscapes and rubble, lie a lifetime of memories—memories of past lives taken by the full force of this inferno. We are all changed by that but, in the ruins of hundreds of homes and in the deaths of dozens and dozens of our people, we summon the strength to rebuild, to renew and to emerge from this tragedy. It is hard to imagine that day now, but rest assured that day will come.

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