Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on indulgence: since we last sat in this chamber, natural disasters have wrought devastation across our region. The first of these disasters, Typhoon Ketsana, struck the Philippines on 26 September and went on to cause devastation in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Typhoon Parma caused further damage in the Philippines on 3 October. Across the affected countries more than 1,000 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands have been displaced. To assist with dealing with the terrible consequences of these typhoons, Australia has provided $5 million in emergency assistance to the governments of the Philippines, Vietnam and Laos.

The second disaster was the tsunami that hit the nation of Samoa early on the morning of 30 September. The Samoan island of Upolu bore the brunt of the deadly waves which caused total devastation. Our advice from the Samoa National Disaster Management Committee is that 138 people are thought to have been killed, 310 have been seriously injured and five are still missing. In a small island nation with close family ties, the impact of these loses has been immeasurable. The island nation is reeling from its tragedy, as is the Samoan community here in Australia. In Samoa, tragically five Australians were also among those who lost their lives. Our thoughts and our prays are with all their families as they suffer the grief of loss. In response to the tsunami, Australia quickly mobilised a substantial humanitarian operation. To assist as part of a $2 million initial package of support, Australian medical teams and rescue personnel were on the ground within 24 hours. We have now shifted our focus to the recovery and reconstruction process. We announced on 11 October that Australia and New Zealand would contribute $5 million to the government of Samoa to support its tsunami recovery and reconstruction efforts. This tsunami also struck Tonga, with the islands closest to Samoa suffering the most. The tsunami caused significant damage to housing and at least nine people in Tonga have lost their lives as well. On 3 October Australia provided a package of $1 million in humanitarian assistance to the Kingdom of Tonga. As a neighbour and as the current chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, Australia stands by our friends in the Pacific as they recover from this tragedy.

Later the same day, on 30 September, another of our neighbours experienced a natural disaster. Late in the afternoon, an earthquake shook the Indonesian island of Sumatra. That quake and the many aftershocks left a death toll of more than 1,000 and left nearly 3,000 people injured. According to Indonesian authorities, nearly 14,000 buildings have been heavily damaged, including thousands of schools and more than 100 health facilities. Australia responded quickly including through the Australian Defence Force, which provided water purification systems and a field hospital. In addition to the immediate assistance, on 11 October the government announced that Australia would support Indonesia with a total of $17 million for recovery and reconstruction assistance, including $10 million to help rebuild schools and public health facilities in west Sumatra. Thankfully, in the Sumatra earthquake and typhoons across the region, we have no reports of Australians being injured or killed. All the Australians reported to have been in the affected areas have now been accounted for.

When disaster strikes our neighbours, we in Australia always lend a hand. It is the Australian way. It has been no different in these cases. In July I spoke to Indonesia’s President Yudhoyono to congratulate him on his election, and in a further conversation in August I responded to his kind invitation to attend his inauguration. When the earthquake struck in September, I rang him to offer assistance. Tonight I will fly to Indonesia to attend his inauguration ceremony in Jakarta and will be in Jakarta with Prime Minister Najib of Malaysia, Prime Minister Lee of Singapore and other senior figures from around the region. We will be there of course to show our support for Indonesia and for President Yudhoyono at what has been a very trying time and, of course, to use the opportunity of the inauguration to participate in bilateral discussions with regional friends and partners as well as with President Yudhoyono himself.

Across our region, from South-East Asia to the Pacific islands, we all pull together and help each other when assistance is needed when disaster strikes. Last year, Australia received offers of assistance from around the region and we have also been most grateful in our response for that assistance when provided, most particularly earlier this year in relation to the Victorian bushfires. In the past few weeks, even when we are facing bushfires again at home, it has been our turn to offer assistance to our neighbours. This has been a trying time for our friends and partners in the region and it has been a good thing that Australia has been able to lend a helping hand as we have in fact received a helping hand from our neighbours during our own time of need.

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