Yvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I certainly echo the sentiments expressed by the other speakers on this motion, including the Acting Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and, most recently, the member for Flinders and the member for Longman in their words and thoughts for the families and the many individuals affected not just in Samoa and Sumatra but here in Australia. I, like many members in this House, have a strong Samoan and Tongan community, particularly situated on the Redcliffe peninsula. As such a strong multicultural community, it came as no surprise when this community stepped up and supported each other through this difficult time.

The member for Flinders took us back to the Boxing Day tsunami, and I do not know of anyone who would not be able to recall exactly where they were when they heard the news of the Boxing Day tsunami in Indonesia, and particularly devastated areas such as Phuket. I do not think that we will look at situations like that ever again without absolute fear for the people who would be involved. Australia is used to its disasters. It does not make it any easier, but we have seen our fair share of disasters, and we will continue to see our fair share of disasters through cyclones and fires. However, we have not really experienced a disaster such as a tsunami. We have not really understood the horrific impact that such a disaster could have. For it to happen so close to our shores really brought home to the Australian community the risks involved for small islands and coastal areas. We are all vulnerable in our coastal areas to such occurrences.

When the news broke that Samoa had had an earthquake off its shores and consequently a tsunami had hit Samoa, we all braced ourselves for the outcome of that disaster. It has certainly touched many lives in my local community. My local community stepped up very quickly. Our local radio stations 99.7FM and Radio Pacifica held a radiothon on Saturday, 10 October of six hours—from 6 pm to midnight—and they raised approximately $6,000 just in that one night. They also had 15 volunteers staffing the phones and they ran a sausage sizzle. They were not just raising money and collecting goods; they were there to support the Samoan and Tongan community which came together to support each other at that difficult time. One gentleman turned up to the radio station not wanting to be identified and delivered a $1,000 cheque. There was such goodwill across the community that those donations just kept coming. As I walked in to make a donation that evening, there were bags and bags in the doorway of toys, clothes and blankets. People are still able to donate to that appeal through the radio station. They can call 32845000 to donate if they are local. Obviously if they are interstate it is (07)32845000.

There was also a remembrance service held for the victims of the tsunami, which the member for Longman spoke about. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend due to other commitments, but certainly my thoughts were with them on the day. That service was held on Sunday, 11 October. There were representatives from all levels of government and people from not just our Samoan and Tongan communities but also our Indigenous communities and our Filipino communities. We are a strong multicultural community and we came together on that occasion.

I wanted to specifically acknowledge both Theresa Butler, who was the organiser of the remembrance service, and Tavita Timaloa, who organised the radiothon. Mr Timaloa did not just organise this appeal; he was personally affected. At the time of the radiothon, Mr Timaloa was one of many Brisbane residents who had lost family members, with some still missing. On his mother’s side, unfortunately, three passed away. The good news is that the majority of them made it out alive. His own words were that it was tragic and they were trying to chase them down. They had a cousin go to the morgue because they could not get there. He saw the names on the board and quickly rang the rest of the family to tell them the news. So Mr Timaloa has also been personally affected, as have many, many people not just in my community but across the country.

I want to acknowledge the Redcliffe Kippa-Ring Lions Club, who hold markets every Sunday and choose a charity each Sunday to donate their money to. They donated all of their takings for the following two Sundays and raised over $1,000 for the tsunami appeal. I congratulate them on their efforts.

I have talked much about Samoa because of the large community I have in my local area, but I also want to talk about the Tongan community. Koliana Winchester, who works at the local radio station and is herself Tongan, is a strong community worker, and I want to acknowledge her great work. My husband is part Tongan and my mother-in-law is Tongan, so we were certainly concerned about the news that Tonga had been affected, and there were not a lot of reports coming out of Tonga. What we have since found out is that over a thousand people were stranded in the northernmost island of the Kingdom of Tonga, nine people were killed and five critically ill people, including a four-year-old, were transported to the hospitals. So the Tongan community was certainly affected as well, and my thoughts go out to the whole Tongan community—as well as all those affected in Sumatra by the devastating earthquake that occurred around the same time. Thousands of lives have been affected. It is a devastating situation, one that will take many, many months if not years to recover from and to rebuild from. Our communities in Victoria and in Queensland, after their fires and floods, know just how long it takes to recover from these disasters.

I am pleased that the federal government has stepped in quickly, as have state governments, to provide support. I know that not only did Queensland have an appeal but also state government rescue workers travelled to Sumatra and Samoa to help in the rescue efforts. As a number of members have said, the federal government set up the Australian government disaster recovery payment and funeral assistance payment for Australian victims and their families. There is also the one-off payment of $5,000 available to family members, as well as other crisis intervention and personal support.

I also want to acknowledge the wonderful work of aid organisations around the world that always step up, going into these areas immediately to provide support. One such very well known and respected aid organisation, World Vision, has already provided 6,000 family kits consisting of tarpaulins and sleeping mats, sarongs and personal hygiene items. World Vision have distributed more than 750 packages for children under five, consisting of powder, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, blankets and 4,000 collapsible water containers. They are setting up free, child-friendly spaces for over 400 children. World Vision continues to plan a further 10,000 family kits, 5,000 children’s kits and much more.

I cannot end without commenting on the fact that so many children have been left as orphans as a consequence of these disasters. That makes our response even more significant in how we are going to assist these young people. We know that these communities bind together and support each other when children are affected in this way. Globally we have a responsibility to do what we can to support all of the children who have been left as orphans as a consequence of the earthquake in Sumatra and by what has occurred in Samoa and Tonga and the outer region.

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