Judi Moylan (Pearce, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am sorry that I do not have sufficient time tonight but I did want to acknowledge the fires that ravaged the town of Toodyay in the electorate of Pearce and those who were responsible for fighting that fire and saving lives. As we prepared to ring in the New Year, the residents of Toodyay, which is 80 kilometres east of Perth, were fighting a catastrophic fire that risked lives; threatened firefighters; burned down 38 homes; took a terrible toll on farm animals, pets and local fauna; and burnt out 3,000 hectares of land in its malevolent path. The landscape will for many years bear the scars of this fire, as will the vibrant and close-knit community of Toodyay.

The ordeal will long be remembered. Stories abound of heroic deeds and close escapes. We are all very grateful that no human lives were lost. Tonight I would like to acknowledge the incredible work of the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia, FESA, and the volunteer bushfire brigade under the direction of Murray McBride, the Chief Bushfire Control Officer, and Alan Knapp, the Deputy Chief Bushfire Control Officer. As well as being deputy chief, Alan is the ranger for the shire and was the first person on the scene. I went out with Alan to visit the worst affected areas. I was grateful for his excellent briefing and his obvious dedication to his job. I was very grateful for the constant updates and I thank the deputy director of FESA, Frank Pasquale, for assisting me.

There was literally an army of people assisting the community: the local police; the Shire of Toodyay Chief Executive Officer, Graham Merrick; and the President of the Shire, Chris Firns. I have to mention the recovery team, which was led by Charlie Wroth. They did a mighty job in the professional way the team worked, from the daily briefings in the memorial hall to the practical coordination of assistance to individuals. The Red Cross, the CWA and the Salvation Army were there; as were Marlene Andrich, the Sinclairs and the entire volunteer team in the kitchen which kept up the supply of food and drink to volunteers and anybody else who needed it. In 40-degree heat I found Melanie Pree, John Minchinson and their team of volunteers. They set up a coordinating post at the local showground doling out and receiving donated goods.

I know that the local people appreciated the quick action and personal visits of Premier Colin Barnett and the state and federal government agencies that quickly swung into action. The member for Brand briefed me on federal government assistance being offered and I thank him for the timely briefing that he provided to me. In particular I would like to thank Peter Clarke, the WA manager of Centrelink, and his team for the excellent work they did working over the whole New Year weekend and well beyond to provide the services they did to the community. I am sure that those on both sides of this House would want to join me in wishing the people of Toodyay a speedy recovery. Personally I feel very proud of the spirited way that the town has faced this catastrophe. I have been inspired by the acts of friendship and generosity that I witnessed over those days following the fire.

There were many others who assisted, and I am sorry to those I have not been able to acknowledge here tonight either through lack of detail and information or the short time allowed for this adjournment debate. But I would like to thank the member for Greenway and the member for Ryan for moving aside this evening and allowing me time to speak in this debate. As I said, in the aftermath of the fire there have been so many acts of generosity. We have had people from Victoria who lost their homes come to Toodyay to help others who they obviously have great sympathy for. We also had the tireless efforts of people who fundraised to assist. I know that on Saturday night there was the ‘Hope from Ashes’ concert, which was organised by Heather Ham. I hope that also added to that fund to assist people to rebuild their lives.

It is tragic especially to see young families who lost everything in that fire. It is bad enough to lose things of monetary value but we know that there are many things that people lose in these catastrophic events that have greater than monetary value. So I join with other members of the House to wish the community of Toodyay well in this reconstruction phase and in rebuilding the facilities and restoring the personal possessions that they have lost.

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