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

A year ago this Sunday, Australia’s worst natural disaster tore through Victoria. It also tore through the hearts of Australia. The firestorm that swept through Victorian forests, fields and towns on 7 February 2009 caused unspeakable tragedy and loss for thousands of Australians. The Black Saturday bushfires were catastrophic in their scale and in their impact—173 Australians lost their lives and more than 800 others were injured, some with horrific burns; more than 1,800 homes were destroyed; and more than 15,000 people registered as affected by the fires at relief centres and other official areas in the days after the firestorm.

This weekend people around Australia will be remembering the events of one year ago. On Sunday, I will be attending a special memorial service at St Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne to mark this first anniversary. We in this place all remember towns like Kinglake, Flowerdale, Marysville, Kilmore, Strathewen, Wandong and Whittlesea. We remember those who lost everything—family, friends, homes, livelihoods. We remember those who are still recovering from injuries suffered that day, who are still rebuilding their homes and who are still rebuilding their lives, and those who are battling painful and traumatic memories. We also remember the bravery and the heroism of the firefighters and other volunteers, many of whom battled to save their neighbours’ properties while their own homes burned to the ground; the courage of people like Peter Thorneycroft, a local tradesman who climbed on the roof of the Kinglake National Park Hotel as a fire roared around it and, armed only with a hose, doused cinders and hot ash for an hour to keep safe the 20 women and children sheltering inside—absolute courage. We remember the skill and dedication of the paramedics, the doctors and the nurses who treated the injuries—the horrific injuries.

This was a tragedy that shook our entire nation. This was a tragedy that shook our entire people. In the hours and days after this catastrophe, all Australians rallied behind those who had lost much. Farmers from around the nation, already battling drought, sent hay to feed the livestock struggling to survive in burnt-out paddocks. Donations of clothes and food flooded in, driven by truckies who simply got into their rigs and drove for hours—and in some case days, sometimes right across the country—to help their fellow Australians. And $318 million was donated to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Recovery Fund.

The survivors in these devastated communities showed extraordinary courage and resilience. Sporting clubs and school halls became emergency relief centres—reuniting families and providing a bed and roof to those with no home, food and clothes, to those who escaped the inferno with nothing more than the clothes on their backs.

Government departments and agencies swung into action to deal with the complex, immediate and unprecedented needs of thousands of people: Centrelink; the Department of Human Services; the Department of Defence; the Army; the Australia tax office; the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; the Attorney-General’s Department; the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations; the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts; and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. These dedicated public servants worked long and hard to help traumatised people who had been left without access to money and without even basic forms of identification—people who needed immediate practical help like emergency cash payments as well as support and counselling. On behalf of the House, I would like to thank all those Australians and all those Australian government officials and Victorian government officials who put their shoulder to the wheel in the sustained relief and recovery effort.

James, a 70-year-old survivor from Marysville, called his local call centre to express his and his wife’s thanks and gratitude for their support. He said, ‘Even though we had lost everything, you people make me proud to be an Australian.’ These public servants worked alongside non-government organisations like the Australian Red Cross, St Vincent de Paul, the Salvation Army, Oxfam, the Brotherhood of St Laurence, VicRelief Foodbank, the Victorian Farmers Federation and the Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement. Local businesses helped where they could in whatever practical ways that they could, like the local pharmacy in Yea, which donated its fax machine to Centrelink staff to help them process claim forms more quickly.

The government acknowledges the many volunteers, both paid and unpaid, and those who continue to provide assistance and support throughout the reconstruction and recovery process. Many firefighters, emergency services personnel and community volunteers work tirelessly to assist communities. Their acts of kindness, compassion and bravery have kept many people going in the face of this adversity.

The work continues today. As of 11 January, 3,053 fire affected properties had been cleaned up—that is, we are advised, 99 per cent of the affected properties. Nearly 1,000 building permits have been issued by the bushfire affected councils. Thirty community recovery committees have contributed to local rebuilding needs and priorities. Temporary villages continue to run at Marysville, Kinglake and Flowerdale and temporary accommodation remains available at Whittlesea.

The Australian government is continuing to work closely with the Victorian government, local government, communities, businesses and non-government organisations to help the reconstruction and recovery of these communities. The Australian government has committed more than $455 million to the relief, recovery and reconstruction effort. We continue to support these efforts alongside the Victorian government and the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority. We provided $52.3 million towards the authority’s reconstruction plan entitled Rebuilding Together—A Statewide Plan for Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery. Local governments have also played a critical and integral role in supporting their communities during an overwhelming time of sadness and loss.

As well as being an important influence on the direction of the recovery process, the Australian government is committed to applying the lessons of this tragic event. We remain committed to assisting the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission.

One year on, we pause to remember and we pause to reflect. We congratulate those who are rebuilding and we acknowledge those who are still wrestling with the agonising decision of whether to stay and rebuild or whether to move away. As we mark the first anniversary of Black Saturday, I urge all Australians to keep in their thoughts and in their prayers all those who have been and continue to be affected by these fires. On behalf of the Australian government and the Australian parliament, I say to those people: our thoughts and our prayers and our sympathies are with you all.

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