Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

As members of the parliament know, it has been a tough few days in our region, so at this opportunity I wish to extend the House’s condolences to the government and people of Cambodia for the recent terrible loss of life during the Water Festival in Phnom Penh.

I am sure Australians have watched the news of this tragedy with a really deep sense of loss. The Water Festival, of course, is an annual event and should be a time of very great happiness and celebration for the people of Cambodia. But, instead of being a time of happiness and celebration, we now believe that as a result of a stampede 380 people have died. This number may grow in coming days. That is a huge loss of life and I think it really is hard for us to imagine that rush of human beings and the pushing and shoving and terror that could result in a loss of life on that scale, but that is what has occurred.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs has written to his Cambodian counterpart to convey our condolences given this terrible event. Australia is, of course, ready to help and the Cambodian authorities know that we will do whatever we can to assist. Local authorities have told the Australian Embassy in Phnom Penh that no Australians have been injured or killed in the stampede and we are, of course, thankful for that. The Australian embassy continues to check this information to confirm it, and I am sure that we are all hoping that it definitely proves to be the case. On behalf of the government and the people of Australia I do extend our formal condolences to the government and people of Cambodia as they go about absorbing this news and mourning their losses.

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