Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to join with my parliamentary colleagues in adding my condolences to the people of Japan. Having visited Japan and, in particular, Miyagi prefecture, it is all but impossible to comprehend the magnitude and impact the earthquake and the tsunami have had on those communities in Japan.

I want to address the facts and figures of the devastation shortly, but all the facts and figures in the world cannot deliver the true human horror and devastation wrought by this disaster. One such story that has struck me, I think particularly as a parent, has been the circumstances of Toshihito Aisawa. This young nine-year-old boy has not seen his mother, father or grandmother since the tsunami hit. Toshihito has been continually going from refugee centre to refugee centre across his home town of Ishinomaki carrying a sign with the names of his missing family members. He places it in each of the refugee centres. It says: ‘I will come back at 11 o’clock tomorrow, so please wait. I will come back tomorrow.’ Our thoughts are certainly with Toshihito in his hopes to reunite with his family once more. His heart-wrenching story is one of many thousands that are just too grim and difficult to comprehend, but, sadly, for many children it is very real. The experiences must be harrowing. We have heard many stories of survival and heroism throughout Japan, but, unfortunately, we have also heard many stories of loss and despair. The story of poor little Toshihito is a bit of both: he is clearly a survivor, but his loss and despair must be unimaginable.

People across the world have been shocked to see the scale of the Japanese disaster. The earthquake and subsequent tsunami have resulted in the deaths of some 8,800 people, with more than 12,000 still unaccounted for and many people injured. A further half a million Japanese people are homeless. Quite simply, this has been one of the most destructive earthquakes across the globe on record. In fact, the 9.0 magnitude earthquake is the largest in Japan in the last 100 years.

With some 5,000 Australians registered as living in Japan, I know that many of our fellow country men and women were very anxious to hear from their families and friends. It was very pleasing to hear from the foreign minister that he was able to confirm this week that all Australians in Japan have been accounted for, and I certainly hope, as do many of us in this place, that no new names emerge. Given the scale of the disaster, it is truly astounding. I want to pay tribute to the DFAT Crisis Centre and embassy staff who have worked incredibly hard to find and assist all of those Australians.

The Australian government is in a position to provide support to Japan and has done so from almost immediately after the disaster. A 72-person search and rescue team, including one EMA liaison officer, although now returned, were dispatched to Japan very quickly. Nineteen Defence operational response officers and three Defence liaison officers were on site. All of Australia’s currently operational C17s are engaged in Japan providing support to the Japanese people, including two that have been tasked recently at the request of the US government to transport equipment to assist in restoring the cooling systems to the nuclear plants. As a government we have also made a donation of $10 million to support the recovery effort to the Red Cross Japan and Pacific Disaster Appeal.

The Australian government has taken the ongoing concerns of the nuclear situation in Japan very seriously. The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, ARPANSA, has been working literally around the clock to provide me and my parliamentary colleagues with up-to-date advice about the ongoing nuclear situation. ARPANSA has published advice on its website, which is updated literally every six hours to ensure that the Australian people both in Japan and returning have the most accurate and timely advice that is possible on the unfolding nuclear situation in Japan. ARPANSA is the federal government agency charged with responsibility for protecting the health and safety of the Australian people and the environment from the harmful effects of radiation. I suspect that before this particular event not many people knew about it or had heard of what is a very small agency sitting within the Health portfolio under my areas of responsibility. The agency has been called upon in this time of great uncertainty in Japan to provide advice on the status of the nuclear power plant as well as health and safety advice to Australians in Japan and those returning home to Australia, as well as liaising very closely with the Department of Health and Ageing on providing health advice to general practitioners here in Australia.

I want to personally thank the staff, but in particular Carl-Magnus Larsson and his team at ARPANSA, for the professionalism and commitment that they have shown during this challenging time. We have been very lucky to secure Dr Larsson from the Swedish nuclear safety agency. He is very actively engaged with the IAEA and other regulatory bodies internationally and is very well respected, so we have certainly been well served during this time by ARPANSA, the CEO and its staff. There have been unprecedented demands placed on the agency and they have consistently responded with dedication and expertise. As the Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing with responsibility for ARPANSA, I thank the agency on behalf of the government for its work.

I also recognise the work of FSANZ—Food Standards Australia New Zealand—which has been providing the government with advice on food safety and continue to do so, and has been working very closely with the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Jim Bishop, and the health incident team which was established very quickly once that was requested. I pay tribute to those health team staff who have been providing the government with that advice.

The latest advice on the nuclear situation in Japan is that it is a very serious situation and the Australian government continues to monitor it. As a precautionary measure, Australians have been recommended to remain 80 kilometres away from the power station, and that is not based on the current danger but reflects the uncertainty of the situation. Australians returning from Japan are highly unlikely to have been contaminated with radiation and will not require checks for radioactivity, but certainly we understand that some may be concerned about that and we have encouraged them to visit their local GPs. Advice has been provided to GPs as to what recommendations are made. Certainly I again thank ARPANSA and the health department for working so closely on making sure that that advice was actively available.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand, the Department of Health and Ageing and ARPANSA have advised that Australians in Japan are strongly recommended to follow the protective measures recommended by the Japanese government in relation to food and water safety. FSANZ is working very closely with AQIS and the Customs and Border Protection Service to ensure a coordinated and vigilant approach to managing any potential risk to the Australian food supply chain.

As we battle to overcome natural disasters in our nation we can only begin to understand the difficult task that is being faced by the people of Japan to rebuild their homes, their schools, their hospitals and their communities—to rebuild their lives after they have lost their family, friends and colleagues. The floods in Australia, the earthquake in New Zealand and the latest devastation in Japan are a reminder of just how harsh our planet’s extreme conditions can be and how fortunate we are to live in a nation of generosity and kindness. The Australian government stands ready now and into the future to support our friends in Japan; friends like the young nine-year-old Toshihito, who I mentioned earlier. I know that all Australians will seek in whatever way they can to ease the burdens of the Japanese people as they confront the massive challenges ahead.

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