Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the tragedy of the May floods in Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia. I know that in Cowan there are many of Serbian and Bosnian descent. While in fairly recent history they have been plagued by war, Serbia and Bosnia are now both victims of the natural disaster of floods. These floods have been the worst in centuries. Although the waters have now receded, more than 60 people lost their lives. In Bosnia, it was stated that one million had been impacted by the floods. In Serbia, hundreds of thousands were also affected because of the large rises in the Sava River, which runs through Belgrade.

I understand that the floods have caused more than 2,000 landslides. Villages have been wiped out and it is also known that landmines left over from the war have been found, and pose yet another risk. These events have happened far from Australia but the impact is also felt here. There are many Australians of Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian heritage. I know of their great sorrow over this calamity.

Yet from such heartache there comes great resolve, and I know that hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised by the communities in Australia to support those in need. In Perth, this is the case. On Saturday, 7 June, in one night the Serbian community collected $60,000. As of 9 June just the Perth Serbian community collected $145,000 for Serbian flood relief. I congratulate the community president Father Sasa Stojanovic and the acting President, Mr Milan Jelesic, and their community for their great work.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank the Bosnian community in Perth. They, too, have been hard at work raising money for flood victims. The community president is Mr Muhamed Merdjanic. Together with his committee and the community as a whole, he has raised $13,405 dollars.

On the government side, I know I got a very quick response from the Minister for Foreign Affairs when I contacted her about the situation. I am grateful that, later, on 26 May, Minister Bishop issued a press release expressing the condolences of the Australian government to those impacted, especially to the families who had suffered a loss of family members. The minister contacted the Serbian and Bosnian governments as well.

Although we are on the other side of the world, Australia provides core funding to key international organisations involved in the flood response. Australia helps to finance the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the World Food Programme. Our core support enables these agencies to deploy experts and resources quickly to assist with responses such as these. That includes core funding for the United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which is $9 million in 2013-14. That has helped to allow the deployment to Serbia of the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team. Also, Australia is a top 10 donor to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, which releases humanitarian assistance quickly in disasters such as these.

Australia is providing the World Food Program with $46 million in core funding in 2013-14 to assist their operations of deploying boats and generators to the floods. This government is increasing humanitarian funding from $264 million this year to more than $338 million in 2014-15. I understand the Australian embassy is donating thousands of dollars worth of medical supplies locally.

I know that the EU is providing coordinated assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, which has been activated upon the request of Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina due to the severe flooding in the two countries. Over 20 EU member states offered assistance, such as motorboats, helicopters, pumps and humanitarian kits, and they deployed over 400 relief workers to the two countries. In addition, Australia's representatives to Bosnia have visited the site and will identify if there are further local needs that could be addressed by the Australian Direct Aid Program.

To conclude, I express my condolences to the families and friends of those who have suffered greatly in these floods. I also express my gratitude for the great efforts of the diasporas in Australia and the ongoing support of the Australian government. Just to conclude, I have had the good fortune to have visited Serbia twice, in 1985 and also last year. Also, I visited Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, last year. These countries have suffered greatly through the wars that have afflicted them in recent decades. It is such a tragedy to see the heartache that the natural disaster, on this occasion, revisited on those countries. It is good that they are well-supported by their diasporas in Australia. I congratulate them on those efforts.

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