Anthony Byrne (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to support the member for Cowan's motion that recognises the tragedy of the floods in May that affected Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. Obviously, we have heard how it has killed many people—over 40 people—and was due to a low-pressure system called Yvette, which brought the heaviest rain to Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina in 120 years of recorded weather conditions and measurements. We have also heard about the floodwaters that have caused over 2,000 landslides across this region and the many thousands of homes that have been toppled or submerged in the mud. I have been advised that this has affected some 1.6 million people in Serbia and Bosnia after a week of flooding, with many being evacuated from their homes in both countries.

My home state of Victoria is home to over 7,000 people who were born in Serbia. In my electorate there is a large and active Serbian community. I know that many have been deeply affected by these floods. Many have loved ones and families back home who have been affected. I would like to commend this community and other communities, like the Bosnian community, who have rallied together in response. Institutions like the Serbian Orthodox Church of St Stephen in Carrum Downs, Saint Stefan Serbian Orthodox Church in Keysborough and the Serbian Springvale White Eagles Football Club have organised events in recent weeks to raise money to provide urgent humanitarian aid to those who have been affected. As reported in the Dandenong Journal, parishioners from the Keysborough Serbian Orthodox Church have donated more than $230,000 to help victims. Father Chedomir Videkanic of the Keysborough Serbian Orthodox Church said in the paper that hundreds had pledged the extraordinary sum at an emotional meeting at the church last month in response to the continuing humanitarian disaster in Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. It was also reported—and this is to be commended—that the Dandenong council has contributed $10,000 to the aid effort. Father Chedomir said it may take five to 10 years and millions of dollars—probably billions of dollars—to rebuild so every donation will make a difference to reconstruction in this part of the world.

Local Serbian residents Radenko Mihalovic and Slobodan Todic have conveyed to me the vital need for financial aid for simple matters like assisting Serbian schoolchildren with uniform and books for the start of the school year in September. Many school children have had their clothes and books washed away, so these children need books and they need clothing. That is why they need this targeted aid.

I would like to say that both Radenko and Slobodan have been running the Serbian Program on Casey Radio, 3SER, 97.7 FM—that is a bit of advertising there—from 8 am to 9 am each Wednesday for the last 11 years. They have kept the local Serbian community updated with the latest news and events about the floods. Radenko has also advised that his brother Dragan has had to relocate his family from Loznica to the capital, Belgrade, to seek refuge from the floods, while his friend Elena also fled Loznica as her house had been washed away with the floods. These are tangible examples of the local community being profoundly affected by the events that occurred.

Radenko has also advised that one of the biggest challenges facing the Serbian government is the need to repair vital roads and bridges that link key towns and cities so that relief can get to those people in need. According to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the record floods in Serbia and Bosnia could cost some three million euros, or $4.5 billion. Bosnian officials have said that the physical damage could exceed that of the Bosnian War of the 1990s.

Another significant issue arising from the flooding affecting those living in Bosnia is, as has been mentioned by previous speakers, the risk of undiscovered landmines from the war in the 1990s. These landmines could have been moved by floodwaters and mudslides, increasing the risk to civilian populations. According to various sources, up to 120,000 landmines remain in 9,416 marked minefields. The floods washed away riverbanks and fuelled landslides that have unearthed these minefield warning signs and, in many cases, the unexploded booby traps themselves. An official at Bosnia's Mine Action Centre, Sasa Obradovic, said his agency in light of the floods would deploy mine-hunting scouts. Since the war mines 601 people have been killed and 1,121 wounded as a consequence of these unearthed mines. That is quite substantial.

I would like to welcome the international attention, but obviously we need to keep an eye on this. There are substantial groups of people who have been affected. It affects the Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian diaspora who live in and make a wonderful contribution to this country. It has been an honour, on behalf of the Serbian community particularly, to be able to raise this matter in this place today.

Debate adjourned.

See this speech in context