Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to join colleagues on both sides of the House to express my deepest sympathies to the friends and families of those who lost their lives on MH17. It was very horrific, as previous speakers have said, that 298 people lost their lives on that fateful flight. But I want to speak about two particular passengers, Albert and Maree Rizk. Albert and Maree are from Sunbury in McEwen. They were loving parents to James and Vanessa. Albert was a director at Raine & Horne, a local real estate agent. Both he and Maree were heavily involved in the Sunbury Lions and Sunbury Kangaroos football clubs. They were active members of our community and had a very wide and very tight, close-knit circle of friends and family.

Hundreds of people attended the memorial service held for the couple recently, showing just how valued and loved Albert and Maree were in our community. Both of these wonderful people managed to create happiness and warmth wherever they went. Maree, affectionately known as Ree—or Ree-Ree to her family—was known especially for her infectious laugh. Through the devastation and the loss of two special people, the silver lining was to see the community rally together and support each other, especially in support of James and Vanessa, who lost their parents in this tragic, devastating and horrible event.

Sunbury has always been a tight-knit community, supporting each other through happy and sad times. This is no exception. It is a horrible situation when two normal Australian people head off for a holiday and never return. According to Gisborne Raine & Horne director Ken Grech, he got a call from James at 7 am saying the plane was the one that his father was on and that he was hoping that they had transferred flights. Obviously, the family was quite devastated when they found out that something was not quite right. Our local councillor, Ann Potter, said she was sitting in a coffee shop when she heard that two of the people that she knew very closely had been killed in this horrific event and she was in total shock. Jamie Byron, another local Sunbury resident and friend, said that he purchased his first home from Albert at Raine & Horne. He said that he was a great human being who was not only a great family man but also a dedicated and hardworking member of the community, and that he will be very sadly missed.

Both of these wonderful people managed to create happiness and warmth wherever they went. We must remember that we have to make the most of each other, each and every day we have. We always should be telling our friends and family how much they mean to us and finding a silver lining in every situation, because we never know when the next day will be our last. Albert and Mare lived their lives with joy and energy right to the very end. I know that all of our community in Sunbury will remember them. We will remember them. We know that James and Vanessa have got a good solid bunch of friends and family around them to support them through what I can only imagine is a horrific time. We know that through this horrible act of deliberate terrorism many families around the globe are shattered. I hope that the perpetrators are brought to justice and that every power that justice has, every law possibly available, make these people come and be accountable for destroying a family, hurting a community and really impacting on people everywhere right across the globe. With that I will wish James and Vanessa the very best. I know it is a tough time for them; but I know that through their family connections and friends that they will be strong and that they will get through this.

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