Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Acting Speaker. I would like to join the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition and other members in extending my sincere condolences to the families and friends of the 298 passengers and crew who died on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

On 17 July, Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down over eastern Ukraine killing all on board including 38 people who called Australia home. This was an appalling act of violence that has taken the lives of innocent civilians flying in what was clearly a non-military aircraft, flying high on a recognised international air route. There can be no excuse for the perpetrators of this criminal act. The loss of these 298 innocent people has affected so many families and communities around the world. Millions fly every day and they have a right to expect that they will safely reach their destination.

So, rightly, we offer our condolences to all who have suffered and our support to all who are grieving. I acknowledge the extraordinary work of Foreign Affairs and other staff who have assisted families through their grief. The very moving national memorial service in Melbourne was a truly extraordinary occasion and gave the nation a chance to share its grief for those lost Australians.

There are so many devastating stories of loss and heartbreak from this tragedy. We heard a number during this condolence motion today. I officially opened the International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, attended by some 10,000 experts from around the world, but the focus was shifted to the small number of empty chairs—the doctors and the researchers who were on their way to Melbourne and were on board MH17. There was the story of the three small children from Perth, travelling home with their grandfather for the start of the school term.

Sister Philomene Tiernan, a nun who taught at Kincoppal Rose Bay for 30 years, was returning home after attending a spiritual retreat in France. Sister Tiernan was originally from Murgon in my electorate. She, together with a group of family members and community leaders, led by Mayor Wayne Kretzmann from the South Burnett, had travelled to Dodewaard in the Netherlands to honour the memory of her uncle, Patrick Tiernan, on the 70th anniversary of his death during World War II, when his Halifax 715 was shot down over Holland. Particularly, this delegation went to Dodewaard to thank the local people for having tended his grave for 70 years as though he was one of their own. Sister Tiernan stayed on in Europe to attend a retreat after the rest of the group had returned to Australia and was making her way home on MH17 when the plane was shot down.

The Tiernan family are now trying to come to terms with the loss of Sister Philomene in such a shocking and tragic circumstance. The family had suffered tragedy a couple of decades ago when Sister Philomene's brother, Dermot, who was a councillor and community leader, was killed while trying to make peace in a violent disturbance outside the family's Australian Hotel in Murgon when he was still a relatively young man. I was pleased to meet one of Dermot and Jillian's sons at the memorial service in Melbourne for the MH17 victims. So there were many, many sad stories of lives that were cut off that should not have been cut off—all loved, all missed and mourned by their family and friends.

In particular today, I extend my thanks to the more than 500 Australian officials who have been working in the Ukraine and the Netherlands as part of Operation Bring Them Home to complete the grim task of returning the remains of the Australian victims of this tragedy to their families. I mention especially the military, the police, the accident investigators, the diplomatic staff, and those with the awful task of identifying the bodies and linking together the body parts to return them to their loved ones. Angus Houston and his team led the Australian response. I also want to acknowledge the Prime Minister, whose personal commitment put Australia at the front of the response to MH17 and helped to steel other nations into doing what needed to be done. Australia stood tall amidst our grief. This has been a complex undertaking, but we can be proud that these people, these Australians, have fulfilled their duties with distinction, professionalism and respect.

The Australian government will continue to work closely with the Dutch authorities to ensure that the process is undertaken as swiftly as possible. As the repatriation continues, Australian experts are also assisting Dutch and Malaysian authorities in the formal investigation of the crash and are working with the International Civil Aviation Organization task force on the risks to civil aviation arising from conflict zones. The Prime Minister has announced that a permanent memorial to the victims of MH17 will be constructed in the grounds of Parliament House, here in Canberra. This will provide a lasting memorial to the lives that were tragically cut short and ensure that they will be remembered by all Australians into the future. Gone but never forgotten.

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