Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to speak on the devastating fires that have affected many areas, particularly in New South Wales and Queensland—in fact, right across the country. I note that I'm following the member for Page. Our electorates adjoin one another. It has been a very devastating time, and I endorse the comments that he made. It has been a very devastating time for our region following on from the horrendous floods we had only two years ago. It has been a very difficult time, and I acknowledge his comments, the comments of all members and also the contributions of the Prime Minister and the opposition leader, with their respective statements to parliament. I know there's been widespread concern across the House in relation to the devastating impact of these fires across the country, and the concern, quite rightly, is still there. I would also like to acknowledge the Australians who tragically lost their lives in these fires. It is horrendous. We've seen those lives lost. We've seen property lost. We've seen so much damage. It is truly heartbreaking, as many in this House have mentioned.

I was pleased that, recently, the opposition leader was able to come to the area. He had a look at the area with me, the state member for Lismore and also the member for Page. He went to both Casino and Nimbin and was able to speak with many people there. It was great to meet with many of the emergency personnel, who are doing an outstanding job, the amazing volunteers and all the people who are battling those ferocious fires. It has been a remarkable effort by all of the associated agencies that have been involved, who have been working so well together in such difficult circumstances. As hard as it may be, it is amazing to see the bravery and sense of duty and service that both the emergency personnel and the volunteers demonstrate in their roles. I certainly want to acknowledge and thank all the brave men and women who fought, and are still fighting, so desperately to keep us all safe, and all of the agencies involved.

I also want to acknowledge the tremendous community support for all the personnel who are doing such difficult work and the support for the volunteers, often from their employers. There is also the general community support and I want to acknowledge the amount the community's given in terms of assisting those involved. I also commend our local print and radio journalists who report on these matters—it's so vital that they share important information—especially the ABC in Lismore, which did a remarkable job in providing information to the community. Their commitment to and vigilance, if you like, in reporting and providing information to those involved was absolutely vital, because at times like this people need to get access to as much information as they can. I know that our local ABC did that very admirably under difficult circumstances. They were working long shifts as well. Information is so important in these situations, and I'd certainly like to acknowledge the work that they do.

I referred to the visit by the opposition leader. We were initially briefed at the RFS headquarters in Casino, and we very much appreciated the very extensive and very informative briefing we received about the state of the fires at that time and in response to the concerns we had and still have. There are concerns for areas right across the region, particularly in the electorate of Richmond. As the member for Page mentioned, there's the Mount Nardi fire and its impacts. While it remains at 'advice' level and, at this moment, is reported as 'contained', it is still of huge concern, as are all the fires on the North Coast. It's one of many that we are all watching. It is of major concern, from the perspective of the electorate of Richmond, but there are many other fires throughout the region. We had the briefing from the RFS in Casino. We then went on to Nimbin—

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