Jason Falinski (Mackellar, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank the member for Chifley for his remarks and comments in this place. They stand in contrast with those of so many others who have already spoken today, in terms of both his depth of feeling and heartfelt views on this matter and those who have suffered both in his electorate and across all of Australia.

On behalf of the Australian people and the people of Mackellar, who I so proudly represent, I stand in this chamber today with a solemn and heavy heart to pass on our condolences to the families of 34 souls who lost their lives in the recent bushfires and to pay tribute to the thousands of men and women who, with unflinching courage and determination, braved violent elements to protect us and our property.

Our dry Australian continent has been subjected to fire events for 60,000 years, to such an extent that it has produced an ecology and environment both prone to it and evolved to use fire to reproduce. Many explorers in past times were dazzled by the extent of the fires. James Cook described Australia as 'a continent of smoke'. Charles Darwin, who visited here in 1836, went to Bathurst in 119-degree heat, traversing the Blue Mountains in what he described as 'an inferno of fire'. We have suffered many severe fire events in our history—the various days prefixed with 'ash' or 'black'—and over the years hundreds of millions of hectares have been burnt and subsequently revitalised by fire.

But we do not pretend that these events were normal. I am reminded of the haunting words of the poet after whom the seat I am honoured to represent was named:

The love of field and coppice

Of green and shaded lanes,

Of ordered woods and gardens

Is running in your veins.

Strong love of grey-blue distance,

Brown streams and soft, dim skies

I know, but cannot share it,

My love is otherwise.

I love a sunburnt country,

A land of sweeping plains,

Of ragged mountain ranges,

Of droughts and flooding rains.

I love her far horizons,

I love her jewel-sea,

Her beauty and her terror

The wide brown land for me!

This is neither the time nor the place to debate climate change. But surely the impacts of climate change are now undeniable and the need for ongoing action is urgent.

Our instinct is to stand and fight, as thousands have, some with success, some to the very brink of disaster and some with tragic and shocking consequences. Today we join as one to pay our respects to those who faced these challenges, the leaders of our Rural Fire Service, who have worked to exhaustion in the service of others, and to pass our sincere and deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who are no longer with us. In New South Wales two RFS firefighters, Geoffrey Keaton and Andrew O'Dwyer of the Horsley Park brigade, lost their lives. Victorian firefighters Bill Slade and Mat Kavanagh gave their last full measure of devotion in order to serve others. The crash of a chartered Lockheed C-130 Hercules killed the crew. All were US veterans, all were here to help, and all were here for us.

From my electorate of Mackellar, encompassing Sydney's Northern Beaches and the famed Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, 17 RFS brigades have been deployed right across New South Wales and are still on deployment as required, at times for up to five days. Our Northern Beaches brigades are no strangers to the crimson bushfires. I pay tribute to our men and women who have entered and assisted in some seriously dangerous conditions.

Warren Buffett once said that we should always criticise in general, but we should praise in specific. In that spirit, allow me to mention just a few people: Northern Beaches District Manager Inspector George Sheppard—George's leadership is unsurpassed; Peter Duff, who is captain of the Terry Hills brigade—he's an inspiration to those men and women; Trent Dowling, who never takes a backwards step and never stops talking about how good the RFS is; Luke Robinson, who is captain of the headquarters brigade—you will not find a tougher person outside the military; and John Russell, better known as JR, captain of the Cottage Point brigade—there is literally nowhere that his men would not follow him. I salute the volunteers of the RFS, and I am so immensely proud of the work that they have done. Along with their crews and brigades from Mackellar, they have brought protection and solace to those in dire need.

We must also spend a moment to mourn the loss of so much of our wildlife, so many animals unable to escape or shelter in the firestorms. We watched as the desperate animals were given water, clung to firemen, rode in cars without fear—the simple act of escape and safety not lost on them. No-one was immune to such sadness. The work of WIRES, based in Brookvale, in this difficult time cannot be underestimated. In the first two weeks of January, when they normally receive about 1,000 calls, they received 16,000 calls for assistance. And, as the real scope of the impact of these fires becomes apparent, they will have a lot of work ahead. These images, along with the hundreds of terrifying scenes, have brought out the best in our community and in our humanity. Political, religious and cultural differences are forgotten, and a magnificent spirit of kindness, empathy, courage and selflessness has embraced our community.

If I may be so bold, to me this is what it means to be Australian. Australians have lived with our landscape and harsh conditions for generations. We are a resilient lot, made of strong mettle, and from the firefighters who stood in harm's way to defend others to those who defended themselves or sheltered friends, animals and neighbours to those who cooked meals and made cups of tea or simply provided kind and loving arms to hold shattered souls, we tip our hats to them and stand in deep and solemn respect—for all of those who faced these challenges, whether in triumph or in tragedy.

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