Peta Murphy (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise on behalf of the people of Dunkley to add our voices in support of this motion of condolence for the victims of the devastating bushfires. Those of us who have never stood at the front line of a roiling, aggressive wall of fire, who have never had to flee flames in fear of our lives, who have never lost a home, livelihood and loved ones to an insatiable inferno, who have never returned back to our homes, our communities and the habitats of our native animals that have been devoured by the fire can never really understand the way the extraordinary bushfires that have been raging across Australia last year and this year have scarred our fellow citizens' souls. We can see the physical impact. We can acknowledge the significant psychological trauma, and we can—and do—mourn the loss of life and limb and home. But we can never truly understand what others have experienced and continue to experience. What we can do, and what we in this place are all doing today, is honour their courage, recognise their suffering and join together to support them in their time of extraordinary need.

And what we must do—those of us who are privileged enough to represent our communities in the federal parliament—is act, not just to adapt to climate change and increasing extreme weather events but also to mitigate humans' contribution, through a robust national climate change strategy. We must act on the evidence, as we've been told in the recent open letter from 274 experts, on the link between extreme weather events and climate change, including these fires.

My community, a community not ravaged by fires, has shown tremendous solidarity with those that are. Today I want to acknowledge what a number of individuals and groups in my community have done and are doing. I do so both to acknowledge their generosity, solidarity and community spirit and also as a representation of what others have done—because, of course, I can't mention everyone and every organisation; there are so many people who are so generous and committed.

Cayden, who is nine years old, and his brother, Lachlan, seven, attend Langwarrin Primary School. Their mother emailed me to tell me about what they are doing because of how deeply affected they are at the thought that other schoolchildren their age won't have the resources at their schools anymore to get a good education because of the fires. These two young men spent their own pocket money purchasing grocery items for fire relief and volunteered time packing boxes to be sent to those in need. But they didn't feel like that was enough. Because schools had burnt down, they wanted to help those children and those schools. They collected books, new and used, from across Langwarrin and the wider community to donate to kids who had lost them. Over just a few days in a week, their mother tells me, they had a final tally of 1,100 books—1,100 books! They delivered them to local Frankston charity 123Read2Me and to The Little Book Room in Carlton so that they could be delivered to kids in need. What awesome young men—just like Elijah, who sat out the front of Ritchies supermarket in Mount Eliza, selling Zooper Doopers to raise money for people in need who had been affected by the bushfires.

At the end of March the Lyrebird Community Centre in Carrum Downs is going to hold a thankyou tea for our local firefighters and SES volunteers who have put their lives on the line and have tirelessly gone to support communities outside of Frankston and Dunkley because they saw people who were in need. Angela Lord is going to take her Sri Lankan mobile food van, which has amazing food, and cater for the event, for free, to say thank you to the CFA, career and volunteer firefighters from Skye, Carrum Downs, Langwarrin, Frankston, Mount Eliza, and, just out of our electorate—but many of our constituents volunteer and work there—Baxter and Mornington, and, of course, the Frankston SES.

Just last weekend, the Mornington Peninsula Sportsman's Cup was held at Emil reserve in Mount Eliza. It was organised by local football and cricket teams and GameFace. They raised $80,000 for bushfire relief for the East Gippsland bushfire victims. The Sandhurst residents club, on Australia Day in their annual festival, raised over $3,600 for the Victorian bushfire appeal. Local Frankston community not-for-profit groups That's The Thing About Fishing, 3199 Frankston Beach Patrol, Positively Frankston, Donation Chain, Community Angels, and Frankston History all joined to form the Frankston Community Connect organisation. Together with local businesses such as The Beach Nook, La Porchetta Frankston, Uncommon Studio, Amy's Manufacturing Jewellery and the Little Grasshoppers Early Learning Centre, it galvanised the wider Frankston community to donate many, many truckloads of goods to be delivered to Victorian communities, families and individuals in need because of the bushfires. Together with Frankston Pines Football Club, it hosted a day raising money, and I understand they raised some $181,000. This coming Saturday night, McClelland sculpture gallery in Langwarrin is holding a fundraising event, Sundown at McClelland, with an amazing and very impressive array of Australian talent, including Deborah Conway. I'm going to be there, and I urge those who haven't bought a ticket to come along and raise more money for the bushfire appeal.

This is just a small glimpse of what my community—our community—have done to say thank you to the firefighters, the SES, those people who have volunteered to fight fires to help with recovery in communities that aren't their own. On behalf of my community, I want to thank each and every one of you. I want to thank all of the firefighters and the volunteers. To everyone across Australia who has reached into their pockets and their pantries and, in particular, to those who have put life and limb at risk to help others, thank you.

Our love and our thoughts are with those who have lost their lives and their families. My commitment to you—and that of many other people in this parliament—is that we will honour your service and your sacrifice by not just what we say but what we do. We thank you.

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