Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Hansard source

I congratulate the Leader of the Opposition Anthony Albanese and the Prime Minister for bringing the parliament together this week to express our support for all those who have suffered as a result of this season's unprecedented and terrible fires and our condolences to those who have died, and to pay tribute to the magnificent firefighters who've done their all to protect life and property during the months of fires that we've endured.

I don't want to take up too much time today. That should be left to our leaders and to those MPs whose electorates have been most impacted by the fires. On that note, I do want to express my admiration for, and thanks to, my Labor colleagues, the member for Eden-Monaro, Mike Kelly; for Macquarie, Susan Templeman; and for Gilmore, Fiona Phillips, and also Darren Chester, the member for Gippsland. All of them have been out there every day, helping their constituents during this terrible time. They have truly shown their dedication and commitment to their constituents and highlighted the very best of what it means to be an elected representative.

I did want to pay tribute to those in my electorate who like so many around the country have answered the call to help others. Even though Isaacs has thankfully been spared from this terrible fire season, I wish to pay tribute to the members of three CFA brigades in my electorate who've sacrificed their summer break to answer the call to help their fellow Australians in both Victoria and New South Wales: the Patterson River CFA which fought the Gippsland fires and the Omeo and Swifts Creek fires in Victoria and also deployed a crew to support the New South Wales firefighting efforts in Kempsey; the CFA brigade from Keysborough which fought the Gippsland fires and had members deployed to support the New South Wales firefighting efforts; and the Edithvale CFA brigade which also fought the Gippsland fires and had members deployed to support the New South Wales firefighting efforts. I'd also like to mention the Highett and Mentone MFB stations who also supported the bushfire firefighting efforts in Gippsland and New South Wales. I thank those who stayed behind to crew the trucks locally and work behind the scenes.

And, as always, a special thank you to the families who shared in this sacrifice when their family members deployed to fight the fires. Our nation thanks you for your sacrifice and your service and, as your local member, I'm proud to represent a community where so many are prepared to give up so much and risk their safety and even their lives for no other reward than helping their fellow Australians at a time of great need.

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