Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

On indulgence, I want to say thank you very much to the Prime Minister, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Defence and others within the National Security Committee of cabinet who would have contemplated these images and taken the advice from our authorities.

Australians can see, in their government and in their opposition, an absolute bipartisan position in providing support where it's needed to friends in their hour of need. It's been the history of our country—a very proud history—that we've been able to step up, through the systems, the training and the expertise that we've developed over a long period of time, to lend a helpful hand to people in efforts to recover from devastation. We especially think, at the moment, of Australians who may have been caught up in this disaster and, of course, as the Prime Minister points out, families and friends of Australians who have been affected. Thousands have been killed. The Prime Minister mentioned a figure before. I read online earlier that there are perhaps more than 7,000 people—we just don't know, but an unimaginable number of people. Their homes and essential infrastructure are in ruins, ancient historical sites have been damaged or destroyed, and, as is the case with such disasters, only in the coming days, weeks and months will a clearer picture emerge of the number of people who have lost their lives.

I saw a very confronting image online, earlier, of a man who was holding the hand of his 15-year-old daughter, still lying on her bed but crushed by a slab of concrete. Mesut Hancer was his name, and his 15-year-old daughter, Irmak, lay there deceased—he not flinching nor prepared to leave the scene until she could be recovered. There was another confronting scene of a man standing up against a wall of rubble; within his hands he held simply a sledgehammer, facing a task that would take an excavator and machinery weeks to deal with, and yet he wanted to do what he could by his family.

Those scenes and those names, whilst they're a far distance from our shore, should not be forgotten or drift from our minds. If there is more that the Austrian government is called upon to do, and sees fit to do, then the coalition will provide the support, Prime Minister. The pace at which the government has responded is to be acknowledged and recognised. When you talk about an earthquake of this magnitude, 7.8, and the circumstances that we've outlined, it is phenomenal. We have an obligation to support our friends around the world. The work DFAT does in keeping Australians, here, informed of their loved ones overseas shouldn't be underestimated at a time when there's great anxiety for many, many Australians. We stand united with the government in providing that support.

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