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

on indulgence—I thank the Prime Minister for his heartfelt words and I join with him in reflecting on the tragedy of Sunday night. Since the news of this horrific event broke, the outpouring of our national grief has been palpable—our heartbreak for those who lost their lives, our heartache for the families and friends whose lives will be forever altered by this disaster and our heartfelt hopes for those injured to make a speedy recovery. Our profound national sadness, which surrounds this terrible event, comes from a deep human empathy.

A wedding day, as the Prime Minister rightly points out, is one of the most joyous occasions we know. But the happiness of this wedding day has been eclipsed by a dreadful, dreadful event. Life's terrible moments are all the more tragic when they sit adjacent to life's most beautiful moments, and we empathise with those affected all the more. For so many of us, who've been passengers on a bus journeying home from a wonderful wedding, we can picture how those aboard that fateful bus would've been fondly reminiscing about the evening's festivities—the stories, the speeches, the music, the dancing and the smiles of the bride and groom.

What all those involved are going through, what they will have to endure, is simply awful. As news of this disaster spread around the nation, I'm sure that, for so many Australians, their phone calls with family would have felt even more precious. Their embraces with loved ones would've been a little tighter. Their time together with those dearest to them would've been all that more special. This tragedy reinforces to all of us to never take our precious relationships for granted, to value the moments we have with family and with friends and to always cherish those closest to us because life can be unpredictably cruel.

I echo the Prime Minister's thanks to our first responders, whose courage and composure is nothing short of heroic. We often comment in this parliament, following a tragedy of this nature, about the fact the first responders run into harm's way when the instinct of most Australians would be to run from it. Australians have heard the audio of the ambulance officer calling for help in a calm and measured way—a reflection of his training—not really giving rise to the pressure that he was under and those around him were feeling. I want to thank all of those in our hospitals and our healthcare system who will support those affected over the coming days, months and years.

In moments such as these, our expression of thoughts, prayers and hopes to those affected can feel powerless. But, on the contrary, there is power in those sentiments because they show those affected directly and indirectly that we care for you. We are here for you. It's our promise to you that you will never have to travel the road of tragedy alone. We bind ourselves to you in this duty, driven by the empathy and love we have for you as fellow citizens. Wherever and whenever you need strength and support, you'll find it unconditionally. We send our heartfelt sense of grief for those in the Hunter region at the moment, as the Prime Minister pointed out, who are doing it particularly tough—those at the wedding venue, those who were involved in photographs and those who were involved in preparations for other weddings over the course of that weekend—and make sure that we promise, as a country, to provide support to those in their darkest hour.

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