Dick Adams (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the condolence motion moved by the Deputy Prime Minister. I am so sorry for all the families who have lost loved ones in these fires. I know the thoughts of all my constituents in Lyons are with the victims. They would want me to pass on their condolences and their sympathy to their fellow Australians in Victoria.

To the survivors I say: do not feel guilty. I saw television footage this morning of a counsellor talking of people coming down from the fire affected areas feeling guilty because they had survived. They should not think that way. There is always a reason for survival, and really their job now is to rebuild and renew in the memory of those who have perished. I know they will always have challenging moments. Most of them have lost houses and will have difficult memories, but we know that time heals. Soon, after the last fire in Victoria is put out, the big job of rebuilding Victoria will begin.

Bushfires are a fact of life in Australia. They have always been with us, but I certainly do not think anybody was ready for the speed and ferocity that drove those fires that caught so many people unprepared. It is unimaginable what those people went through. I do not think we will ever really know the feelings of the survivors who somehow managed, phoenix like, to rise from those ashes and the devastation of their world. It is not something that one would ever forget; the effects will certainly haunt those survivors for many years. We need to remember that and ensure that there is assistance for them into the future. This terrible event will leave the survivors, the emergency service workers and every affected person emotionally, if not physically—certainly many suffered physically, as we know—affected. The recovery process must start, and they will need our help in that.

Because of the scale of this disaster, there need to be changes to the way we look at and live in fire prone areas. I am sure that we will be forced to reassess how best to face this sort of challenge in the future. I see some of those questions starting to emerge in the media this morning. It was interesting last night listening to the member for Lingiari speak of his experience of arriving in Darwin just after the cyclone, where all the new houses were built with cyclone shelters. Whether we look at fire shelters and community shelters is something for us to consider in the future. I sat on the Canberra bushfire inquiry and, apart from the possible use of shelters, one thing that stood out was looking at the way, and where, houses should be built.

I remember seeing the fires along the east coast of Tasmania in 2006. As I drove through a day later I saw many signs, such as ‘do not defend’, warning fire crews of an impossible driveway to get a tanker in and out of and of the subsequent danger. Warnings not to defend some of those areas were given by the higher authorities. These are decisions that many people do not think about until we have these sorts of events.

The issue of preburning fuel or reduction burning—I think ‘prescriptive burning’ is another term that is used—is also an issue on which we need to have public debate. Firefighters have said that, if there have been reduction burns and you set up a mosaic type pattern across your forest areas and you keep a record of that, it is even better for fire management. When a very fast-moving fire hits where there has been a reduction of fuel two years before, that fire will slow down, and that gives firefighters an opportunity to build their lines and back-burn to meet the fire as it comes towards them. These are things that need to be a part of the science of building into the future, and we need to consider them more than we have done, possibly, in the past.

These Victorian fires are a harsh and grim reminder of the 1967 bushfires in Tasmania, which claimed about 61 lives. Coincidentally, they started on the same day, 7 February, and I understand the situation was similar, with many fires racing and joining together. The wind, temperature and dryness were right for limiting the chances of survival. Temperatures may have reached up to 3,000 degrees, as has been shown by the melting of metal on some cars. That is an incredible temperature, one which we just cannot imagine coming from a bushfire.

In the 1967 bushfires, a former Hobart couple were burnt out and lost their home in Fern Tree, which is one of the suburbs at the foot of the mountain at the back of Hobart. Exactly 42 years later they were in Kinglake and they were lucky to survive—but, with terrible fortune, they lost their home. They decided to leave 10 or 15 minutes before their house was completely destroyed and they managed to shelter at the fire station until the worst had past. This couple are, I think, now in their 80s, and 42 years ago they went through a similar experience.

I have had a report from the timber communities in Tasmania of the terribly sad news from the Tasmanian Forest Festival Committee that Errol and Harley Morgan’s lives have been lost in the fires in Victoria. Errol and Harley were regular travellers from Victoria to Tasmania to support the festival’s chainsaw carving events down in the forest areas of southern Tasmania. There must be thousands of such stories across Australia this week, and people will mourn for their friends and relatives for a long time to come.

We had terrible fires on the east coast of Tasmania in 2006—in Scamander, in the areas of St Helens and St Mary’s and in the Fingal Valley where many houses were destroyed but, fortunately, there was no loss of life thanks to the effort of so many volunteer firefighters, including my then staff member, Ian Gabites and one of my best mates, Fred Hannam. However, in the clean-up, a young forestry worker was killed. He died when a large tree that had been burnt out at the bottom fell onto his ute. He was one of about three or four in a family from the Fingal Valley. So the aftermath can be as deadly as some of the fires. One needs to be vigilant when doing these clean-ups because there are probably many trees still standing which are not standing by very much.

Last week’s disaster must be the worst in the history of Australia and it is difficult to come to terms with it. To open the Australian newspaper this morning and see the photographs of those young people was a very sad thing for me.

I participated in the parliament’s inquiry into the Canberra bushfires. I believe there are some connections between those fires and the Victorian fires and, like the previous reports and royal commissions that have been undertaken over the years in Australia, I think there is a lot of information there that could also be useful.

I have been very proud to be a member of the parliament this week. I think the parliament has acquitted itself in a magnificent way. It is a credit to every member and a credit to the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, the Leader of the House and the Manager of Opposition Business in the House for negotiating things that allowed members to deal with their electorates and which allowed every member to express their concerns. I think we as the parliament have done ourselves very proud this week, and I am very honoured to be a part of it.

I think Phil Cheney has read the situation correctly. With these current unstable weather conditions and the build-up of fuel over many years in heavily wooded areas, there is bound to be a point when disaster will hit. The ferocity of the fires appears to be due to very high temperatures and strong winds. The other, very sad part of all this is the fact that some of these fires were deliberately lit. No wonder so many people died and so much property has been destroyed. Of course, it is always easy in hindsight to put together reasons for disaster, but we now need to ensure that it never happens again on the scale that we have just seen. But the immediate danger has not yet passed. Madam Deputy Speaker Burke, we know that in your state there are still fires burning to a great extent. I saw some reports this morning of concern that two fires might join together and create even more havoc.

I should mention the emergency services. The Tasmania Fire Service and their equipment are in Victoria. The defence forces and other communities are fighting those fires, and they need to be commended for all the work that they have done. I certainly hope that there is counselling and good support for these people who have experienced some difficult work.

It is after the fires have gone, the funds have been distributed, the houses have been rebuilt and some semblance of order returns, that the whole trauma of the experience may hit again and again. We have seen this, of course, in Defence Force personnel and we saw it in Tasmania, and I saw it in my electorate, after the Port Arthur massacre. We still see it on the east coast of Tasmania after the fires there. The horror of those memories can sometimes creep back. Then, more than at any other time, we need the funds and the assistance for those trauma victims. There was a very good project post the 2006 fires in Tasmania. A book was put together called Regenerate, for the regeneration of the communities and the forests, involving many people, including the University of Tasmania through the Launceston campus. There was a lot of very good work done on the social need of rebuilding communities as well as the physical rebuilding. I commend that work. A professor involved in the project went to a conference in Scotland, with which I was able to assist slightly, and was able to investigate on an international level some of the issues that communities need to face after such dramatic events.

I think there is a new role for volunteers to play. Maybe some of the survivors might be able to develop survival plans; those who have managed to survive these fires may have some very good information that they can pass on—some very critical lessons may be learnt. No two fires are ever the same, but there are many things to learn from each fire and from its survivors.

The support we have seen from many Australians and from many people all over the world has been amazing. The Tasmanian state member for Lyons, Heather Butler, who grew up around Marysville and went on her honeymoon there and loved its beauty and tranquillity, was so distressed by what she saw the other day that she got together with all the other politicians in Tasmania and organised a clothes collection. Within minutes the news went out and supplies started to come in. My staff tell me that yesterday two rooms at my offices were totally packed with contributions and more was still coming in. Most of this clothing was brand new, sorted and packed according to age and gender. The people of Lyons know what fire is like. They know what community is all about and how to work in times of adversity. They give and they give, and I am told that it is the same right around the state of Tasmania.

In times like this, politics and rivalries are forgotten and people show their care and concern for those who have lost so much. I had forest contractors ringing me the day before yesterday to offer their rigs and bulldozers and so on to help start the clean-up in Victoria and make areas safe. They were willing to volunteer their work and their gear, and I think the state government was looking at whether they could ferry them across Bass Strait to assist. I am sure many other Australians are doing exactly the same.

I also want to pay tribute to ABC Radio. I believe they are the key to keeping information flowing in the fire areas. When television, mobile phones and power failures halt information flow just about altogether, most people have a hand-held battery radio. I have listened to some of the early fire reports as they were being received; information from the SES and fire authorities was coming through. About two weeks ago I was in the southern part of Tasmania and we had a horrific storm. The place where I was staying lost its power and I had no power source but a battery-operated radio and the local ABC. The main highway between Hobart and Launceston was cut because of a major fire, and about 25 power poles came down, bringing down all the wiring. My wife was driving south and I was trying to get information, which was difficult, but of course that was supplied by the ABC. I also remember the great role that Tim Cox and his crew played at St Marys during the fires in Tasmania in 2006. So I send a special thank you to the ABC for the work they have done in these fires as well.

Australia was built on adversity and Australians, whether from Indigenous or European stock, can survive most awful situations—whether it is a natural disaster, a personal one or a financial one. Once again I see us rising to help the country get back on its feet, and I am sure that all the goodwill that we are feeling in this parliament and that we are feeling coming from right around Australia will help those people in Victoria, will help us cope, and will help Victoria to rebuild and help the people to put their lives somewhat back together.

Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Deputy Prime Minister for this motion of condolence. It is very hard to know what to make of a tragedy of the scale of what we have witnessed with Victoria’s bushfires. Several hundred people taken in the blink of an eye: how do we rationalise it? How do we come to terms with it? How do we make sense of it? Sometimes there is simply no explanation—no cause, no effect, at times no-one to blame. Sometimes in this great south land of rugged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding rains, indeed a land of fire, sometimes things go horribly wrong. With thousands homeless, hundreds perished, the images are reminiscent of a battlefield. Having been in the civil war in Bougainville and having seen the effects of a battlefield on the town of Arawa—a town of 30,000 almost wiped off the map—these are first scenes I have seen in Australia that come close to the horror of what a civil war can deliver.

Families have perished together. We have seen dreadful and haunting photographs of small children, mums, dads and grandparents; images of charred swings floating in the breeze, looking down on a charred, barren and black landscape. Amidst the horror and tragedy, there are stories of great courage, as there always are: of CFA volunteers, of neighbours people hardly knew, of safety, of survival, of families coming together to defend one house—watching their own homes perish but knowing that, staying together united, they could survive. My heart goes out to those who are surviving, to those who are fighting the fires, and to the men and women of 4 CER as they work to provide logistics and other engineering support to assist with fighting this most dreadful fire.

Let me continue to encourage all Australians to give as they have so generously done. Donations can be made at any of our major financial institutions, at the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, who are an incredible organisation, and at Bunnings. So many tens of millions of dollars have already been provided by generous Australians and businesses, which is even more noteworthy considering the difficult economic conditions the nation finds itself in. I am so encouraged to hear the member for Lyons speak of what politicians are doing in Tasmania and, whilst I am sure the inconvenience of his office filled with clothes will quickly pass, the gesture of what his office has done will last a lifetime.

Let me also encourage all Australians to be prepared. Kyle Watson, who lives in my electorate, is a co-founder of the Foundation of Public Safety Professionals. A public safety professional has put together documentation on how to put together a family safety plan. I spoke to Kyle yesterday. I certainly apologised to him for not making sure his work was more publicly known. Kyle’s mother has lost her home twice due to bushfires. As a public safety professional, he has put together a family safety plan, a four or five page document, that helps families plan for cyclones, flooding, fire, hazardous spills, earthquakes, tsunamis and storms. I will certainly endeavour to get this to every member of parliament so they can use it as they wish.

In the midst of the tragedy my personal faith in God somehow does not provide a full explanation. But it does let me know that he comes to us as a fellow sufferer through his son Jesus. It is what the apostle Paul refers to as entering into the fellowship of suffering. One day in heaven we may understand all things but right now, in these dark days, it is a great consolation to know that in the midst of it, whilst we cannot understand all things and what has happened is beyond understanding and the death of families and small children in an horrific fire is something so difficult to comprehend, I know that our God is with us and shares our pain.

Let me conclude by looking at Ecclesiastes chapter 3, which I will paraphrase. There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the sun. There is a time to be born; there is a time to plant; there is a time to weep; there will be a time to laugh; there is a time to mourn; there will be a time to dance; there has been a time to scatter stones; there will be a time to gather them; there is a time to embrace; there is a time to search; there is a time to keep; there is a time to love; there is a time for peace. Right now there is a time to heal and there will be—and I know this parliament commits itself to—a time to build.

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too associate myself with this condolence motion. Let me say from the outset, I have listened to so many of the speakers in respect to this motion and there is not much that can be said that has not already been said, but I certainly associate myself with the remarks of each and every one of the members of the House who have spoken on the matter.

In years to come stories will be told, books will be written and perhaps even films will be made about the horrors and the heroism of the bushfires that are still burning in Victoria. Saturday 7 February 2009 will become entrenched in the Australian story. By all accounts and from listening to members of this place who spoke with personal knowledge, the bushfires which raged mercilessly through Victoria, taking with them so many lives, were simply unimaginable—but they were real. No one could have been prepared for such a tragedy because never before have the weather conditions associated with those fires been the same.

Coming from a state that is prone to devastating bushfires, South Australia, I can empathise with the people of Victoria. However, given the magnitude of the Victorian fires, I can only begin to imagine what it must have been like. On Saturday as I watched the television footage of what was unfolding, my heart sank. Saturday was also an extremely hot day in Adelaide. I would step outside just to see and feel the hot northerly wind blowing through Adelaide to try and get an understanding of what it must have been like in Victoria at that time with the bushfires raging.

My thoughts immediately went back to the Bali bombings and New York on September 11, 2001—an inferno, no escape and so many innocent lives lost. I try to imagine what it must have been like for the victims, for the survivors and for the families and friends of both. The thoughts are unthinkable. These are or were fellow Australians and more than 180 of them are now deceased. These are 180 fellow Australians who had families, who had dreams, who had lives to live and who were contributing to the social prosperity of their local communities and to that of our nation—who lost their lives in such a horrific way. Bushfires are not new to Australia. Our country has a long history of them, but never before have they been of the kind that occurred on this occasion. Sadly, the complete picture is yet to be revealed and the death toll is expected to rise.

Other members have expressed their gratitude to the rescue workers, one and all, and to all the organisations and to each and every individual who in their own ways participated in the rescue operations and to the subsequent support services. I add my gratitude to all of those people. I also now especially acknowledge the forensic police officers, the defence personnel and the firefighters who have the traumatic job of recovering bodies, identifying them, reconstructing the death scene and notifying family members. It must be a gut-wrenching task.

We can rebuild the homes, the farms and the buildings that were lost on Saturday, but we cannot rebuild the lives that were lost. Nor can we ever fully restore the lives of the family members and friends of those who died. At times like this, that phrase ‘if only’ will be asked over and over again by those who survived the ordeal and by the families and friends of those who did not. But nothing will change what has come to pass. Our thoughts must now turn to those who need our help and to whom help can be provided. I have every faith that all Australians will respond to that call, as so many have already done.

As a South Australian I support and was heartened by the immediate South Australian government response of a $1 million donation to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund and to the deployment to Victoria last Sunday of 70 South Australian Country Fire Service volunteers and staff. On Sunday evening at Adelaide airport I briefly spoke with South Australian Country Fire Service chief Euan Fergusson; the logistics officer, Arthur Tindall, who I have known for many years; and the South Australian Minister for Emergency Services, Michael Wright, who were there overseeing the departure of the South Australians. It was good to see them there. It restores your faith in human behaviour. We always spar with Victoria on a whole range of other matters, but you know when the chips are down that is when your true character emerges and that is when you really see what people are made of. I can assure all Victorians that at times like this the people of South Australia are with them 100 per cent.

As with any human tragedy—and I was pleased to hear the member for Fadden quote a biblical passage in respect of this very point—there is a time for grieving and there is a time for rebuilding. Right now communities in Victoria are grieving and the people of Australia grieve with them, as we also grieve for the people of North Queensland who have been through their own nightmare in the form of floods. I know I speak on behalf of all of my South Australian colleagues in this place and I believe I speak on behalf of all South Australians in expressing to the people who survived this ordeal, to the relatives and friends of those who did not and to the communities who lost their mates our profound sorrow for what you have been through in your suffering and in what you will live through in the days, months and years ahead. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Brendan Nelson (Bradfield, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Greek dramatist Aeschylus wrote:

… pain that cannot forget

Falls drop by drop upon the heart,

But in our sleep, against our will,

Comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.

It was the late Robert Kennedy who evoked the memory of Aeschylus after the tragedy of the assassination of Martin Luther King. But here we are in 2009, in our own country, with all Australians wanting to put their arms, collectively and individually, around Victorians who have lost their loved ones, their identity, their meaning and their homes in what is the worst natural disaster that has beset this nation since the arrival of our European ancestors. It is a deep, permeating pain that will go through not only the lives of those who have been directly affected but also through the volunteers, the CFA, the emergency workers, all of those police officers, the forensics, the army people and every single person who, directly and indirectly, is involved in trying to come to terms with this in a very practical and, indeed, emotional way.

We who are quite distant from it have had many images presented to us over the last few days via photographs, film and descriptions: a man and a woman described lying next to one another with their dog, found deceased; a man standing on a roof in a pair of shorts, hosing the roof to protect children in the dwelling; the image—which we understand was taken in burn-offs in the previous week—of the CFA firefighter holding the paw of a koala bear and giving it a drink. Whilst that image is not directly, I understand, part of this tragedy itself, it is nonetheless saying something about the sort of people that we want to be. There was also the image of the panel van, its driver having driven, obviously in desperation, from the home to the dam’s edge. We understand that the driver and any other occupants are yet to be found. There are so many images that those of us who have never experienced anything like this cannot even begin to understand.

I have had the privilege to be in this parliament for almost 13 years, and I must say that I regard the speech given by the member for McMillan as the finest that I have heard. It was not necessarily the most erudite or anything like that, but it was the most moving, graphic, and sincere depiction of what has been endured, and is being endured, by these people. I also have an extraordinarily high regard for the contributions made by all other members of the parliament, and I think that it says a lot about the men and women who represent people the length and breadth of this country, irrespective of their political party, that our parliament has tried to rise—and has risen—to the occasion during these heinous events. I would also like to pay tribute to Fran Bailey, the member for McEwen—as others on both sides have done—for what she has been doing, and is doing, for her own community through all of this.

One of those people who appear to have been lost in the fire at Marysville is Dr Ken Rowe. I knew him very well and held him in extremely high regard. His wife has arranged for a memorial service to be conducted for him in Melbourne on Tuesday morning. I understand that his motor vehicle was found adjacent to their home in Marysville, and he is presumed by his wife and those who love him to have died in the fire.

Ken Rowe was the head of standards and development at the Australian Council for Educational Research, a man of emotional and intellectual depth that I have rarely encountered. When I was Minister for Education, Science and Training, I described him as ‘Mr Common Sense’. Amongst other things, he chaired the national inquiry into literacy. He will be greatly missed by people in the educational community. The reforms in schooling and teacher training in particular which were initiated by the previous government and, to its great credit, have been taken up by the new government are in no small way informed by the work of Dr Ken Rowe.

The other observation that others have made, which I would reinforce, is that it seems that those who have so little to give are the ones who have given the most. In terms of shaping us as a people, whether as individuals or as a nation, as tragic as all of this is, it is not so much what happens to us as individuals or to our country that determines our value and our worth; it is how we deal with it. What we have seen over the last week is the very best in human beings, the very best in the ideals that we have as Australians of the sort of people that we want to be.

I would also make the observation, which I think was made by the member for McMillan and also some others, that we are going through an enormous period of change in our world. It is a world frequently characterised by fundamentalist intolerance, by what appears to be unprecedented global economic uncertainty and by technological change. The very graphic reminder that we have had in all of this is that, irrespective of our sophistication and technological advances, there is little at times that we can do against the fury of nature, but in all of this what we need most is one another, the resource of our personal relationships and the belief in one another and that we can support one another and face our adversities.

In my own electorate of Bradfield, we, like many other Australians, live in and very close to bushland. In Hornsby, the Lane Cove National Park and the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park are bushland, and fires are a part of the community in which we live. But, unlike these communities that were affected, we are not living at the end of isolated roads. We live close to sophistication. We have had fires, particularly in 1994, which have certainly threatened homes and lives, but nothing like this. Whilst the debate continues about whether you stay or whether you go—and the royal commission and other inquiries will establish whether or not that has been the right advice—I suspect from a distance from this that it is the right advice for ordinary fires, but by all accounts this was no ordinary fire. And I am mindful of the fact that the fires continue.

On behalf of the people in my community, from Willoughby, Chatswood, Pymble, Gordon, Roseville, St Ives, Hornsby, Asquith, Waitara, Wahroonga, Warrawee and all of the communities that I am privileged to represent: there is an enormous repository of grief and goodwill for the people of Victoria. There is, I know, an enormous generosity in my community. On behalf of the people whom I represent, I send condolences—and, indeed, we will send money and other resources, as we have already begun to do—to the people of Victoria.

We are who we are, and we are defined and shaped in no small way by our adversities. Whether as individuals, as I said, or indeed as a nation, it is how we will deal with this. I would also like to thank all of my colleagues across both sides of the House for the way in which the parliament has been conducted this week.

David Bradbury (Lindsay, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We can sometimes become distracted by the things that seem important, the things that we convince ourselves are important: a larger house, a bigger plasma TV, a faster car, the latest boat, another investment property, a more prestigious school for the kids. These are all tangible, material and quantifiable but never sufficient. Equally, nations and governments can be distracted by these same things, but then there are moments in one’s life, as there are moments in a nation’s history, where the haze of such distraction gives way to a moment of realisation. It is that moment when you look at your wife, your children, your parents or your brothers and sisters and you know that you would do everything in your power to protect them. That moment of realisation came for most people across this nation as we looked on at the devastation wrought by the bushfires that have claimed the lives and property of so many Victorians.

Kinglake, St Andrews, Humevale, Strathewen, Flowerdale, Marysville, Steels Creek, Callignee—last week these were names to be found on maps of places that many of us have never visited. Today these are the names of communities that the nation has embraced in mourning. Images of the scarred, almost wintry landscapes, of the anguish on people’s faces, will be forever etched in our memories. As the survivors walk through the burnt out shells of their family homes, or drive along roads lined with charcoal-black tree stumps and smouldering wrecks of cars, they must now contemplate the task of rebuilding their lives. For each of these people, there is a sense of loss so deep and profound that I cannot begin to imagine how they are feeling.

More chilling is the montage of faces of the victims of this calamity: a beautiful young girl with a vivacious smile—someone’s daughter; a middle-aged man with the creases on his face that come from a life of hard work—someone’s husband and father; an elderly woman with a gentle smile—someone’s mother and grandmother. These faces remind us of the arbitrary nature of the death and destruction meted out by these fires. We look at these faces and we reflect upon how lucky we are and how much we have to be thankful for. It is trite but true to say that we do not appreciate what we have until it is lost, or at least under threat.

At the moment the number of deaths from the Victorian bushfires stands at 181, with an unfortunate expectation that this number will be revised upwards. There are at least 20 people who have been admitted to hospital with serious burns and 570 people who have sustained injuries. Of course, we should not forget that some of these fires continue to rage. I live in a region susceptible to the ravages of bushfire, on the western outskirts of Sydney at the foot of the Blue Mountains World Heritage area. My community knows only too well how vulnerable we all are to such a disaster. On behalf of my local community, I say to the people and families who have been affected by these fires, losing their property or their loved ones, that you are in our thoughts and our prayers.

For the majority of the nation there is a sense of helplessness as we can only watch the devastation unfold from a distance. For us here in parliament, we have an obligation to articulate and convey the heartfelt sympathy and solidarity that our respective communities have for the people of Victoria and to help to rally the support of our communities in helping to rebuild those villages and towns shattered by the bushfires. Not all of us can be there fighting the fires or providing the community services and trauma counselling at the front line, but I know there are many individuals from my community donating money, blood, toys and clothes to try and give our fellow countrymen and countrywomen in Victoria a helping hand. I urge all Australians to make a contribution to our national effort to confront this crisis and rebuild the lives and communities of those affected by these fires.

I think it speaks to the character of the Australian people that in times of need we are able to put aside our differences and the distractions of our day-to-day concerns and roll up our sleeves and pitch in. Even in the midst of a global economic downturn where people face the prospect of a global recession and ever-growing economic and job insecurity, there are millions of Australians digging deep into their pockets to give what they can. I understand that the Victorian Red Cross fund, established to help victims of the fires, has already received more than $50 million in contributions and that the overall national fundraising effort has already eclipsed the amount raised in response to the 2004 tsunami. These figures are set to increase after tonight’s telethon and Friday night’s charity AFL match.

While the spirit of Australian mateship is on display in the actions of Australians all around this country dipping into their pockets, we are still only beginning to hear of the many acts of heroism that have been carried out by Australians at the scenes of this tragedy. There are of course many hundreds of brave men and women battling the fires head-on. Our volunteer firefighters are the real heroes of this tragedy. They were the first to don their overalls and pick up a hose, some losing their own homes while they saved the homes of others. They are an army battered and blackened and exhausted but which fights on. These heroes are everyday members of their communities who feel they have a duty to protect the homes and the lives of their friends and families, and they have been out in the heat and the wind, subjecting themselves and their families to the threat of the very loss that they are fighting so hard to prevent.

I would like to place on the record my deep admiration for those men and women of the CFA and all the other emergency personnel, and I wish them well in their ongoing fight against these fires. I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of members of the New South Wales State Emergency Service and the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, who have also been sending crews down to Victoria to help their Victorian colleagues. This is a busy time for the RFS, which is also fighting fire fronts in the north and south of New South Wales, and I would particularly like to recognise the efforts of those RFS brigades from my local district who travelled to the Peats Ridge fire on the Central Coast on Saturday morning and did not leave until Sunday night. Like members of the CFA, these are everyday, local people who, as volunteers, answer the call to fight a fire at any time of the day or night and then front up for work the next morning. They kiss their families goodbye knowing full well that they may not come back. These volunteers are truly inspirational people. They have my gratitude and I know that they have the gratitude of my local community for the important and selfless work that they undertake.

We hope that the herculean efforts of our firefighters will soon prevail over the remaining fires. When the haze of these fires clears and the full extent of the destruction of this disaster becomes clear, we must not allow ourselves to lose sight of the things that matter most: our families, our friends and our communities. These fires have exacted a huge damage toll, but even their awesome power cannot extinguish or suppress the indefatigable hope that lies at the very core of our national spirit. Let us remember the contributions of those lost and those who have given so much to mitigate these losses. Let us honour their lives and their contributions by mustering the very best values and instincts of our people to rebuild our communities and unite the nation in the knowledge that we will not be defeated. We are a resilient people and we will weather the storms, the floods and the fires that come our way, as we will always chip in to help one of our own in need.

Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is one motion I cannot really say I am glad to speak on because it is about an appalling event that all of us wish had not happened, but it has and it still is happening. So I am adding my voice on behalf of my constituents to all those members who have already spoken so eloquently, many of them struggling with their emotions. I congratulate my colleagues on both sides of the House for the way in which the parliament has been conducted this past week. I take particular note of the member for McMillan, whose words truly moved everybody in the chamber on that day. What a privilege it was to be there listening to his speech.

As we continue to put on record our own condolences, we know the toll keeps rising. At present we have 181 deaths and hundreds injured. We know that these fires have destroyed more than 900 homes so far. We know many small towns and hamlets have been completely destroyed. What a terrible tragedy. It is truly just horrendous. Most of us will never know what it must feel like—we will never know the terror. How horrific the events of that fateful day, how people must have felt and how terrible the shock, the pain and the confusion of the days that follow.

Our thoughts are with the people who have lost their loved ones and the people who are yet to find out about their nearest and dearest and are still waiting—the anguish must be unbearable. Our thoughts are also with those who have lost their homes and those who are wondering why they were lucky and spared. All the different emotions, all these different experiences, but people need to know in Victoria that Australians around the country are clearly showing that they are not alone. We care. We will do whatever it takes to assist and we will provide the support and practical assistance that they need as they rebuild their lives, their homes and their communities.

Australia, while large in land, is just a small community and as so many people have been directly affected by this event, there are so many more across this nation who have some connection to this terrible tragedy—a family member, a friend, a friend of a friend—it makes it very personal for so many Victorians and Australians. As this tragedy unfolds, as the dreadful loss of lives continues to rise, we brace ourselves each day as we turn to the news and we see that more and more names have been added to those who have died. It gets worse, it gets more personal and we all begin to wonder why and how. We may never learn all the answers to the questions but we will try to find them. I commend the Victorian government for holding a royal commission into these fires. We owe it to those who have been touched and those who have died. May their losses never be in vain; may these events never be repeated.

Over the past few days my electorate office in Hobart like, I am sure, many others around the country has been inundated with people dropping off donations for the victims. They are calling asking what to donate; where they can make their donation of cash. In my electorate we are also hearing from those who need to talk to somebody about this horrendous event because for many it is bringing back memories of bushfire events passed. In Tasmania, ironically, on exactly that same day, 7 February, but in 1967, 42 years ago, many in my electorate were affected by their own terrible tragedy. The day is known in Tasmania as Black Tuesday and at that time it was the biggest loss of life from any disaster in any one day in this country.

They were the most deadly bushfires that Tasmania had ever faced. They left 62 people dead, 900 injured and 7,000 homeless. There were 125 separate fire fronts that burnt through southern Tasmania. They burnt some 264,000 hectares of land in southern Tasmania, all in just five hours. The worst of these fires was the Hobart fire, which encroached upon the city and affected the people in my electorate. Fifty-two people, most from my electorate, died on that day. The property loss was extensive, with 1,293 homes and over 1,700 other buildings destroyed. The fires destroyed 80 bridges, 4,800 sections of powerlines, 1,500 motor vehicles and over 100 other structures. The destruction was absolute. It was estimated that 62,000 livestock were destroyed, and the damage that day in Tasmania amounted to $45 million. That was in 1967 Australian dollar figures. My own family was touched by these bushfires that day. The town of Snug, south of Hobart, was badly damaged, and my father’s house was completely burnt down. Unfortunately, my father died just a few years later, when I was very young, and those treasured photos are even harder to come by because of that day. But fortunately it was only one day and there was welcome rain that extinguished the flames. Of course, this natural disaster in Victoria is so much worse as it is on a much greater scale, with the worst possible factor—that is, the number of lives that have been lost. We know from our experience in Tasmania that the effects of such devastation last not just days and weeks but years and decades as people deal with the impact, the memories of those they have lost and the memories and the ongoing injuries, both physical and mental, of those who survive. We know that many people around Australia, particularly young children, will be traumatised by the vision and the photos of this terrible event—there are so many lives, so many people, so much to grieve for. It is truly important that we continue to provide support for those affected in these days and the weeks, the months and the years ahead. These scars will last a lifetime.

But as this nation deals with this awful of event we have also seen great generosity and that great Australian spirit shine through. Many parallels can be drawn from Australia’s natural disasters, for one consistent theme is the generosity of Australians. The amount of money being donated is just phenomenal, and we have heard today that it is over $50 million. Each and every person is thinking, ‘What can I do? How can I help?’ The response from people across this nation is palpable. From small communities to some of Australia’s largest cities and corporations, both young and old want to help. I have heard of young children emptying their piggy banks and taking them and donating them to those who need it most. I have heard of others donating large sums of money that they really cannot afford but are thinking, ‘I’m much better off than those who have nothing.’ This amazing generosity warms my heart.

As I have mentioned, at a local level there have been heart-warming gestures from people who want to assist where they can. At five o’clock yesterday afternoon my electorate office was inundated with clothing, toiletries, toys for children and many kind words. You literally cannot move. You can see from the photos that the boxes are up this high. I thank each and every one of my constituents who thought about someone else’s situation and who selflessly gave to ease a stranger’s burden. One constituent, a retired builder from Lauderdale, wanted to offer his services to help rebuild the homes that have been lost in the fire. Another example of generosity is that of a resident who has offered up his home for accommodation for those who have lost their own homes.

I would also like to single out a special volunteer organisation that has helped many Australians over the past four decades with both financial and moral support through times of natural disaster. The Snug District Disaster Appeal Committee was formed after the ‘67 bushfires in Tasmania, and 42 years on they are still helping Australians who have been confronted by extraordinary circumstances. In 1967, the residents of Snug felt the wave of support and generosity from those across the country, and this support helped them through their dark times. So in 1968, the small community wanted to repay this generosity after experiencing their own adversity. They vowed to help any future victims of natural disasters in Australia—and that is just what they are doing today in Snug.

Phyl Norton is President of the Snug District Disaster Appeal Committee, and she speaks with some experience when it comes to surviving devastating bushfire. Her message to those in Victoria is simple. She said, ‘You grow by coping and you learn the value of the people.’ It seems that this natural disaster has touched many of us in a way that is unprecedented. Those who have lost so much over the past few days should be reassured that they have the support of a nation well and truly behind them.

Two days ago, a Tasmanian multiagency task force made the trip across Bass Strait to help fight the fires that still burned out of control. I was on the plane early Monday morning with many of these people. They all wanted to help. I was told there was no shortage of people willing to volunteer to go to Victoria. Whether they be career firefighters or volunteer firefighters, they all want to help. A total of 93 experienced forest fire fighters, in particular, from Tasmania have joined many others from across the nation. They have now been dispatched north-east of Melbourne to work on two major fires. Tasmania’s fire management agencies have also transported light tankers and support vehicles. They were delivered across Bass Strait on the Spirit of Tasmania.

I want to place on record my appreciation of the efforts of all the fire men and women and all the defence and emergency services personnel who have done great deeds over the past few days and who are stilling working to protect lives and property as we speak. For we know the danger is not over. We thank them. And I thank the many volunteers and community organisations who are on the ground delivering assistance to those who need it. Many of them have been touched themselves, and yet they are out there helping others.

Finally, on behalf of the communities and the good people of Franklin, I extend my heartfelt condolences to all those affected. My empathy goes to those who are grieving and my best wishes go to those still fighting the fires. May they stay safe. My hopes, prayers and thoughts are with Victorians as they deal with the enormity of this disaster.

Sid Sidebottom (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I acknowledge the most moving speech of my colleague from Tasmania, the member for Franklin. You have touched our hearts. I know that this catastrophe has brought back memories to you, and I think that by sharing those with us and the nation we better appreciate what this means. It is not just about the now; it is certainly about the future as well. I congratulate you and thank you for sharing that with us.

It is a strange coincidence that I was once a member of the Franklin community. On 7 February 1967, on Black Tuesday in Tasmania, I was in high school and I was a member of my local Scout group. I was let out of school and I went to help fight the fires on Risdon Hill, near Warrane. I was young, and I did not fully appreciate the extent of what was happening—until later, of course. The fear and the terror that is associated with a raging bushfire came to me personally as, unfortunately, I wandered away from a group that I was helping to fight the fire, and I was left behind. As I made my way out, I remember the fear and the horror, and fortunately they came back and got me. I remember going to the top of Tranmere Hill, and I looked over the beautiful valley of Rokeby, which is deep in the electorate of Franklin. I saw a car driving along Rokeby Road, and I saw the fire pass it—it was that fast. As I say, I was young and I did not understand the extent and the technicalities involved in that fire, but the desolation was enormous, the loss of life was enormous, and the scars and the memories still live on. You have reminded us of that. So, in the light of my boyhood experience, I can only just begin to understand, to try and appreciate what has happened in Victoria.

I want to speak on behalf of the people of my electorate on the north-west coast of Tassie, the west coast and King Island. Like all members in this House, as the member for Franklin reminded us, we have been inundated with phone calls and materials to try and do something in our own small way, to try to support in not just a physical sense but also an emotional sense the people of Victoria who have been so seriously affected by this. What on earth can you do but say, ‘We’re with you’?

We have been overwhelmed, like most members in this House, and in fact we cannot get into our office now. There are not enough containers on the wharf at the moment to get the gear out of Tassie. So we are trying to find big containers—not boxes, but shipping containers. We are very grateful to all those people involved in the logistical movement of goods across the strait for their support. We had about 600 bags of donated goods in our office and we are begging people now to please consider donating toiletries, money and blood. So it is ironic, and in a sense pretty apt, that we share the one blood, and they are going to need it into the future.

I want to place on the record our sincere condolences from the communities that I am proud to represent, and from my family and my staff as well. Again, we can only just begin to appreciate what it means to these families. I remember hearing the words from John Forrest, the member for Mallee, whom I share a committee with. With his engineering expertise he was demonstrating to us, amongst the sadness, his description of what happens in a normal bushfire and then his assessment of what was happening in this one. It was absolutely frightening but he did make an extraordinary statement, which was reiterated by the member for MacMillan in his very moving speech, saying that the Australian dream for so many can only happen and can only take place in an environment that has to have fire and that is the continent we live in and we have to share this continent. We as a civilisation and as a people have to come to terms with that. I can make no judgment at this time—nor can any of us, and nor should we—about how and why this happened as it did, but we have to do something if we are going to live amongst it and we have to learn to cope with it.

This seems to have been a most extraordinary situation that has led to this destruction and decimation. So we feel for all those people in Victoria who have been affected by this—indeed, it is very much the whole state. Australia is a small place, as one of our colleagues pointed out, we all know someone who has been involved. The member for Franklin pointed out that firefighting crews from Tasmania, particularly from her area and mine, are well skilled in trying to fight fires, as they are throughout most of Australia, and have all descended with their expertise and goodwill into Victoria. We wish them well.

We thank all those employers, who are members of the community, for their goodwill and generosity towards those people who have volunteered their services. We expect those who can help in any way possible—whether they be institutions, agencies or whatever—to do the right thing by these people affected because, after all, the economy and our agencies exist for people, and we need to remember that.

In the email that was forwarded to all members in this House by a Mr Steve Lewis, an engine driver from New South Wales, he said that he did not know how to express what he felt as an Australian and as an individual about the tragedy in Victoria, and he made the comment that he was proud of this parliament and how we have conducted ourselves. I have to say—and we tend to forget this—that this parliament is full of people who represent communities. Listening to our colleagues in this House talk about their communities, I felt so proud of them because they know their communities. That is why they are there. They did what they do best: they really represented them. I honour them and I thank them. But I did think, when I read the email from Mr Lewis, that he eloquently explained what he meant and felt, and he could have done it in this place, because he too belongs to a community, and when our community needs us we all rise to that occasion.

If this has done anything apart from sharing the terrible loss, it has brought us together. We do have a spirit in this country which is very giving and which is very willing, and I am very proud to be part of that. So, on behalf of the people of Braddon, in the north-west of Tassie: my heartfelt condolences to all those who have been affected and touched by these terrible, terrible fires. We give a commitment along with this parliament that we will not forget about it in two weeks or three weeks time. We have got to do our bit. We know what it is like in Tassie. We are there for the long haul not just the short haul. To all those affected by this: I wish you well into the future.

Maxine McKew (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Early Childhood Education and Child Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is not my intention to take up much of the Committee’s time, but I do want to join my parliamentary colleagues in recording my sorrow and my solidarity with those many thousands of families in Victoria whose lives have been so bitterly transformed by the most destructive natural disaster in our history.

Like many others, we watch each news bulletin, each newspaper edition, and the tragedy deepens. This morning on the front page of the Daily Telegraph there was that stark number: 300. Each day we consider the stories, the detail. I think the sorrow is in the detail: the excruciating way that so many faced their last minutes, how mothers attempted to protect their children, to save animals, to do anything to survive, and the selflessness of those who moved heaven and earth to save the lives and property of others. For so many—too many—it has been an experience that brings us back to primal basics. How many would have offered up a final prayer: ‘Just let me live. Let my family survive.’

I sense that there is a shocked stillness across the country this week. You can certainly feel it here in the nation’s parliament, and elsewhere, as we all try to absorb what has happened. That is an almost impossible task. As we look at those photos of families, of young children, of grandparents in happier times, we think of lives cut short by a brutal act of nature. Three schools have burnt to the ground, teachers have been lost, and there is the news today that one of the country’s most respected educational researchers, Dr Ken Rowe, is missing.

Children are resilient, but many will never forget the playmate they have lost. For some who have survived but lost a partner, friends or neighbours, along with property and much-loved animals, there will be a life, but it will be a deeply altered life. This is hard to say, but I think for some it will be contemptible to hear the oft repeated phrase, ‘It’s time for the healing to begin.’ This is a banal sentiment, and it misunderstands the nature of unbearable loss. No parent or grandparent ever truly recovers from the death of a young child. As the poet Wordsworth said, albeit in a different context, there are ‘thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears’.

I know, as well, that we all feel so much for the professionals, the police, the victim identification teams and the others who now have the hard task of minutely combing through the destruction to look for bodies. What shocking sights they must confront. They are trained for this, of course, but how many of them must be asking: how could this happen? How could so many die such gruesome deaths? This numbs us. The scale of it seems too much.

But alongside this, as so many of my colleagues in this House have remarked this week, we are a practical people. We are responsive and we have a lot of grit. I have felt immensely proud to be a member of this parliament this week as we have all said in unison that we will do whatever it takes to rebuild those communities in Victoria.

I would also like to record the generosity of many thousands of people in my own community of Bennelong, in the north-west of Sydney, who are giving money, sending clothes and donating blood. I would like to thank the many businesses who have made large donations and to record in particular the comments from the manager of the North Epping branch of the Bendigo Community Bank, Sharyn Hubert. The bank plays a marvellous role in my community, promoting social capital and community partnerships, so it was not surprising to hear Sharyn say this week that the bank had been flat out. She told my office that one lady came into the bank the other day in tears. She was an artist and had spent a lot of time in some of the affected areas of Victoria, and she said: ‘I can’t afford much, but this is all I have to give.’ Another local resident came in yesterday and donated $5,000—just one individual.

I would also like to put on record my thanks to the Child Care Centres Association of Victoria for their offer of help in wanting to restore a level of normalcy to the lives of children as quickly as possible. The CAA have been working to identify vacancies in suburbs and county areas to help with families who may have relocated. Equally, at an institutional level, I am very pleased to see the fast and flexible response of the National Childcare Accreditation Council. They are moving on a range of initiatives—phoning validators and moderators to see if they are safe and checking various services.

Finally, as someone who has spent most of my professional life working for the national broadcaster, it has been so heartening to hear so many of my colleagues commend the unique role of the ABC, and ABC Radio in particular. Just think about this: here we are in the 21st century, talking about digital platforms and the vast reach of the internet, but at a time of crisis all you need to stay connected to the outside world is a battery charged $10 transistor tuned to your local ABC. It is old technology, but what a lifeline it is. What a treasure. I am sure Managing Director Mark Scott has taken note. I support the motion.

Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Youth and Sport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to also support this motion and extend my own deep condolences to all of those that have been affected by these terrible fires. I rise to acknowledge all of those we have lost, all of those who are now suffering and all of those who have so tragically lost their lives. To be perfectly honest, despite all of the television footage, the newspaper articles and the photographs, I still cannot truly imagine it. I cannot imagine the panic. I cannot imagine the confusion. Do we go? Do we stay? I cannot imagine the fear of waiting and being completely helpless. In some cases I still get goose bumps thinking that so many of my fellow Australians have gone through this in recent days.

I rise today to say to them: I am sorry. I am so sorry that good Australian families—mums, dads and kids—had to go through these terrible times. I say this on behalf of the people of Adelaide, who I am privileged enough to represent in this place and who, like all of us, have been touched. Like so many, they have dug deep and donated. They have gone out of their way to offer whatever it is that they can do to help, to be of some assistance during this time, and I thank the good people of Adelaide for those efforts as well.

Many speakers before me have expressed the horror far more eloquently than I will even attempt to do of what has happened in recent days and I commend all of those speakers to the House. Like those who have spoken before me, I think it is something that can really unite this parliament and it has been a good thing to see everybody standing together. As members of this parliament we are saying to all of those suffering that we will support them however we can and that we will be there with them to undertake the very tough task of rebuilding these communities.

We have also heard many stories of Australian heroes over the last few days, whether it be the amazing volunteers in the CFA who put themselves in harm’s way and often sacrificed much in their own lives in order to go out there and do what they could to protect others, whether it be the role that the police have played or whether it be all of those who, even now, have the darkest of tasks of going in to those communities in the victim recovery units. There are all of those in the Red Cross who are working so very hard and who sprang into action without having to be asked twice. There are the heroic community members, who we have read stories about, who have stepped up to help each other, to help their neighbours and to do what they can. There are the strong family members who are now having to be there to support others through this incredibly tough emotional time and there are the kind strangers, those people who have stepped up to help people whom they have never met but who are members of their communities and who they want to help.

This has reiterated for me that in times of hardship Australians stand up. That is something tremendous about our character. There are thousands of stories that have already emerged about different groups of Australians standing up and doing what they can. It is not my intention to outline all of these to the House but I did want to talk about one particular area. It is often said that sport holds a special place in our national identity and we talk about being a sports mad country. Some people focus on it and, I know, deride sport saying it is all just a game, just a bit of fun, that people look at perhaps on weekends. What I want to outline and show some examples of is that sportspeople have been standing up and sending a very clear message that they want to be an important part of this community and to do what they can in times of hardship and tragedy. We have seen several examples of that in recent days.

In my home town of Adelaide, just a couple of days ago, we saw Cricket Australia raise a staggering $6 million in one cricket match to go towards supporting the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal. There was the moving image of the Australian and New Zealand players heads bowed in a minute of absolute silence. It is not often you get silence on the hill at Adelaide Oval, but the whole community stood in solidarity and it moved us all. Then there was the $6 million raised from the players donating their match fees, from the money from everyone who attended the game and paid for the car park which was donated towards this appeal, and from the people who went around with buckets at the time. Over $6 million raised is truly staggering and a fine contribution.

We have seen the Football Federation of Australia donate $100,000 to the appeal and it will provide replacement football equipment to the schools and to the junior football clubs when needed. Last night we saw the Socceroos take on Japan in their World Cup qualifying match wearing their black armbands but also showing their international solidarity with buckets going through the Japanese crowd raising money for the bushfire appeal to help to rebuild. In addition, the Football Federation has put in place arrangements to raise money and show respect at the A League semifinals this weekend. The AFL has also stepped up. They have moved the first blockbuster of the season between Essendon and the Western Bulldogs on Friday night to the Telstra Dome. It is expected that ticket sales will also raise over $1 million with other measures to follow.

There are many other examples. In rugby league, the NRL and the ARL are providing an initial $100,000 upfront as well as providing $70,000 in partnerships with Lifeline and the Melbourne Royal Children’s Hospital burns unit. The Australian Olympic Committee has pledged $100,000, with countless sports and teams across the country willing to step up.

I should also say that, with the cricket team, it was not just that they managed to raise $6 million in a night; Ricky Ponting and the boys also were adamant that they wanted to travel up to the bushfire affected area and go out there to show their support and do what they could to support the local communities. I think that in times of tragedy, in times when there is no one thing that can be done to make things right or to set things back on the right path, sometimes having our national heroes, those people that we look up to in different fields, come up and put themselves out of their way to show that they are there to support local communities is incredibly important.

From golf, Craig Parry and Nick O’Hearn will each donate $200,000, which will come from the annual charity event in the US. I know that women’s golf is also expressing support, with money for every birdie and money from a number of different events going forward. They are lucky I am not playing, because that would not be particularly helpful!

The V8 Supercars have donated $100,000, and there are many, many other examples. Netball Australia has committed to fundraising. The Australian Rugby Union will be coordinating efforts at future Super 14 games. Basketball Australia has donated $10,000 and will be paying respects at upcoming games. Hockey Australia took up a collection at the Kookaburras match. Bowls Australia will be using their marquee bowling event to support the appeal. Equestrian Australia are collecting donations and coordinating practical assistance for the horse owners who need support at this difficult time. Rowing Australia are collecting donations. Gymnastics Australia, Tennis Australia and Motorcycling Australia are all developing ways in which they too can assist.

This support is not limited to just the national sporting organisations. Individual teams and individual players are stepping up right around Australia to say, ‘We want to do what we can to help in this terrible time’—the Perth Wildcats, the Richmond Football Club, the Melbourne Storm, the Brisbane Broncos, the Newcastle Knights, the Wests Tigers, the Gold Coast Titans and the Canberra Raiders have all stepped forward and made remarkable efforts. I am sure that there are many, many more that I have left off this list.

This generosity of sport continues at the grassroots level. Particularly for the children who have gone through these recent times, we want to return some element of normality to their lives just as soon as we can. That is going to take a long time and it is going to take big efforts, but it may be helped by something like a local sporting club donating some equipment so that they can go out and play, so that they can just have a little bit of being children and doing what comes naturally.

We know that no one sector or organisation can make this all go away, as much as I am sure we all wish it would. But we also know that in times of sorrow and in times of national tragedy there are heroes right across Australia who stand up. There are countless heroes across Australia today, as there will be tomorrow and in the days that follow. In standing to place on the record my deep sympathies and condolences for all of those affected by those fires, I also say thank you to Australian sport for standing up when we need you.

Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the condolence motion moved by the Deputy Prime Minister in this House and to extend, on behalf of my community, our deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of the Australians killed in the weekend’s tragic bushfires. I also want to record our deep regret at the human injury, the loss of property and the destruction of communities caused by those fires. I particularly want to praise the work of emergency services—the volunteers and community members who are out there assisting friends, colleagues, neighbours and, as the minister indicated, even strangers in this time of need. I also want to acknowledge the profound impact on those communities affected and the role the government can take with the Australian community in assisting that recovery and rebuilding.

I agonised for a while about whether I would participate in this condolence motion debate. The reason I did was because I just could not imagine what I could put on the record to add to the words of the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and, most significantly, those members representing Victorian seats whose communities were directly affected by what happened. It was very difficult for me to consider what I would say. I come from a community that is, on occasion, touched by fire, as every community in Australia is. I come from a community that has dealt with its own disasters since the early days of its inception, and, at this moment, I want to acknowledge that the local people in my area have put together a tremendous effort to stand beside their friends, colleagues and countrymen in Victoria.

I think they do that because we come from a place where we have experienced disaster, particularly in the mining industry. In the very early days, we lost 81 men in the Bulli Colliery gas explosion in 1887. We lost 96 men and boys, some as young as 14 and 15, in the Mount Kembla Colliery explosion in 1902. We lost 14 miners at the Appin mine explosion in 1979. The reason I hesitate to speak on motions like this is that I was 17 at the time of the 1979 explosion and living on the Appin mine site—my father was the electrical engineer in charge—when it occurred. The night of the disaster, we were at a school dance and driving home the son of one of the miners killed. I am profoundly aware of how, as a community, you rarely raise your eyes beyond those immediate to you and your concerns for them in the early days of something like that. There is a level of bemusement about what is going on beyond the immediate challenges that you face. But I also know how profoundly important are the messages of support, the physical efforts of your countrymen around Australia in saying that they want to not only offer comfort, but also physical support in the difficult days you face after something like that. The size of this fire disaster is incomprehensible and many in here have expressed their absolute commitment to working through not only these difficult initial days but also the longer term.

So I decided I would speak and that I would speak on behalf of my community, just to report to the people of Victoria the efforts that are going on in Wollongong to provide that support to them. In the days since the original motion, the list has been constantly added to, so I will work through it as quickly as I can. I want to acknowledge that I know we are not unique in this; I know the communities of every member of this parliament are out there doing exactly the same thing. That is what makes us a tremendous nation.

I want to acknowledge i98, one of the local radio stations. Marty and Erica have a bushfire appeal going. They write on their website:

The people of Wollongong have responded INCREDIBLY—as always—we are just blown away.

On Monday Feb 16 at 8 am Marty and myself—

this is Erica speaking—

Matthew Murrell … and John Noble … will leave Wollongong for Victoria, and the central warehouse of the Salvos Stores in Melbourne. We will then be broadcasting live from either Bendigo or Traralgon on Tuesday morning, before making our way back to Wollongong.

They are urging listeners to gather up:

… unwanted or unused clothing, toys, kitchenware, toiletries, linen, furniture, electrical & white goods and other household items—

and they have some businesses that are offering their assistance. Murrells Freight in Port Kembla, MJ Rowles locations around the Illawarra, Wollongong Mini Storage and South Coast Hire are all chipping in to help with that particular concern. All of my local media—the WIN TV reporters, the Illawarra Mercury, ABC radio and both of the commercial radio stations—are advertising to people on how to donate, and I think that is particularly important.

Our other radio station, 96.5 Wave FM, have a bushfire appeal on as well. Their website says:

Greg, Dave and Jade from WAVE FM’s Bigger Breakfast have pledged to stay on air non-stop for 50 HOURS to help raise as much money as possible.

They are asking people to call in during this 50-hour marathon bushfire appeal and make donations. They are also urging people to lodge donations through the Red Cross website. They list some local businesses that are also assisting, and I want to let people know who is participating. The Caltex service stations at Unanderra and Albion Park will donate 1c from every litre of petrol sold during the 50-hour appeal. You can have your car washed at Bonnet to Boot and they will donate all the proceeds to the appeal. Laura Dean Financial Solutions will donate $25 to the appeal for every couple who attends their mortgage seminar. Tony from Gold City Jewellers in Westfield Figtree is donating 10 per cent of the proceeds from every purchase made during the 50-hour appeal. Michael from All Care Computers will donate $10 per job booked during the marathon. Em Gees Hair Design in Oak Flats are donating $1 from every service. Voluptuous Ladies on George Street, Warilla will give 20 per cent of all their sales and 10 per cent for every handbag they sell to the appeal. Network Video in Dapto will be donating all their takings to the appeal. That is a tremendous effort from a wide variety of local businesses.

A lot of churches and community groups are getting on board and doing what they can. The Catholic Bishop of Wollongong, Peter Ingham, is working with Catholic bishops from Melbourne, Ballarat, Bendigo and Sale to see what the dioceses in Wollongong can do to assist down there. I am sure they will appreciate that, because he is a lovely gentleman and a wonderful local person. Of course, he is sending his prayers to those affected by the bushfires and encouraging tax deductible donations through the Catholic Archbishops Charitable Fund Bushfire Appeal or the St Vincent de Paul Society. The Wollongong City Council are encouraging staff to donate and they will match those donations. They are also allowing staff time off to go and give blood—another very sensible, practical initiative to help out. Other councils in my region are doing similar things.

There was a New South Wales Electrical Trades Union biennial conference held in Wollongong this week. They passed the bucket around to delegates and raised $25,000. ETU Secretary, Bernie Riordan, indicated that eight of their members had lost everything in the fires while another two had been hospitalised with serious burns. The membership at that conference were very keen to provide support.

The Figtree Anglican Church is holding a memorial service in remembrance of the victims. The senior minister, Reverend Ian Barnett, said that the service will provide an opportunity for people, regardless of their religious denomination, to reflect and pray. The church is in the process of establishing partnerships with some of the towns and local churches to provide assistance.

David De Santi and Russell Hannah from the Illawarra Folk Club are organising a bush dance and concert for the appeal at which performers are donating their services. The cost of entry, $10 for adults and $5 for children, will go to the appeal. The University of Wollongong staff and students are having a bushfire relief cricket match. They make no guarantees about the quality of the cricket, but they are sure that they will get lots of support from those at the campus coming along and making donations. Congratulations to Toby Kell, Nick Rouen and Clinton Mead for organising that.

BlueScope Steel, one of our big local employers, have announced today that they are donating $1 million in steel products and building solutions to help rebuild communities, which is a tremendous initiative on their behalf. My commendations go to them. BlueScope Steel’s Managing Director and CEO, Paul O’Malley, said that the company was also encouraging its 20,000 employees worldwide to donate to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal.

I have been advised that 19 South Coast clubs have to date pledged $60,000 on behalf of members, complementing a Clubs NSW appeal. The Australian Workers Union Port Kembla branch secretary, Andy Gillespie, reports that they have donated $10,000 to the appeal. They are encouraging other unions, companies and employment groups to do likewise. He said, ‘We can’t bring people back, but hopefully we can help rebuild people’s lives.’

Today in the Illawarra Mercury there is a photo representing all those different groups. I also acknowledge the many students passing buckets around at schools today and over the week as well as our very important volunteer organisations like the Salvos and St Vinnies and so forth, who are doing what they can. I hope that we can continue in our efforts to convey our words of support to the people of Victoria and, more importantly, to reflect to them the views of our community, and our love, our concern, our support and our determination to do what we can to assist them in these very difficult times. I commend the condolence motion to the Committee.

Janelle Saffin (Page, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to join my parliamentary colleagues in expressing my sympathy and sorrow and to extend solidarity and support for the people, families and communities suffering as a result of the horrific Victorian bushfires. I do so in my own name and for all the people in Page, the area that I represent, who have been touched deeply by this terrible tragedy. When I listened the other day to the member for McMillan as he spoke on the tragedy that is happening in Victoria, I felt that he spoke so elegantly. I felt that he spoke for all of us.

This week, parliament is a different place, as is our whole nation. We are subdued. Things that have seemed urgent and important have been relegated to a different order of priority. Dare I say it, we have been nicer to each other, realising the fragility of life. People are grieving, and grief is a very individual thing. People must be allowed to grieve in their time and in their way. We can simply support those who are still facing the bushfire crisis—the crisis is still there. We can support those who are into the recovery and reconstruction phase—reconstructing their communities and their lives. In the face of mass atrocity, it is never quite possible to go back to what was, but it is possible to recreate that sense of community that people are feeling they have lost at the moment. These wildfires have touched all communities across Australia. A local member of my community has tragically lost three family members, and I express my deepest sympathy to him.

My electorate of Page in the Northern Rivers has responded wonderfully with donations of cash, blood and goods. Our local firefighters have also gone down to Victoria. As a community, all of us have a need to give in the face of these tragedies and a need to act in the face of helplessness. We are giving generously right across Australia. I say thank you to all those who are helping, to all the wonderful volunteers and to all the wonderful Aussies. It makes me feel proud to be an Aussie at a time like this, just seeing how we respond. Our local volunteers just get in—they do not say anything; they roll up their sleeves and get on with the job. I pledge my solidarity and support for the long haul to the people whose lives have been directly and indirectly impacted.

Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I join with my colleagues in sharing the grief of the many Australians who have lost family, neighbours and loved ones in this tragedy, which has unfolded over the last week in Victoria. I, like all of us, watched with shock and horror as the events unfolded and as the number of deaths rose. I remember waking on Sunday morning to hear of 15 dead. It seemed that, between the news broadcasts, the numbers rose very quickly. While we look now at an official death toll of 181, we know that those numbers will rise in coming weeks and perhaps even months.

Australia is, as we all know, an extraordinary country. While perhaps our newer Australians do not fully recognise our connection to the land in the way that our Indigenous Australians do, the land is very much in us. I, like many of us, love our land. I love its ruggedness. I love our sun ravaged landscape. I love the eucalypt forest—the smell of it and the look of it. I love those jagged trees. They are an incredibly beautiful aspect of the landscape and they are now part of the Australian psyche. But it seems that, every 40 years or so, mother nature reminds us just how small we are on the face of this land—which of course is tens of thousands of years old—and reminds us that, no matter how we aim to tame this land, we never really will. This land—the size of it, the age of it and the power of it—will at times overwhelm us, as it has done in the preceding week. That does not make it any less painful; perhaps it makes it more so. As we seek to live in and enjoy the wonders of this land, we should remember it can be taken from us at any time.

As we count the rising costs, there are many who are already pointing the finger. I deliberately do not want to do that today. In fact, I deliberately wanted to say that it is not the time for that. It is not the time for looking at who got it right and who got it wrong. It is well and truly a time for us to pull together and work in the interests of those who have so much to recover. There is so much repairing to be done in those fractured communities.

I, like all my colleagues, encourage all Australians not to forget quickly how much work we have to do. At the moment we are all pulling together. Extraordinary donations are being made. There is a queue to give blood at the Red Cross. Australia is very good at pulling together at times like this. The need for blood will go on for several months because burns victims require substantial amounts of blood. So the need for us to support victims and keep this tragedy in our minds will go on for several months. In four weeks time, eight weeks time and 12 weeks time we must reflect on how well Australia has responded in the short term, and I encourage us all to continue that response in the long term. I commend the motion to the House.

Jodie Campbell (Bass, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Much has been said in this House about the tragedy which unfolded in Victoria earlier this month, and I rise to add my voice to the condolence motion. The sheer scale and horror of the tragedy are beyond comprehension for most of us and beyond words for all of us. To those who have lost loved ones—be they family, friends, neighbours or workmates—I offer my deepest condolences. The people of this great nation and, in particular, the people of Bass are with you.

To those who escaped the horror but lost their homes, farms, property and stock, we will help you rebuild. To those who are injured and, in some instances, fighting for their lives, you are in our collective prayers. I do not pretend to understand what it is like to be left with nothing but the clothes in which you are standing. All we can do is offer our support—practical and emotional—and that is what we are doing.

When the Deputy Prime Minister addressed the House as the scale of the destruction was becoming known and understood, she said:

Just as the strength of our communities ensured many survived these very devastating events, it will be that strength and that resilience of the Australian community that will help our fellow citizens rebuild.

I have witnessed firsthand how true that is. Though separated by Bass Strait, Tasmania is one with Victoria. The community of Northern Tasmania has opened its collective heart, home and wallet to those Victorians left devastated by these blazes—which, it should be remembered, continue to burn. Lin Thorp and Heather Butler, from the Tasmanian government, swung into action, and parliamentarians from both sides of the political sphere opened their offices and offered their staff to assist in any way possible. What followed overwhelmed and humbled me. My office, just one of many political offices in Launceston, was in the end overflowing with donations. My staff tell me of receiving phone call after phone call from people pledging what they could and apologising that they could not give more. Car after car pulled up out the front and unloaded. Children gave toys for those children who were left with nothing. One little girl somewhat reluctantly let go of a large pink gorilla. I only wish I could be there to see the expression on the face of the child who receives it.

There is something truly wonderful about being an Australian. We are a diverse people and there is really no such thing as a typical Australian. Having said that, the generosity and the response to the bushfire crisis truly is typically Australian. We are a people who, when the chips are down, pull together. Our capacity to embrace our neighbours, workmates, friends, family and complete strangers is what makes this the great nation that it is.

The people of Northern Tasmania gave more than simply clothes and household items. Radio station LA FM launched an appeal for cash donations. Six hours after it began, almost $100,000 had been raised. Such is the generosity of northern Tasmanians. That figure is now close to $135,000. It is testimony to the sheer passion of Mel Hope, Greg Allan and Lee Dixon. My office was contacted by local builder Ross Clark. Rather than just donating, which his wife had already done, Mr Clark wanted to help rebuild. He had the capacity to pull together plumbers, electricians and fellow builders and head north to help with the initial relief effort. That level of commitment to our fellow Australians is absolutely outstanding.

So great was the response to the plea for clothes and household items that, as I said, my office was full to overflowing. My staff rang local removals and shipping companies, asking for boxes to be donated so that the assembled army of volunteers could sort through the piles of donations and box and label them. Not one of them said no—Ridgeway, Watkins, Grace and Atkins all came through with storage boxes. Not one of those who were contacted hesitated. Each and every one asked what more they could do. This is such typically Australian behaviour. To each of those companies I say thank you.

The ladies at Noni B pulled together brand-new clothes and offered storage space. I thank them also. Neil Pitt’s Menswear brought around brand-new clothes. Next door to my office is Cleo Bagland, from which we received boxes and jumpers—such generosity. A woman named Karen and her two sons were visiting from Victoria. They called into my office and worked tirelessly all day sorting and packing donations. So too did Michele Savill and Judy Spear, two lovely ladies from the West Tamar Council, volunteer their time to pack and sort. Gordon Pope worked all day and was back early this morning to continue the effort. Leigh Stevenson, Lance Coral and Greg Cooper worked and worked and worked. To each of them I say thank you.

This is the kind of response that this unparalleled disaster has brought out in communities across Northern Tasmania and throughout the country. There is a cliche for which I make no apologies: I am proud to be an Australian. I am proud to stand in this place representing Australians who have dug deep over the last few days. Yes, there have been tears shed—many of them my own. My staff have leaned on each other for support when there was nothing else to do except stand in bewilderment, shake their heads and ask over and over again: ‘How?’

To the men and women of Victoria, we stand with you. From Bass in Tasmania, to the far reaches of this great country, we are with you. I echo the Prime Minister’s sentiments: we will stay with you as long as it takes. To the Tasmanian firefighters who did not hesitate to make the flight north, thank you and godspeed. Forestry Tasmania and the Forest Industries Association of Tasmania have offered support and the expertise of contractors. I say thank you to them also. The Premier of Tasmania, David Bartlett, announced yesterday that the Tasmanian government would be providing up to $1 million to the Victorian Bushfire Recovery Fund. The state government will contribute $250,000 in the first instance and then match dollar for dollar, up to $1 million, the cash contributions made to the Lions, Apex and Rotary clubs. My Tasmanian parliamentary colleagues and I have collected and will make a contribution. It is the very least we can do. I thank Senator Carol Brown and Dick Adams, whose offices have coordinated the appeal.

Let us not forget what has prompted this overwhelming response. The Prime Minister described it as ‘mass murder’. There is no other description for what has occurred here. As a nation, I think we accept that we live in a magnificent country but one which, nonetheless, is prone to all the extremes nature has to offer. What we cannot and should not accept is that someone would deliberately inflict this kind of suffering on communities. We ask our firefighters to protect us and they do, often risking their own lives. There are no words strong enough to condemn those who have done this. To the men and women who will for the weeks and months ahead sift through the remains of people’s lives and what have now become crime scenes, I offer my thanks. Your task is unenviable yet necessary.

There have been tales of heroism emerging from the horror which continues to unfold across Victoria, and there will surely be more examples of the strength of the human spirit. As a nation, we must embrace and celebrate them. They provide support and encouragement when it is most needed. We may waver and question how much more as a nation we can take. In those dark moments we must rally, we must lean on our friends and our family, and we must be sure in the knowledge that we will go on. As a nation, we will emerge stronger and more unified from this. We will learn and apply that knowledge when once again we are confronted with nature’s fury.

I join those from both sides of the House in condemning the actions of those who are responsible for this tragedy and in praising the ongoing efforts of those who continue to battle the blazes. I commend the motion to the House.

Bruce Scott (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I understand it is the wish of honourable members to signify at this stage their respect and sympathy by rising in their places.

Honourable members having stood in their places—

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Committee.

Sharon Grierson (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That further proceedings be conducted in the House.

Question agreed to.