Andrew Robb (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and COAG and Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader on Emissions Trading Design) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to convey my deep regrets to and sympathy for all those involved in the recent Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria. In particular, I mourn for those who lost their lives in this horrific blaze and I pray for those who lost loved ones. The tragedy is all the more real for me because I know many of the areas so well. The first five years of my life were on a soldier-settler’s block at Flowerdale, where my parents had a sheep property. My forebears, extended family and many friends come from Yea, Alexandra, Thornton, Kerrisdale, Whittlesea, Kinglake, Doreen and the Yarra Valley and surrounding areas. A brother of mine lives at Traralgon. It is hard to reconcile the devastation and the ferocity of the fires with the beauty and the serenity that I know and the uncomplicated and welcoming nature of these very special parts of Victoria. I feel deeply for all those affected. I admire enormously the efforts of the brave and selfless firefighters and the many forms of assistance provided so willingly and instinctively by so many members of our community. It is a great tribute to the character of our community.

For so many, their lives will be forever altered. Scars will remain. Memories will not diminish. I still remember vividly—most vividly—as a nine-year-old grabbing treasured possessions and being bundled into our FJ Holden with my many brothers and sisters as fires bore down on our dairy farm at Epping, not that far from the areas hit by the Black Saturday fires. I remember the sense of loss and destruction when my parents told us that our property had been burnt out, despite saving the house, sheds and cows, and the sense of deep anguish and sheer disbelief that a neighbour had died on our property when his knapsack was caught in the fence wire as the fire swept through. That was nearly 50 years ago, yet it is with me still. The memory is as clear as if it was yesterday. So too will the memories and the emotions remain with those affected in the Black Saturday fires. Yet we are a resilient people, and those affected will in due course pick up the pieces and seek to make the most of life. I offer my condolences and my best wishes.