Tony Smith (Casey, Liberal Party, Deputy Chairman , Coalition Policy Development Committee) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure to rise and join with other members on this motion that was moved to take note of the statement made by the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs in the main House on 9 February. It is a motion to commemorate the second anniversary of those tragic bushfires. It is a time to remember. It is a time to reflect. It is also a time to look forward now with the benefit of two years behind us.

At the outset, I pay tribute to the minister for her words in the main chamber and to the shadow minister, the member for Menzies. I think both members encapsulated what occurred on that tragic day and what occurred in the hours and days afterwards and has occurred since. As I said, it is natural for us to remember and reflect. All of us—particularly Victorian members like you, Madam Deputy Speaker Vamvakinou; the member for McEwen, who is here; the member for Kooyong; and the member for Wannon, who has just joined us—remember that day—the heatwave, the weather and the wind. All of us had that fear that something terrible could happen, but I think all of us hoped and prayed that the day would just pass as the previous couple of days of the heatwave had.

When the news that fires had broken out was heard on the radio and on our televisions, we as Melburnians instinctively thought the worst. When we thought the worst, we thought of Ash Wednesday, which was our previous reference point for the worst. I think intuitively none of us thought it could be worse than that because that was the boundary psychologically. As I have said before in the House, I remember opening the curtains of our house, which is just on the edge of the Yarra Valley near Lilydale, on that afternoon and seeing the mushroom clouds down the Melba Highway, which must have been at Kinglake and then approaching Yarra Glen. Of course all Melburnians know the Dandenong Ranges and the Yarra Valley. Pretty much wherever you are in suburban Melbourne you can see them. What unfolded over the next hours and the next days was truly tragic, and I think the minister and the shadow minister captured that.

In remembering Black Saturday, we think of the families who lost loved ones. We remember the 173 who died, those who were injured and all the families who were affected. We think of the communities affected. Wherever those communities are, we Melburnians know them even if we do not live in them. We have been there on school camps as kids and on family outings. That it as true of Kinglake as it is of Marysville and the other towns. We also reflect, as I said, on the incredible efforts of our emergency services personnel and the incredible efforts of members of the community.

To speak of those events two years on brings back memories of the many efforts at so many levels. We are right to feel sympathy for the heartbreak and heartache of those who we know are suffering so much at this time and simultaneously to feel pride in the community spirit and in those who helped so much. I say that because it has become fashionable at times for commentators to say that we have lost our sense of community spirit in the last 40 or 50 years. While that might be true at a superficial level, instinctively we suspected that was not the case and we know it is not the case from what we have seen.

I cannot possibly mention everyone, but I do want to mention a couple of people. One of them is Lex de Man from the CFA—and I know the member for McEwen will have heard of Lex. A loyal senior officer for many years, he retired recently.

Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I met him on Sunday.

Tony Smith (Casey, Liberal Party, Deputy Chairman , Coalition Policy Development Committee) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for McEwen says he met him on Sunday. I wanted to mention him. As I said, it is difficult to single out people, but I do want to mention Peter Montgomery from Yarra Glen as an example of some of the great work that was done. He instigated the Adopt a Container Project, which within a year saw 170 shipping containers provided to affected families to store their belongings and give a sense of belonging as they rebuilt. He was rightly chosen as the Shire of Yarra Ranges Citizen of the Year last year. That project is still going and still expanding.

Of course, I want to mention the previous member for McEwen—and I know the current member will support this—Fran Bailey, who worked so tirelessly in those tragic days, weeks and months after the fires. The minister rightly mentioned Fran in her speech in the House. I also want to make mention of the former Prime Minister, the member for Griffith, Kevin Rudd. At that time of tragedy, he performed in an exemplary way. He was in constant contact with Fran Bailey, and his efforts and his dedication to every aspect where he could possibly make a difference were well known to those closely involved. I want to pay tribute to the former Leader of the Opposition, Malcolm Turnbull, who similarly spent every waking minute making sure that whatever needed to be done was done.

I said it is a time to remember and a time to reflect. I also said it is a time to look forward. In doing so, it is a time also for some candour because, two years on, we can make a lot more sense of the tragedy. We know we will never stop bushfires, but in our hearts we want to know that we can always do better. Two years on, the words of the former member for McEwen, in her final speech to this House, bear repeating. She called for a program of sustained fuel reduction, a state-of-the-art early-warning system, safe shelters and better use of early fire detection technology. I want to see the new state government of Victoria working as hard as they can to make a real difference and, where we can, to leapfrog forward in those areas, particularly on early fire protection technology.

Another former member of this place, the former Labor member and Hawke government minister Barry Cohen, has written passionately about the possibilities of some of the new early fire detection technologies. He has written in the Australian about the FireWatch technology, which can precisely detect the existence of smoke and its location before a bushfire has taken hold, enabling emergency services to deploy the resources to extinguish the fires. This technology consists of a camera unit with a sensor that can scan an area of 400 square kilometres and rotate automatically through 360 degrees every six minutes 24/7. It can detect the difference between smoke, cloud and mist. With recently added night vision, it can provide precise details of fires around the clock. This technology is being used in Germany. It was developed by the German aerospace industry and NASA as part of the Mars Pathfinder mission.

There were some trials of this technology with funding from the federal government, but that appears to be somewhat caught in bureaucracy. But today is not the day to go through that in detail. Today is the day for me to say on behalf of those in the Yarra Valley that we want to see that technology thoroughly trialled and we want to see the best possible technology in use. The next time this sort of fire tragedy happens—and it might be the difference of time between Ash Wednesday and Black Saturday, but it could be next year—we want to know that when our emergency services confront it they will have better technology and better preparation and that we have done more because we have learnt more, so that we can make a difference on the ground for those communities affected.

Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Saturday, 7 February 2009 was a day in our nation’s history that we shall never forget. Effectively, it was the day that hell visited Victoria and left a permanent scar on its departure. My community was ravaged by an inferno of flames faster and more powerful than anything we had ever seen before. Helen Kenny, the captain of the St Andrews CFA, said it was a day they had trained for but a day they had hoped would never happen. She said that, in the days leading up to it, they knew it would be bad, but they had never dreamed that they would face such a fire of fury.

It was nightmare which left people dead, injured, homeless and hurt. Ordinary Australians defended their homes as best they could. Some were successful; others were not. Many were caught trying to escape the heat and ferocity of the flames as Mother Nature proved to be too fast, too strong and too vicious. Trapped and confused, some had no option but to sit and wait for the flames to engulf their homes and everything they owned.

We lost 173 people on that day. They were family, they were friends and they were neighbours. But we must not forget those who died following the fires as a result of its impact, whether it be physical, psychological or emotional. There was eerie silence on the landscape after the fires. There were no birds and no animals, only the smell of destruction and carnage to fill your senses. In its wake, the fires left homes burnt out, schools destroyed and communities devastated. It looked like a war zone and it smelt like a war zone—because it was a war zone.

John McCrohan, President of the Hurstbridge RSL, gave an address on Anzac Day. He said:

I would like everyone to remember soldiers of a different war. A war caused by man’s efficiency and nature’s wrath. Black Saturday.

The soldiers of this war were CFA, the SES volunteers, police, ambulance and more importantly, bushfire victims who lost their homes and belongings.

Even more importantly, those who lost their lives. Mums, dads, boys and girls. They should be remembered alongside our gallant diggers of past conflict.

After wars, as we know them, soldiers returned to their homes and loved ones and, with their support, tried to forget the death and destruction. But the scars always remained.

After the War of Black Saturday some victims will rebuild and start a new life.

So I ask you today to remember these soldiers of Black Saturday, along with the fallen soldiers of past conflicts.

People walked out of that death and destruction, proud and bewildered, with little more than the clothes on their backs and the thongs on their feet, but they were filled with a spirit that only Australians can muster. Looking back to the days following the fires, I can remember through the darkness and destruction of my community how the colour and strength of our national flag shone through. Through the wind, the Southern Cross was strongly waving throughout many homes and the townships across the scorched and blackened landscape. One flag I can recall was damaged by the fires, but it was still standing, waving proudly in the winds that followed Black Saturday and telling Mother Nature that despite her power we would not be beaten. To me, that flag symbolised the true Aussie spirit and resilience: we were wounded but not beaten. It showed that we would never give up hope.

The people of McEwen are real fighters. In the days and the months and the two years since that terrible day, we have witnessed the best of human strength, spirit and resilience. Local halls, sporting clubs and community centres were turned into relief centres, which were quickly inundated with volunteers and goods. People from all walks of life and from all points of the state and the nation donated their goods, their time and their money to support those in their darkest hour.

My sincere thanks go to the CFA, the Victoria Police, the State Emergency Service, the Department of Sustainability and Environment, the Department of Primary Industries, the paramedics, the Australian Defence Force, all the local clubs and auxiliaries, the Red Cross, St Vinnies, the Salvation Army and particularly the army of volunteers across the country who came and gave all. Selfless acts of heroism are what we saw consistently on that day and in the days that followed.

There are probably no words big enough or strong enough to thank the CFA volunteers for what they went through. I also remember Danielle Green, the state member for Yan Yean, and Ben Hardman, the former member for Seymour. They were both on strike teams at the fire front from the moment it started and they continued until the fire had passed their areas. To try to put it into context, I think it is appropriate to use the words of Winston Churchill following the service of airmen during the Battle of Britain when he said:

Never was so much owed by so many to so few.

On behalf of all members of this place, I say thank you to the army of volunteers in my community. Thank you for everything you have done to support our communities.

From the tragedy came opportunity—an opportunity to learn and an opportunity to share and understand that loss, grief and devastation are universal. Students and staff at the Diamond Valley College used the power of education to share their experience and to inspire others. Together with students from the International School of Kabul, in Afghanistan, they published a book titled 1000 Pencils. It is a journey of connectedness from Kinglake to Kabul. In his foreword, Principal Greg Williams wrote:

In the post devastation silence they are the voices of promises and hope.

The students who had lost so much wrote:

We know our disaster is nothing compared to 30 years of war in Afghanistan, but it has helped us to understand and care for others.

They have now published a second book, titled From Kinglake to Kabul, which was launched on 13 February. I was proud to be there for the launch and I can say, after just reading the book, that the stories the children have written themselves—their own personal recollections—are very powerful, very raw and very honest. The book is worth reading and it was a pleasure to meet the students there, from Kabul and from Diamond Creek, who had put pen to paper. As I said, the book—the words of those students from year 8 and year 9—is very powerful.

Many locals in our area have devoted themselves to the recovery of bushfire affected communities and the landscape, helping those around them, some of whom they have never me, despite having lost so much themselves. People like Alex and Julie Sutherland, with the VFF, have coordinated thousands of volunteers to the affected properties to help clean up fences and erect new ones. Julie and Alex made the decision to deploy me and a group of Young Labor volunteers to a property in St Andrews to help with rebuilding. The property was once a home to Felicity and Peter Wiltshire, volunteers from the St Andrews CFA, before it was burnt out by the fires. Peter had been a volunteer with the CFA for over 23 years and Felicity had established a local Fireguard group, a group of young people concerned about fire prevention, protection and management. As we put up the fences, I knew that we were helping people who had devoted their lives to helping others, although the hours that we spent there would never amount to the hours they had given in their time with the CFA.

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

As I was saying, we were deployed by Alex and Julie Sutherland and the VFF to go out and help rebuild fences in bushfire affected areas. Peter has been a volunteer of the CFA in St Andrews for 23 years and Felicity established the local Fireguard group—a group of local people concerned about prevention, protection from and management of fires. We put up new fences and I knew that I was helping people who had devoted their lives to helping others. Although the hours we spent there would never amount to the hours they had given to the local CFA, we knew it was of some assistance. We knew that the fences were an everlasting reminder of our commitment and support, because we were united in the belief that we would rebuild.

Although communities are starting to get back on their feet, there is still a long way to go and much more work to be done. Today I would just like to remember some of the towns that were affected, such as Strathewen, St Andrews, Arthurs Creek, Kinglake, Kinglake West, Pheasant Creek, Whittlesea, Humevale, Marysville, Narbethong, Buxton, Taggerty, Flowerdale, Glenburn, Strath Creek, Upper Plenty, Clonbinane, Redesdale, Reedy Creek, Castella, Wondong, Heathcote Junction, Healesville, Chum Creek, Toolangi, Yarra Glen, Dixons Creek, Steeles Creek and Christmas Hills—and others that were affected as well.

I am also reminded of what local resident Gary Hughes wrote, when he said:

BLACK Saturday survivors know calendars lie. They might chart the passage of days, weeks, months and years, but they do not record the passing of time.

That is why Black Saturday happened only yesterday, as far as survivors are concerned. And it will always be so, no matter how many weeks, months or years the calendar insists have passed since February 7, 2009.

Black Saturday is a constant companion. It is there haunting your thoughts when you are awake. It is there stalking your dreams when you try to sleep.

Like other survivors, we have tried to move on. Physically, we have partly succeeded. We have swapped our blackened 8ha hilltop at St Andrews for a charming 60-year-old renovated house with an equally charming, lush green garden in Melbourne’s inner northern suburbs.

There are no gum trees. We decided we could not face those future summers, when the hot, dry northerlies inevitably reignited the fears and brought back the trauma of Black Saturday. We could no longer face that annual routine of bushfire preparations. And we were not prepared to live our lives as seasonal gypsies, packing boxes of important papers and precious possessions into cars and leaving home on every high-risk day. (After our experiences on Black Saturday, staying again to defend would never be an option.)

We know we are lucky.

He went on to say

In some cases families have been torn apart over this decision.

We are full of admiration for those determined to rebuild. But to us, that blackened and bare hilltop will never be the same.

These personal stories are echoed right across the scarred landscape from Clonbinane to Marysville. From Flowerdale to St Andrews and all points in between ordinary Australians are wrestling with the demons that this fire brought upon them. It is important to recognise and acknowledge everyone’s individuality when facing the challenges of recovery. Surviving this traumatic experience has changed many lives in our communities forever, leaving many struggling to return to normality as they face the challenge of learning to live with what we call ‘the new normal’. This will not happen overnight. People will do it, but they will do it in their own time, at their own pace and in the their own way. Our obligation is to be there with them as they recover and rebuild.

On the second anniversary, Cathy Soulsby from Clonbinane wrote a wonderful poem, Recovery Rainbow, that, with your indulgence, I would like to read. I think it goes a long way to describing the thoughts and feelings that people are having since this tragedy.

In this summer of green and gold,

Dark memories of that day we hold

Deep within, for the scars remain

Like a tattoo, a permanent stain.

That day which threw our lives off track

We went out of the red and into the black,

We stood on the rim of a bottomless pit

Then we climbed our mountains bit by bit.

It’s hard to believe two years have passed,

To me, at least, it’s travelled so fast,

Now the bush rebounds with verdant passion

In a kind of jungle fashion.

So as we journey into the pink

It’s a time for reflection, a time to think,

A time to rejoice in what we’ve achieved,

A time to surrender all we have grieved.

I think that is a beautiful poem that goes to the very heart of the things that people are facing.

I could never name the volunteers and the people who have been so special to the community since that time, but I think it is important to thank the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, for everything she has done following on from the work of the former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and Bill Shorten as the Parliamentary Secretary for Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction. I know with Bill that just about every day I would get a phone call from him to say, ‘We are going to do this. Come and see what is going on.’ And we would sort of tick tack across the electorate to find ways that we could cover as much as we could to help as many people as we could who were recovering and were suffering during that time.

Two years on, we have come a long way. We know there is a long way to go. I certainly hope for our Queensland friends and those affected by the floods that the lessons we learnt during Black Saturday and afterward will go a long way to helping their recovery, helping them get back to normal as quickly as possible knowing full well that ‘normal’ will never be normal again.

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support this motion of commemoration. This week marks the second anniversary of the terrible natural disaster now forever known as the Black Saturday bushfires, an event more devastating than the tragedies of Ash Wednesday in 1983 and Black Friday in 1939.

Between 7 and 9 February 2009, under a combination of high temperatures, strong winds and tinder-dry forests, a series of devastating bushfires—more than 300 across the state—raged throughout Victoria, ravaging woodlands, tearing through towns and tragically taking 173 precious lives, including 23 children, and injuring more than 800 people, many suffering serious burns. The fires that started on that hot, 40-plus-degree day ended after consuming more than 2,000 properties and destroying 430,000 hectares. Hundreds of businesses were lost or damaged by the flames.

Every Victorian has been affected by the fires of Black Saturday. I remember the day vividly: the intoxicating heat hitting one like a wall. One can only imagine the intensity of the heat in the fire zone and its thunderous roar. And every Australian has been shocked by the devastation caused by fire, created either by intent or by accident and assisted by the natural environment. It is difficult to comprehend the horror of the situation which so many Victorians, so many Australians, found themselves facing while the fires raged. Unfortunately the ferocity of the fires on Black Saturday was of such a nature that the best laid plans were just not enough. The rage of the fire caught people off guard and people perished in homes that they were unable to defend from oncoming flames and in cars while they were trying to escape.

Over those terrible three days, locations such as Flowerdale, Kinglake, Kinglake West, Marysville, Narbethong and Strathewen were left unrecognisable. Around 78 Victorian townships were directly impacted in the consuming path forged by the fires. We will not forget the devastation caused to Bendigo, Buxton, Callignee, Churchill, Coleraine, Dixons Creek, Drouin West, Heathcote Junction, Horsham, Humevale, Koornalla, Longwarry, Mittons Bridge, Mudgegonga, Narre Warren, Reedy Creek, Smiths Gully, St Andrews, Steels Creek, Strath Creek, Taggerty, Toolangi, Upper Plenty, Wandong, Whittlesea and Yarra Glen. The story told by survivors tells of a fire they barely saw coming, of a fire they never knew had arrived. They tell of a fire that moved at lightning speed and of a fire that leapt forward and soared high. And they tell of family, friends, neighbours and whole communities lost. But they also tell a tale of survival.

I want to acknowledge the wonderful work of the SES and CFA volunteers, the police, the fire brigade and ambulance services, the Defence Force personnel, the Red Cross and thousands of other volunteers for their work in assisting those affected. I also want to acknowledge the leadership of the former member for McEwen, Fran Bailey, the current member for McEwen, Rob Mitchell, the member for Indi, the member for McMillan, the member for Casey and the member for Bendigo for the incredible work they did in assisting their local communities to rebuild. I also want to acknowledge our then Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, and our then opposition leader, Malcolm Turnbull, for their efforts.

It is also heartening to hear of the progress made by the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority. Over 700 building permits have been issued, over 90 per cent of fences have been repaired and direct financial assistance has been provided to nearly 60,000 families and individuals. And it is heartening to hear of the new initiatives announced by the Baillieu government, including the new Fire Recovery Unit located within Regional Development Victoria and the new Bushfire Communities Support Program with a personal support helpline and other services for those in need. With over 300 families continuing to access counselling and other related assistance, the importance of these services cannot be overstated.

We must pay tribute to the strength of those who survived the fires of Black Saturday and continue to provide support to the very people and communities who lost so much, as they, now more than two years on, rebuild their lives and their homes and heal their souls. Their courage, the courage of all the communities affected by Black Saturday, continues to be a great inspiration to me and to all Australians. We have done and will continue to do all we can to assist them in their recovery. It is our duty.

Robert McClelland (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I commend all speakers on their contributions to this debate. The Australian government has joined with Victoria and the rest of Australia in marking the second anniversary of the devastating Black Saturday bushfires. Those bushfires were Australia’s worst fire disaster since Federation, claiming 173 lives, devastating entire towns and communities, destroying more than 2,000 homes and leaving thousands of residents homeless. Black Saturday, 7 February 2009, will be forever etched in the nation’s memory as a day of mourning but also one of tremendous spirit and inspiration. This has been commented on by former speakers. The tragedy brought out the best of the Australian character and inspired countless acts of bravery, heroism and generosity. It also brought to the forefront the courage of the Australian people, the local leadership and the spirit and resilience of local communities. Our thoughts are with the survivors of the bushfires as they remember the people they lost and they work to rebuild their lives and their towns. This anniversary reminds us all of how hard it is and how long it takes for individuals and communities to recover from devastating events such as Black Saturday.

Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the tireless and selfless efforts of volunteers supporting affected communities. The strong local trait of independence, commitment and self-determination has ensured the recovery of the communities of Victoria. I would also like to formally recognise volunteer employers and self-employed volunteers. Many employers of volunteers have contributed and continue to contribute direct and indirect time and also resources to emergency management and recovery organisations. As I mentioned during the motion of condolence in respect of the Queensland flood victims, no other country in the world has so much of its emergency management capability based on volunteerism. That is something that we should be proud of and that would not be possible without supportive employers. The Australian government has stood side by side with local communities, the Victorian and local governments, businesses and non-government organisations in the effort to rebuild bushfire affected communities. More than $468 million has been provided by the Commonwealth government to assist and support the reconstruction.

On 31 July 2010 the Australian government welcomed the final report of the Victorian bushfire royal commission. The report contained 67 recommendations, of which five were primarily directed at the Commonwealth. These relate to bushfire awareness and research, Commonwealth firefighting resources, bushfire arson and environment protection legislation. The Commonwealth strongly supports each of these recommendations. The government has already implemented a number of recommendations from both the interim and final reports and is committed to continuing its cooperation with the Victorian government and the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority to ensure the needs of local communities are met.

More than $1 billion has been invested across bushfire affected areas under the Nation Building Economic Stimulus Plan, generating significant economic activity and employment opportunities for the community. The government remains dedicated to supporting those affected by this terrible disaster and working with the Victorian government to assist in the implementation of recommendations made by the commission. In cooperation with states and territories, the Australian government has supported a range of measures to ensure that Australians are better prepared for bushfires. This has included, for example, the provision of $26 million for the development of a national telephone based emergency warning system, Emergency Alert, and convening the inaugural bushfire preseason briefing for emergency management officials. I am informed that in excess of six million SMS messages have gone out on Emergency Alert to date.

Today, in a country where extreme weather conditions and the continuing risk of bushfires are a reality, the tasks faced by our firefighters, volunteers, communities, government and industry are more challenging than ever. In the midst of the worst flooding and cyclone season that Australia has faced, the communities in Perth also faced extreme fire conditions, resulting in the destruction of a significant number of properties. In 2009, Victorian bushfires reinforced this message all too clearly. The devastation of this event was a reminder of the impact that fire can have on all of us regardless of where we live.

As the Council of Australian Governments has recognised, climate change will increase the intensity and extent of many extreme weather events. Events such as the recent Queensland and Victorian floods and Tropical Cyclone Yasi are unavoidable and will be an inevitable part of our future. We also acknowledge that, in the face of a likely increase in the frequency and impact of natural hazards, protecting communities from the impacts of these threats is a shared responsibility. It cannot be borne by a single agency, organisation or sector in isolation. Rather, an integrated approach to managing emergencies and disasters across all levels of government, the private sector and the community has been adopted. This ensures Australia is better able to withstand a crisis and have enhanced ability to recover from impacts—that is, to make a resilient community.

The Council of Australian Governments has now adopted a National Disaster Resilience Strategy involving all arms of government and the private sector. The government is both strengthening national partnerships for emergency management and encouraging communities to take a more hands-on approach to developing self-reliance. The reality is that governments have finite resources to protect our country and its diverse and greatly dispersed population, so it is imperative that we work together in partnership to ensure everyone can be better prepared in times of these inevitable crises. Above all, the government remains firmly committed to assisting the states and territories to improve emergency management arrangements by enhancing Australia’s resilience to disasters. We aim to do that community to community.

The recent natural disaster events in the states of Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia and New South Wales demonstrate that we have learned from Black Saturday and that the Australian spirit continues to shine. The anniversary of the Black Saturday bushfires represents an important opportunity to reflect on the terrible tragedy but also, as former speakers have acknowledged, to admire the courage and spirit of Australians and to acknowledge the critically important work of our emergency services and volunteers and the generous support of the Australian community in helping those in need.

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No-one can deny that the events of Black Saturday and the bushfires of this period will go down in Australian history as a most tragic and heartbreaking experience. Sadly, the death and injury toll will always remain as stark reminders of this. The fires were the worst that Victoria, and Australia, have ever seen. It is in recognition of this great tragedy and its immeasurable losses, as well as with a sense of pride in the community response, that I stand with the parliament today in support of this motion. My electorate of Wannon was touched by this tragedy. The people of Coleraine had reason to fear that lives may be lost when a fire ignited on a day when temperatures in excess of 40 degrees were recorded. Fortunately, this did not occur. It did, however, burn 800 hectares on the outskirts of Coleraine and 1,300 hectares in Camperdown. While arising out of the most dire circumstances, the example of resilience and the sense of camaraderie which Australians showed in response should not go unnoticed, nor should the severe injuries that were suffered by one Coleraine resident in defending against the fires.

My predecessor, the Hon. David Hawker, spoke of the contribution of a family from the town of Heywood, in my electorate, not long after the fires took place. The family selflessly contributed $950, from the then recent economic stimulus package, to support the Red Cross bushfire appeal. Such generosity is a symbolic reminder of the goodwill which exists in the Australian nation. In addition to acts like these, we cannot forget the volunteer firefighters, the SES, the police and the Red Cross, who braved extremes of temperature for what they saw as being the right thing to do on that tragic day.

This community spirit is still reinforced after two years by the actions of those in my electorate and others. It must have been difficult for Coleraine’s residents to handle the burning down of its avenue of honour, erected in 1919 in commemoration of those who fought in the First World War. It is with great pride, though, that I can report on an event which took place in the town to commemorate what has happened. Two weeks ago the people of Coleraine unveiled a plaque and sign, as well as the replanted avenue, to commemorate not only those who suffered in the bushfires but also those lost in World War I and all wars which have since taken place.

I am told that this has been a whole-of-community effort—and I have witnessed that—led by the local RSL club and with input from the Coleraine community as a whole. It has involved schoolchildren in the planting—and I was fortunate enough to attend on the day when the plantings took place nearly a year ago today—as well as donations and support from the townspeople. Their effort and resilience is to be applauded. This is the stuff that makes you proud of the spirit of generosity that we have in this country. These examples make me, as a member of this place, profoundly humble.

While this may show a most decent side to the responses of our community, it does not diminish the immense tragedy of Black Saturday, nor does it console those whose losses will be felt forever. It cannot. Electorates other than Wannon, most regrettably, were not so fortunate in the toll of people’s lives. Although I cannot speak of the immense grief with which many have been so affected, I, like other members of this place, have met with family members of those lost. I sincerely feel for them and for others in those electorates who have been affected by this tragedy. It is with great sadness that I remember the funeral I attended of a Liberal Party member who lost his life in the Black Saturday tragedy. A mother, father and brother were lost, leaving surviving twins. As the three coffins were taken into the church that day, the grief knew no bounds. For me, this will always be a very, very sad and stark reminder of the toll that the fires took on Black Saturday.

In remembering this, I particularly note the members of the electorates of Bendigo, Gippsland, Indi, Mallee, McEwen and McMillan. I would like to take this opportunity to remember the previous member for McEwen, Fran Bailey. I had the distinction and honour of being Fran’s chief of staff and I cannot speak highly enough of the way that she comforted and nurtured people and dealt with the tragedies that took place on that day and helped her community begin the process of recovery. I can say with great confidence that all of those electorates will be doing what they can and will have done what they can to commemorate and honour those who were affected at those times. Listening to the new member for McEwen in this House just before, I can see that that is taking place.

The statistics from Black Saturday are staggering—173 lives lost, over 400 people injured and 450,000 hectares burnt. As I have said, the statistics almost beggar belief. But statistics cannot measure the loss experienced by those affected. One hundred and seventy-three people lost their lives in the fires, many more lost a member of their family and many more again lost a friend. Many lost more than one. These are not numbers but lives, not hectares but properties and livelihoods.

The week before last I spoke in this parliament on the issues of the reconstruction of local roads and infrastructure following the recent floods, which also touched my electorate. As I said, the damage to property resulting from disasters such as these does not disappear overnight. After two years, the sense of deep loss cannot be underestimated. It is at this time that we need to pause to reflect and offer our sympathies to those whose loss cannot be regrown and make it clear to them that they remain in our thoughts. It is for this reason that I stand in support of this motion, offering my condolences to all those affected by the events of Black Saturday. On this occasion I can only reflect on this great tragedy and say that I and the electors of Wannon have not forgotten those who suffered so tragically two years after the time that it passed.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

in reply—On 21 February 2009 I paused to reflect on the devastation wrought by the Black Saturday fires on Victorian towns and on the collective heart of Australia. I promised then that those affected would not be alone, that they would not be forgotten and that we would rebuild. One year on in February 2010 as Prime Minister I reflected on the magnitude of the loss. One hundred and seventy- three Australians lost their lives and more than 800 others were injured, some with a horrific burns. More than 1,800 homes were destroyed and more than 15,000 people registered as affected by the fires at relief centres and other official areas in the days after the firestorm.

Donations of clothes and food flooded in, driven by a truckies who simply got into their rigs and drove for hours and, in some cases, right across the country—I remember meeting one of them at the time who had driven all the way from Perth—with one simple thing in mind: to help their fellow Australians. As a Queenslander I have experienced a lot of that just recently. It is the same Australia, the same spirit of reaching out to one another when the elements turn against us. We did then and we will do so again. Let us not forget that $318 million was donated to the Red Cross Victorian bushfire recovery appeal. That was one year ago.

Two years on, we reflect once again on that tragedy, the effects of which rippled through our nation and across the ocean. Today I would like to reflect on some individuals. Stephen Lackas, self-employed stonemason, was the first fatality, I am advised, of the Black Saturday fires. When fire threatened Upper Plenty, Stephen sent his wife, Sandra, and son, Bailey, to safety while he remained to stand and fight. Like many, Stephen was not able to adequately assess the danger because of the thick smoke that shielded the flames. By the time he was ready to concede, the flames had surrounded him. Two years on, Sandra and Bailey are symbols of hope. They have rebuilt on their land a home that Stephen envisioned for the family. Their horses survived—they have even thrived—and Bailey takes great delight in caring for the new foals. He is a little boy but a very big hero in my books. Not content to rebuild their own lives, Bailey and his mum will travel to Queensland, my home state, to help in the wake of the devastating floods. Sandra was adamant that, to repay the goodwill that had supported them in their bleakest hours, it was right to pass it on to others.

In the weeks immediately after the fires, I met Ziad Ghobril, a local sparky and a member of the recovery effort. Ziad and his team of 30 worked with the Army and other authorities to restore power, provide emergency generators and reconnect power lines to communities decimated by fire. Ziad exemplifies the Australian spirit. When the blaze was at its peak, Ziad rang his employee, Jason Lynn, and urged him to flee to safety. But Jason was not ready to abandon hope. Jason battled resolutely to save the handcrafted furniture and tools his late father had bequeathed him. Jason was also among the many who underestimated the ferocity of the fires that Black Saturday. After the flames consumed his home and his shed, Jason fled with his life, only to collapse on the outskirts of the property. Startled awake by the mobile phone, Jason took heed of Ziad’s advice to him to get to the dam. With Ziad’s voice to keep him company, Jason lay semiconscious in the shallows of the dam, the screaming of animals in nearby paddocks ringing in his ears. Ziad raised the alarm with Whittlesea fire station and a CFA team was dispatched. Jason was ferried to safety.

In nearby Kinglake, as the flames licked the fringes of their property, a young couple bundled their two children into the car and attempted to negotiate a road blanketed by thick smoke. As the husband and father concentrated furiously on the white line dividing the road, cars on either side exploded in flames or careened into trees. The wing mirror liquefied in the heat of the encroaching flames and a burning man thumped wildly on the car window, begging for salvation.

These are truly horrible scenes, not from an apocalyptic film but, rather, from what we saw on Black Saturday. This is the horrifying recollection of Darren Wakelin from the day the Black Saturday fires engulfed his property. Darren, his wife, Bronwyn, and their two children were lucky to survive. After a period of solemn reflection, they determined to rebuild in Kinglake. Their return was marked by a chorus of car horns from the close-knit community. Like many others, the support shown by local, national and international communities has given the Wakelin family the strength to rebuild.

The Davey family were not so lucky. Rob and Natasha Davey were soul mates, with a relationship spanning almost 20 years. Rob was confident that the fire pumps, poses, mops and buckets on hand would be ample to save the family home on Bald Spur Road. But nothing could have prepared the young family for the onslaught on Black Saturday. Rob, Natasha and their infant daughters, Alexis and Jorja, perished in the ferocious fires that tore through Kinglake. Further up the hill on Bald Spur Road—renamed ‘Bald Spur cemetery’ by locals—Graham McKee looks down on the ruination. The Davey home is marked by two dead flowers fastened to a post. Sixteen of Graham’s neighbours perished on a stretch of road he still cannot bring himself to traverse.

A year after the fires, small shrines were erected outside flattened family homes, relatives unable to move forward. In other parts of the town, hammers and saws rent the air, signs that some folk were ready to move forward. Kinglake pumpman Ross Buchanan was ready to defend his home from the fires that threatened his town. He dropped his two kids Neeve and Mackenzie at the home of his in-laws for safety. With the support of his neighbours, both equipped with fire hose reels, Ross triumphed and his home was saved. He returned to find his mother-in-law in intensive care with severe burns and news that his children had perished. As a father I really cannot begin to fathom this pain; I do not dare to.

One year on, with remarkable spirit and humanity, Ross orchestrated a thankyou concert to acknowledge the efforts of the millions who had helped devastated communities recover. That is very much the Australian way. It is good to see it at work today. Where ash covered the land, bright green shoots have pushed through the surface. Bright green moss has emerged and ferns have sprung to life. Eucalypts sport new growth to nourish their stricken communities. Folks have returned, businesses have reopened and families have rebuilt. Schools have reopened and the community has regained a routine and a semblance of normality in the wake of this most extraordinary of tragedies. With a long way to go, the healing process has begun.

The fire ripped the guts out of these communities. For those of us who saw it at the time and for those who supported local families at the time it leaves an indelible impression on your mind, your heart and your memory. But that is for one who just visited, not for one who was among it. To be among it, I marvel at the courage of those who have come through. To banish those memories from your mind is near impossible and to now fashion new hope and new life, particularly with little kids at stake, takes courage beyond all measure. So for all those good people of all those great towns which make up the fabric of rural Victoria and rural Australia: we remember you on today’s date. We remember you on this commemoration. We remember you because what you went through was just plain unfair and this is a time for remembrance.

Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Roads and Regional Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I join with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the member for Griffith, in his contribution to this debate, particularly in the context of his role at the time as the Prime Minister. The member for Griffith called me on the phone the day after Black Saturday, as I was driving between Rosedale and Sale. He said, ‘It’s Kevin—Kevin Rudd.’ I said, Sure, Kev, how ya going?’ assuming it was one of my mates from the function I had been at the night before. He said, ‘No, Darren, it is Kevin.’ So I pulled over to the side of the road, as I was having a bit of a panic attack, thinking, ‘What does the Prime Minister want with me?’ I thank you, Member for Griffith—when you were Prime Minister at the time—not only for the compassion you showed the people of Gippsland but also for the energy you had for the task in making people feel confident that the nation was behind them. I still remember your comment about rebuilding the community ‘brick by brick’. I think the people in the most adversely affected areas appreciated the support you gave them at that time. I certainly cannot find any fault with the way you conducted yourself as our national leader at that time. The parliament itself performed at its best in the aftermath of the bushfires. I had enormous support from not only my colleagues on this side of the House but also those on the other side. I greatly appreciated that at what was a very emotional time for many people.

In joining the debate I want to commend all other members who have already spoken on their contributions. I thank them for making sure that the victims of the 2009 bushfires are not forgotten in this place. As the years pass and the memories for those of us who were not directly in the firestorm may fade, the recollections for many people in the community are as vivid as though it happened only yesterday. In my community it only takes a forecast of a hot northerly wind or a forecast of a summer day of 42 degrees to remind people of the pain and suffering that our community felt and then endured on Black Saturday. Many of the survivors I have spoken to over the past two years have told me that they just have to smell wood smoke and it is enough to spark some unwelcome memories for them and trigger a nervous reaction. But as the bushland is regenerating in Gippsland and as homes and public buildings have been constructed we need to remember that many people still face enormous personal battles as they rebuild their lives. As I said at the outset, we must never forget them and we must support them as they recover at their own pace from this disaster. As the member for Griffith indicated, this will be very much a defining moment in people’s lives. They will define their lives from what they did before the bushfires to what they have done after the bushfires. I think some people will not completely recover; others will recover at a different pace. But we need to be with them and support them in that process.

The bushfires of 2009 claimed 173 lives across Victoria, including 11 Gippslanders in very small communities like Callignee, Koornalla, Traralgon South, Hazelwood and Jeeralang. These were small communities where a lot of people knew the victims very well, so it was a blow to their families, to their friends and to a much wider community of people who were directly affected by the personal losses. I do not want to dwell too much on the past today, but it is important to remember the lives that we lost, the enormous destruction of homes and public facilities and just the sheer scope of the disaster as it spread right across Victoria.

In addition to the Black Saturday fires, my community suffered the previous week with 30 homes and 79 sheds destroyed in the Boolarra fire, which is often forgotten about by people outside Gippsland. By any estimation, the Boolarra fire itself was a terrible event which struck right across that district, but the size and scope of the disaster which followed just seven days later dwarfed the tragedy in Boolarra.

On this, the second anniversary of the bushfires, however, I can report plenty of positive news in my community. In Boolarra itself I recently attended the official opening of the new CFA sheds. It was a great tribute to the hard work of the local community and businesses which helped to sponsor the project. I wish we had the people of Boolarra building some of our other public projects throughout Victoria, because they achieved an enormous amount of value for money for their work. The way they pulled together and were able to build that facility is a real credit to the whole community. The official opening was a huge community occasion and a real celebration for the Boolarra district.

That has probably been the biggest positive to arise from the ashes of Black Saturday in Gippsland. Our communities really have pulled together. We have seen an enormous unity of purpose and community spirit on display across our region. We have certainly been challenged by the fires, but by no means have we been beaten. I would like to reflect on the words of some of the local people who have been directly involved in the recovery from the disaster, in some quotes from them on the second anniversary of Black Saturday. Ange Gordon, who is the former Traralgon South and District Community Recovery Committee chair, told the local media:

At the end of the day, you can reflect back (on the past two years) and say it has been long and hard but here we are and you can get bigger and stronger communities out of going through these adversities …

In a similar theme, Tineke Westwood, from the Traralgon South area, whose home was actually destroyed by the fires, said:

It’s not a fake positivity, I could be upset and cry and sulk, but what’s the point?

She said:

We’re a very lucky family because we’re alive, we got out on time.

Finally, the eastern region task force leader, Anthony Matters, who is assisting with the flood recovery efforts in Queensland, said:

It feels like we are part of a bigger community to lend a hand to those across the other side of the state …

He said:

Members came to our aid during the fires … it is fulfilling to be able to lend a hand.

In the time I have available I would also like to note the contribution by my state colleague the member for Morwell, Russell Northe. Russell’s efforts during the Black Saturday bushfires, the response phase and the long months of recovery have been quite extraordinary—an outstanding service to his electorate. I think that was reflected in the support he received at the recent state election. Often you do not know what to do as a local member in these situations. My heart goes out to the members from Queensland who experienced Cyclone Yasi and the flooding, along with the member for Mallee, in northern Victoria, and other members. When you have these natural disasters you really do not know what to do as a local member. Russell Northe was able to just be there for his people. Morwell is quite a small electorate, but he was able to be there for the people and offer them support, follow up on their concerns and chase down any assistance that was required, perhaps when it was not provided quickly enough. He did a power of work for his community, and I commend him for that. Russell recently spoke also in state parliament on the anniversary of the bushfires, and I will just reflect for a moment on a couple of comments he made. He said:

… I am absolutely filled with pride at the generosity and goodwill that has been displayed 1000 times over by so many wonderful people in the Gippsland community, to the extent that now many of those people are also extending their offer of support to those impacted by the floods in Queensland and Victoria.

That is something that we are very proud of. The people of Gippsland, despite the adversity they have been through, are now actively participating in the disaster recovery efforts around the state.

I would also like to commend the other members—the member for McEwen, who is in the chamber, and his predecessor, Fran Bailey, as well. I congratulate him, naturally, on winning the seat but I would also like to recognise the work that Fran did in probably one of the worst affected parts, if not the worst affected part, of the state. I know that a couple of times I had the opportunity to meet with Fran and other affected members, with the Prime Minister, and I can reassure the people of McEwen that they had a real champion in the room. She was very dogged in her pursuit of making sure that her community’s concerns were heard.

I would also like to commend my neighbour in Gippsland, the member for McMillan. He is another man who was very dogged in his determination to make sure that the people of McMillan were never going to be forgotten in the aftermath of the bushfires. And in his presence, I note the member for Maribyrnong who had charge of the bushfire reconstruction in a ministerial capacity. He also did a very good job in presenting the views of the Victorian community to the federal parliament. In many ways the recovery effort has become a guidebook on how to go about some of these things. I think we learned a lot as a nation on how to go about a disaster of this scale. I know the member for Maribyrnong believes that it has probably assisted him in his current role of dealing with flood disasters. We have learnt a lot from that experience and I will talk little bit about that in a few moments time.

I would also like to recognise the member for Indi and the member for Bendigo, whose electorates were also directly affected. I would also acknowledge the member for Wentworth, who at the time was the opposition leader, who came to Gippsland and spent several hours with me going around talking to people who were directly affected. There were no TV cameras or newspaper photographers there. It was just a matter of going out to meet with the affected communities and helping them gain some understanding. I know that he was struck by the ferocity of the fire. At one place, in Callignee, we came across a four-wheel drive where, on one side of the vehicle facing the fire front, the alloy wheels had melted and were lying on the ground in a pool of silver. On the other side of the car, not in the direct line of the fire front, there was still rubber on the tyres. It just goes to demonstrate that the radiant heat must have been extraordinary. Seeking any form of shelter for people caught in those fires would have been extremely difficult. I know the member for Wentworth was certainly struck by the extent of the damage and the ferocity of the blaze that had gone through the Callignee area.

I believe that the members of both sides of parliament were very strong in adversity but they only had to look at the communities across Victoria to draw inspiration. We had people who were doing such extraordinary things. The Minister for Foreign Affairs talked a moment ago about the number of people prepared to drive long distances just to be a part of it, just to provide some support to their fellow Australians in need. Everyone simply wanted to do their bit. This summer, we are again seeing people who are determined to assist the people across Queensland and northern Victoria who have been affected by flooding.

I still believe we have a long way to go though. On the second anniversary the rebuilding of private homes is continuing, but many families have suffered relationship breakdowns in the aftermath of the tragedy. The social costs that we are starting to see in our communities is something that perhaps goes unnoticed in this place. You can see a house rebuilt, you can see a community hall rebuilt, but the lives of families that have been directly affected are very difficult to repair. Some families have been torn apart in the aftermath of the tragedy.

We do live in a very fire prone environment in Victoria and there will always be days of high fire risk and summers which are hotter and drier than the one we are currently experiencing. But even during this comparatively mild summer there is a fire risk. Gippsland this year has experienced one major outbreak on 11,000 hectares, which burnt two houses and some sheds in the Tostaree region of East Gippsland. Thankfully though, there was no loss of life. I thank the firefighting personnel for their efforts in extremely difficult conditions on that day.

We will continue to experience bushfires in the future and it is up to governments, I believe, to do everything in their power to help prevent outbreaks wherever possible, to minimise the impacts of fires when they occur and to assist the communities as they recover—as we have done over the past two years. We simply must learn the lessons of 2009. One lesson which is patently obvious to me is that there needs to be an increased focus on fuel reduction burning. I note the commitment of the new Victorian government to treble the amount of burning it undertakes across Victoria. Fuel reduction burning will not prevent fires but it will reduce their intensity. Some extreme elements of the Greens have in the past opposed fuel reduction burning and the tragedy of Black Saturday seems to have silenced a lot of them. We need to undertake an extensive program of burning right across regional Victoria and on the suburban interfaces to protect life and property and to sustain the environment—and that is a point that is well worth making. The bushfires which raged across Victoria in 2009 were extraordinarily hot. They scorched the earth and devastated the natural environment as well as man-made structures in their path. The impact on wildlife will be impossible to calculate. As an environmental measure and for the protection of life and property we must commit ourselves to delivering an extensive fuel reduction program across Victoria and across our nation.

I am also concerned about the development of early warning systems. I believe we have to be very careful in the way that we portray these early warning systems to the broader public. We need to make sure that these systems, which have great merit, are not something that the public become dependent upon. They cannot be allowed to get to the situation where they believe they are going to get a warning of when to evacuate, that they are going to get some sort of message on their mobile phone telling them where the danger is and when they have to get out. It is simply not going to be achievable in much of the environment across Victoria. In many parts of Victoria we have mobile phone black spots where text messages, particularly in the most fire prone areas, simply will not get through. So we need to be very careful in the expectation we raise in the community about early warning systems.

I also think we need to make sure we do not scare people away from regional areas. Much of the commentary in the media in the aftermath of the bushfires was so extreme, warning of catastrophic days and extreme weather events as if you simply cannot visit parts of regional Victoria. I think that is a message that we need to be very careful about. We run the risk of destroying small business, destroying our tourism industry and scaring the tree changers—the people interested in moving to regional communities. We run the risk of scaring them away with some of these messages. You can live in regional Victoria. You can have a great life in regional Victoria. We need to make sure that people are well prepared for bushfire events, that they understand the risk but that we do not scare them away.

I also think that we need to remain vigilant and impose some very severe penalties upon those who deliberately light fires on days of extreme danger. I do not believe we have gone far enough with our efforts to protect the community from arsonists. I have sought a national database of arsonists to ensure that people who have committed such crimes in the past are subjected to increased monitoring in the future. These particular individuals are known to wait for the right conditions to light fires. If they are caught, part of their punishment needs to be ongoing scrutiny. It may sound draconian to some, but I would have no hesitation in supporting the development of a national database of high-risk offenders, including monitoring and surveillance measures and the use of electronic devices to track their movements for the rest of their miserable lives. The pain and suffering caused by deliberately lit fires demands extreme action to help protect our community from such criminal acts in the future. I urge both state and federal governments to think very seriously about how we are going to make sure that people who have committed such crimes in the past are constantly monitored, particularly on days when extreme fire events are possible. As we reflect on the 2009 bushfires, we must commit ourselves in this place to learning from the experience and doing everything in our power to prevent such a tragic loss of life in the future. I believe we owe that much to 173 victims and their families.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to acknowledge the words of the member for Gippsland, who just spoke then, and put on record that he, along with other members of parliament, has worked continuously since the Black Saturday fires to help these communities reconstruct and recover.

On 30 July 2009 I described Black Saturday in this place as without a doubt the greatest peacetime disaster in Australian history. So it remains. Today, with this muddy wretched summer of 2010-11 still fresh in so many of our minds, it would be more than understandable for many Australians to be focused almost entirely on the natural disasters which we are still only cleaning up from and rebuilding. While all of us in this place have spoken formally to the condolence motion and what we have seen in recent times across much of Australia, the profound and enduring view remains in our society that the Victorian bushfires and the destruction of two years ago still remain the greatest peacetime disaster in Australian history.

It is fitting that parliament is formally remembering those whom we lost in the Victorian bushfires. I had the privilege to attend the second anniversary ceremony in Federation Square, and it was very well done. I believe that for many of the people who attended it was an opportunity to take another step on their personal paths to recovery. But in speaking here, and speaking softly, I am in firm admiration of the courage of the 33 distinct and very different Victorian communities representing 78 towns across Victoria who faced the wrath of Mother Nature as she tore through our beloved bushlands, towns and neighbourhoods.

A melancholy lesson for me in all this black horror of the bushfire tragedy was that the concept of a community itself perhaps has never been stronger, more evident or more inspiring than when a group of good people face great trauma, emotional and physical loss and acute economic stress. I speak here of many communities, each of whom experienced this disaster in its own different way. In doing so, I think at this point I would also like to acknowledge other members of parliament I worked with directly: the member for Ballarat, the member for McMillan, the member for Mallee, the former member for La Trobe and the current member for La Trobe, the former member for McEwen and the current member for McEwen. There was also, of course, the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; the former Prime Minister; and many at the state and local level who I will refer to later in my presentation.

But the community I most recall in all of this is of course the community of the bereaved. No fewer than 173 of our fellow citizens died in these fires; 40 were very injured. But each of the 173 whose lives were lost left behind them families and friends, workplaces, sporting clubs, classrooms and community groups that they had belonged to. These loved ones and local brethren who were so abruptly left behind still mourn and ponder and recover as individuals. But they also do this today as a very special community in and of themselves, and I do respect and revere each of them for their enduring resilience.

I said that there were 33 separate geographic communities. In their own distinguishing ways they comprise 78 towns that have had so many months and years of sifting through memories from ashes and recalling faces that are now gone. The towns and villages and many of the farms are still there, as are the roads and the yards and the hills and the creeks where people played and grew up, but there are things that are no longer there that are important too. It is not just the houses, but homes, and not just buildings, but livelihoods. These are now gone and these communities and their citizens are still finding their proper feet in so many different ways.

The rebuilding and the getting on with it in so many of these places have been a great credit to these districts and I think it honours the pioneering history of so many of the region’s ancestors. Again, I want to record my respect for each of these communities for their strength in adversity in testing times. With all this, these towns have re-affirmed the meaning of community and what it is to be good neighbours and each of them has helped their friends get on and travel through the darkness of the last two years.

There is another community which is central to this motion of condolence, and that is the volunteer community. It does not matter whether it was the SES or the CFA, the Lions and Rotary clubs or the other service groups, the Scouts, the Guides, the football and netball clubs, the various and vibrant people power of these Victorian communities has helped wage the battle and they helped pick up the pieces once the inferno passed. These volunteers have been great ambassadors for their communities and all together form a community of their own for which I have enormous admiration and gratitude.

While hearts and heroes of Black Saturday are the typical modest Australians too many to name, please let me also say that I believe that the leadership of Premier John Brumby in the aftermath of the event remains an example to all of us. I am pleased to have had the opportunity and the privilege in my former role as Parliamentary Secretary for Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction to help make a contribution in the communities to which I have spoken. Many have made this contribution and it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge Christine Nixon, who was the Chair of the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority, and her husband, John, who was beside her throughout all the long kilometres travelled and the meetings held.

I have referred to the bereaved community, but I should also acknowledge Carol Matthews’s leadership, and that along with her committee. There were over 30 community recovery committees established and all of them deserve recognition. I particularly recall some of the creative exchanges with people from Flowerdale and the people from Kinglake. I recall the hard work done at Callignee and at Traralgon South by those committees. I look at the work done at Marysville by Tony Thompson. I look at the work of David McGahy, the captain of the CFA brigade at St Andrews. I look at the work of Jenny Beale, who worked hard in the Kinglake community, and the work done by the community radio people and the Mountain Monthly.

I would also like to acknowledge some individuals whom I had the chance to work with. Ian Archibald from Labertouche worked very hard, and he is still doing it hard, I might add. I look at the remarkable Val and Vern Brown. Val has passed away since the fires, but Val and Vern worked and organised, and the work continues, with their beautiful granddaughter Madison, who lost her parents and sister in these terrible fires. Madison is recovering well but she has a tremendous battle. I would also like to acknowledge Koula Alexiades and the team at the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction Agency, who work so hard, and there were so many people there.

So many of these people I have mentioned—and there are so many more I should have mentioned but have not yet mentioned because time does not permit—on this journey of reconstruction, I believe, help underline what it means to be Australian. Coincidentally, a person who shares the surname with what was left behind so universally after the firestorm, the late Arthur Ashe, the former tennis great and social advocate, once said:

True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.

I think many of us would agree that two years on from that terrible and terrifying day the many communities of the 2009 Victorian bushfires have served each other remarkably well with significant courage and now have found hope in the future, from the work of the Red Cross and the appeal fund now chaired by Pat McNamara through to every individual who has tried to make recovery. As the phoenix continues to rise over the Yarra Valley, the Dandenongs, Gippsland, the Victorian Alps and so many of our plains and forests, let us never forget what happened. Let us learn from the experience to protect ourselves from the inevitable recurrence of bushfire. Let us honour the fallen as we embrace those who are still with us.

Debate (on motion by Mr Craig Thomson) adjourned.