Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Communications and Broadband) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australians watched in awe and with horror as we saw the impact of the earthquake and the tsunami in Japan.

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

I was saying before the suspension that we watched with awe and horror the earthquake and the tsunami in Japan, recognising the immense power of nature, its unpredictability and its ability to vanquish all before it. But we also, as the drama unfolded, watched with awe and admiration the stoicism, the courage, the commitment, the professionalism of the Japanese people. It is a remarkable thing that while the death toll in this earthquake is currently estimated to be in the order of 18,000 people—a shockingly large number—it would have been much, much greater had it not been for the superb engineering of the Japanese nation and Japanese professionals which made so many of their buildings effectively earthquake-proof. Of course, no building can withstand a 10-metre wall of water and, as we know, it was the tsunami that has caused the greatest casualties in Japan.

So we were horrified by the power of nature; reminded again of its unpredictability, its caprice, if you like, its ability to set at naught all of the technological achievements of men and women; but then also recognised the indomitability of the human spirit and the fact that, even confronted with the sort of natural disaster that would stretch the imagination of a Hollywood director in a nightmare movie, the people of Japan were able to stand up to that and go about their business of rescuing the dead and injured with a stoicism, an equanimity, that I think few others, frankly, would be able to equal. The conduct of the Japanese people is as awe inspiring as the destructiveness of nature.

But, then, added to this natural disaster have been the problems, the accidents and the malfunctions at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. That is a very old nuclear plant—40 years old. Its design has been criticised in years past, so we read. Nonetheless, so far it appears that the damage has been contained. There is no nation in the world and few people in the world that would have more reason to be horrified and frightened by the consequence of nuclear radiation. After all, Japan, at the close of that brutal, existential struggle in the Second World War, suffered two nuclear bombs, on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. So the Japanese people understand very well the dangers and the consequences of nuclear radiation. Notwithstanding that, they have been able to go about the business of dealing with the radiation from this damaged plant professionally and effectively. There has been a team of Japanese engineers working in and around that plant, from the outset of the disaster, in circumstances which one can only imagine would be at very grave risk to their lives. So these are truly heroic individuals. Potentially—one hopes not; one hopes that they have been well protected, but one fears—they have been sacrificing themselves in the service of their nation.

Japan is a very dear and close friend of Australia. We were of course opposed in the Second World War—a very brutal war—and the enmities and resentments of that war took a long time to heal. But I think it is fair to say that we have strong economic links with Japan. It is our second largest trading partner, it is our second largest export partner after China and it is one of the largest foreign investors in Australia—in fact, the third largest. The economic ties between Australia and Japan are extremely strong; there are few stronger. But the ties of friendship between the Australian and Japanese people are equally strong and becoming stronger all the time. Many young Australians learn Japanese; many young Japanese come to Australia. Modern telecommunications and the internet have made the culture of Japan more accessible to people in the rest of the world, something which really was not the case until fairly recently, and, of course, Western culture is very accessible and well understood by the people of Japan.

It was appropriate that the Australian parliament stood in sorrow with bowed heads expressing our condolences to the people of Japan after this terrible accident. We, as the representatives of the Australian people, shared our nation’s deep sorrow for the tragedy that was inflicted upon Japan. We recognise that when we have been beset with natural disasters Japan has always been ready to help us. Indeed, one of the cruel ironies of the circumstances of the Japanese earthquake was that a team of Japanese search-and-rescue professionals, who had gone to Christchurch to help with the rescue there, and in particular to help with the rescue of a language school where a number of young Japanese students had been killed, as they were concluding their work in Christchurch had to turn around, go back to their own country and confront an even larger and more devastating earthquake and a tsunami.

We stood with bowed heads and expressed our condolences to the Japanese people. Both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition spoke, as they always do, very eloquently and I think fairly represented the feelings of the entire House. The Prime Minister quoted a Japanese proverb which I had not heard before but it was very appropriate. It was: fall seven times, rise up eight times. It is a traditional Japanese proverb that really expresses the resilience of the Japanese people, who face so many challenges, so many disasters, but have been able to climb out of the rubble literally and to metaphorically renew themselves and go on to greater achievements. As the Prime Minister was relating this Japanese proverb I thought that I had heard it before in another context. Then later I realised that in fact it is very similar to a proverb in our own tradition in the Bible in Proverbs 24:16 which says, ‘A just man falls seven times and rises again.’

It is rather touching, and perhaps rather insightful, that two cultures so different—the Judaeo-Christian culture, which is at the foundation of our society here in Australia; and Japan’s own culture, a very exceptional, individual culture for that nation—have, in their own traditions, proverbs that are not identical but almost identical, expressing the same thought and the same hope and confidence that the strong, the just, the true, no matter how often they are knocked down, will rise again.

I stand here today, as I know all my colleagues do, to express my very sincere condolences to the people of Japan and, indeed, the condolences I express are on behalf also of the people of my electorate.

Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to support the motion outlined by the Prime Minister and to extend my sincere condolences to the Japanese people following the devastating impact of the earthquake and tsunami on their country. I would like to offer my deepest sympathies to the many families who have lost loved ones in this tragedy. The human toll of these disasters has shocked us all, with the Japanese police reporting the death toll at 8,805, with some 12,664 people still missing.

On 11 March, the largest ever earthquake was experienced in the north-east of Japan, triggering a huge tsunami that then hit the coast. I was actually in Japan at the time with some parliamentary colleagues and, despite being about 800 kilometres away from the epicentre, we still felt the movement. That is how powerful it was. However, it was not until some time after arriving in Tokyo that evening that I came to understand the sheer extent of the disaster that had occurred and the destruction it had caused. Surreal images of walls of water smashing into coastal towns in north-eastern Japan have filled the news, along with the images of fishing trawlers and vehicles being lifted and tossed around like toys. Entire towns and communities have been left flattened.

While in Japan I came to understand that earthquakes are not a new experience for the Japanese people. Japan is positioned in the most seismically active landmass in the world, and as such it experiences tremors on a regular basis. It struck me while visiting just how prepared the country was, with high-quality building codes to ensure that buildings withstand earthquakes and with locals well drilled in what to do during a quake. However, nothing can prepare a country and nothing can prepare communities for an earthquake of this magnitude or for a wall of water surging inland destroying everything in its path.

Hours after this disaster initially devastated the northern part of the country, our delegation arrived in Tokyo. The city had been shaken and the subway closed but buildings remained intact—a testament to the measures that had already been taken by the Japanese authorities to prepare this city as much as possible for earthquakes. In the face of this widespread disaster and with the threat of aftershocks looming, the Japanese people remained calm and composed. Many Japanese people were helping others in great difficulty in Tokyo. I witnessed shops and hotels offering stranded people the use of washrooms and toilets. In addition to what I witnessed, altruism was reported widely not just in Tokyo but in the hardest hit prefectures.

The Prime Minister remarked that there is a cultural tradition in Japan of courage and honour, and from reports and footage coming out of Japan each day we see that in their time of crisis these qualities have been on display right across the country. We have seen great determination from the workers and volunteers involved in the rescue and recovery effort as they have carried out their work in such dangerous and difficult circumstances. We have seen temperatures plummet to freezing. We have seen the selfless workers who have been volunteering at the troubled Fukushima energy plant and who have risked their lives to protect others.

Japan and Australia have a deep and close friendship. We are more than just trading partners. I know that it has filled all Australians with an enormous sense of grief and disbelief to see the size of the toll. The real tragedy is the human cost, and our hearts go out to the families torn apart by this dramatic disaster. On behalf of my electorate, I would like to offer the Japanese people our deepest sympathies for all those who continue to suffer.

While there has been so much devastation, there has also been the occasional ray of hope. Yesterday we heard about a grandmother and a young man who were found after nine days under the rubble. As the Prime Minister has said, we are ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with Japan to help. We deployed—and they have returned—an urban search-and-rescue team to help the Japanese emergency workers, as well as defence personnel and a C17 heavy lift aircraft to assist in the transport of personnel and equipment in Japan’s disaster region. In addition, the government has announced a $10 million donation to aid Japan in its recovery effort.

I know, after visiting there, that the Japanese people were very generous to Australia during our recent national disasters. In fact, we visited one prefecture that had donated a significant amount, and now it is our turn to repay that friendship. Despite many Australians having given after so many natural disasters that we have seen, I am pleased that many people in my electorate on the weekend donated through me to the Australian Red Cross Japan and Pacific disaster appeal. I thank them. I know that it will be appreciated.

In addition to the many Japanese people who have been caught up in this disaster, there have also been many Australians in Japan who have needed assistance. In addition, there have been many who have lent a helping hand to their Japanese friends. I know that many have relied on help from the Australian embassy, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ambassador McLean and all the Australian embassy staff for their efforts. While I was in Japan, I saw firsthand the dedication these staff had, working 24 hours around the clock to contact and assist Australians in Japan. It is a relief to hear that all Australians have now been accounted for. I would also like to personally extend my thanks to the embassy staff who took the delegation in and allowed us to stay in their homes when we had no accommodation on the night after the earthquake.

While I was in Japan I had the honour of visiting the Kobe earthquake research centre. It is a national centre as well as a local centre. At the centre, we saw images of the absolute devastation, pain and massive loss of life that occurred in the 1995 quake. But we also saw that the city was able to reconstruct. While the human toll will never be forgotten and the psychological scars are still there, we saw that, from this devastation, this city was able to rebuild and ensure that it functioned once again. It is a city that is very proud of all the effort and determination it took to rebuild. But they were able to do it.

Currently, we are seeing devastation in a number of prefectures in the north-east of Japan. The path to recovery is clearly going to be long and very difficult, but I have no doubt that these cities and towns will be able to rebuild. I am certain that the Japanese will face the path with enduring courage. Incredible stories of survival are constantly emerging and filling the Japanese people with hope. Here, on behalf of my electorate, I would like to again offer my sincere condolences to Japan and to all the Japanese people who have been affected by one of the worst natural disasters the country has ever endured. I will do whatever I can to assist them in their recovery.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Japanese people are proud people. They are resilient, dignified and disciplined. Their stoicism will never be more tested than in the days, weeks and months ahead. While essential services will be restored as quickly as possible and buildings, roads and other infrastructure will be reconstructed in good time, it will take many years to recover from the disaster which has unfolded and, for many, with lives lost and entire communities gone, their world will never be the same.

The recent magnitude 9.0 earthquake which struck Japan resulted in much damage. Despite many smaller aftershocks, thinking the worst was over, many people began to clean up once the shaking had stopped. But, 15 minutes after northern Japan was hit by the earthquake, the ocean unleashed a 10-metre tsunami which swept boats, cars, buildings and tonnes of debris up to 10 kilometres inland.

Many almost could not believe what they were seeing via news footage as video showed a muddy torrent of water carrying cars and wrecked homes at high speed across farmland near the coastal city of Sendai. Ships had been flung onto a harbour wharf, where they lay helplessly on their sides; boats, cars and trucks were tossed around as if they were toys in the water; and entire towns were flattened. Thousands are dead. Many more are still missing. This is a tragedy which keeps getting worse. The threat of a disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power station still holds grave concern for people right across the globe. Yet through tragedy come small miracles which restore our belief in human nature, stories of remarkable survival, of rescue, of hope. Our thoughts are for those who have lost their friends and families.

Many Australians who reside in Japan have refused to leave. Many have stated their reason to stay is that they have a home to go to, whereas the people of Japan do not. They want to stay and help the people who have housed them so well and they want to help them get their magnificent country back to liveable conditions. Australia and Japan have a long history. We have fought against each other, yet now we fight side by side against one of the cruellest blows Mother Nature can throw at us. As the death toll will, sadly, increase in the days ahead and the heartache will continue, Australians will stand firm and do what we do best: we will be a support and we will be a great strength.

I extend the most sincere condolences of my Riverina electorate, where Japan has many friends through Charles Sturt University, through our agricultural trade and through many other endeavours and walks of life. I will finish with a Japanese proverb, ‘Kishi kaisei’, which translated literally means, ‘Wake from death and return to life’. The Japanese believe it to mean: to come out of a desperate situation and make a complete return in one sudden burst.

Stephen Jones (Throsby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Friday 11 March at approximately 2.45 pm I was on a train somewhere between Kyoto and Tokyo with five of my parliamentary colleagues. We had been in Tokyo for the best part of a week as a part of the political exchange between our country and Japan. The purpose of the trip was, apart from discussing issues of mutual economic, security and cultural interests, to build political and cultural bonds between future leaders of our respective countries. We had the great benefit of meeting with a number of political, community and business leaders during the five days that we were in Tokyo.

One of the highlights of the trip was when we visited Kobe. We met with the governor of the province, who, quite ironically as it turned out, was incredibly concerned as to the fate of Australians who had suffered as a result of the floods that hit South-East Queensland, northern Victoria and northern New South Wales. So concerned were the people of his prefecture about the fate of the Australians beset by these disasters that they had donated money and assistance to the numerous international relief efforts for these causes. They felt a bond with the people who were going through that plight because when a terrible earthquake hit Kobe in 1996, killing about 6½ thousand people and laying flat most of the city, it was the people around Australia who came to the aid of the Japanese people, assisting them financially and personally with immediate disaster relief and relief towards rebuilding their country. They felt an enormous bond with the people of Australia which went beyond economic and political bonds.

As my colleague has previously said, whilst we were in Kobe we visited the earthquake memorial, where we had the ironic—with hindsight—experience of going through a re-enactment of the 1996 earthquake. We toured the research centre and had the benefit of seeing the work that the people of that town and that country had put in to ensure that their cities were future earthquake proof. Indeed, I have commented since then that, if you had to be in any city in the world when an earthquake of magnitude 9 on the Richter scale struck, you would want to be in Tokyo because that is a city that is designed to withstand an earthquake.

While we were at the Kobe earthquake museum we were taken through a room that had, graphically displayed on the walls, prints of tidal waves, tsunamis, that had hit the island over the last 300 years. A number of our colleagues looked up at a mark on the third floor of the building to see a 10-metre and a 12-metre mark for an earthquake driven tsunami that had hit the island in the 1700s. We found it almost impossible to believe what it would be like to see a wave of water that big bearing down upon us.

That was indeed ironic, because not 24 hours later Japan was hit by the largest earthquake that it has ever suffered, quickly followed by a 10-metre wave that hit the Tohoku region in the northern part of the island of Honshu. It has already been pointed out that that tsunami laid flat most of those coastal villages. The wave was dissipated in some parts of the region some five kilometres inland. Over 9,000 deaths have already been confirmed, but the really chilling part of the human casualty is that there are over 12½ thousand people who are still missing. It really is difficult to believe, when you are faced with that sort of magnitude of tsunami, that the majority of those people will ever be found alive.

The buildings have been damaged and destroyed, and the infrastructure is in a state of utter disrepair. The member for Wentworth has already spoken about the damage to three of the nuclear reactors. This is of critical importance not just because of the environmental impacts of radiation leakage—at this stage it appears very little. It is a concern not only because of that but because Japan relies on nuclear energy for about 30 per cent of its electricity supply, and it is that electricity which powers the manufacturing plants, the infrastructure, the public transport system and much of the industry which has made Japan an economic powerhouse of the last century and the beginning of this century. So the impact that this earthquake and the following tsunami have had on the lives of the people and the struggle that the Japanese people will have to rebuild their economy, their society and those communities cannot be underestimated.

Of course, this disaster has not hit Japan at the best time in its history. It has been struggling under a period of almost a decade of economic stagnation and significant political issues that it needs to work through which will challenge it as it attempts to get itself back on its feet. But the one thing that a number of speakers have commented on and I have directly experienced myself that gives me great hope is the resilience of the Japanese people. The word ‘stoic’ has been used numerous times in this debate by the Prime Minister and others. From day one, it really amazed me as a foreigner in their country to see the people almost immediately snap into what appeared like a well-rehearsed drill. There was horror and fear on their faces, but they were walking in single file—many, many millions of them—through the streets of Tokyo. At any one point in time there are two million people underground in Tokyo on the subway system. Those people were all forced out onto the streets at 12 o’clock and one o’clock in the morning, walking away across town to their homes or looking for a place to sleep, but they were doing it in a very ordered, very Japanese fashion. There was none of the pushing and shoving that would normally accompany even the exit from the Melbourne Cricket Ground or the Sydney Cricket Ground, which I am more familiar with. The absence of looting and the absence of any of the antisocial behaviours that often, tragically, accompany a disaster like this leave me with nothing less than admiration for the Japanese people and absolute confidence in their capacity to pull themselves, their communities, their economy and their polity back together again.

I have already said that, if you wanted to be in any city in the world when an earthquake like this struck, you would probably want to be in Tokyo because of the design of that city. Of course, nothing that is currently known to humankind can design a city to withstand a 10-metre or in some places even a 20-metre tsunami. Japan is a country that, because of its location—it is at the edge of the Pacific plate, which moves around nine centimetres a year; they receive somewhere in the vicinity of 20 reasonable-sized earthquakes every year—knows its fair share of adversity.

There are some lessons. There were some lessons for me in what really matters when you are faced with a natural disaster such as this and you see a community pulling itself back together, dealing with the tragedy and the horror. It really struck home to me when I saw the people picking through the ruins of the towns and villages in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami. It was not their mobile phones or their flatscreen televisions or their PlayStations or their computers that they were looking for; it was their loved ones. That for me is the enduring lesson that I will take away from this. It really does remind you about what matters in life.

We wish the people of Japan the very best in their efforts to pull their country and their community back together again, and I know we will stand shoulder to shoulder with them. If there is any lesson to be learned from such a terrible tragedy it is the very human lesson about what really does matter in life.

Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to offer my condolences to the people of Japan for the death, destruction and suffering that has afflicted their country. I have never been to Japan and I do not think I really know any Japanese people very well, but, when you look at the pictures and the vision that we have seen of the devastation and carnage that resulted from the tsunami that swept in after the earthquake, it is easy to feel empathy, sorrow and sadness for the loss that they have endured. A 9.0 earthquake on the Richter scale, close off the east coast of the country, on 11 March—that is, apparently, within the top five earthquakes that have been registered since seismological records began—was then followed by 10-metre waves. As the previous speaker said, it has been reported that there were 14-metre waves.

The frailty and vulnerability of human life is very clear in those circumstances. You can be as strong a swimmer as you like but, when something that big and powerful comes in, no-one is strong enough to resist that. You have to be in the right place at the right time to survive something like that. It is certainly the case that with that epicentre off the Oshika Peninsula, just 24.4 kilometres off the east coast, there was always going to be a lot of destruction.

Most of the damage was in Miyagi prefecture and Sendai, a city of one million-plus and the capital of the prefecture. Sendai is known as the ‘City of Trees’. It is a pretty place and a well-regarded place compared to a lot of other cities. While I understand that the centre of the city itself did not do too badly—again, because Japanese building codes are quite decent in the centre of cities—the outlying areas have certainly endured massive devastation. It was reported that the tsunami rolled as far inland as eight kilometres. It is not like at the beach—it is not blue waves and crystal clear water. When these waves hit, as the Indian Ocean tsunami proved, they take everything with them. Houses were turned into matchsticks; the cars and even the ships were pushed inland. It is impossible for an individual to endure unless they were just not in its path.

When people are talking about figures of 8,000 confirmed deaths and maybe as many as 20,000 deaths, it is very easy to see how you could get those sorts of numbers. In Miyagi prefecture, villages—whether it was those fishing villages or villages where the farming fields were just around them or even vegetable gardens around the houses themselves—were completely washed away. There is really nothing left in a lot of these places other than the foundations of the more sturdy houses that had been built in the area.

Looking at the photos of Sendai airport the ABC has provided—on the ABC website you can see the before and after shots of these places and how they have been devastated—next to the airport there is a small canal and you can see that on the east side of the canal there were a lot of houses. Across the bridge towards the airport you can see the refuse and the rubble of all those houses that have been pushed towards and left on the bridge while the rest of it has been washed away through the canal. The car park of the airport—a major airport—is completely covered in refuse and silt. The tarmac and the apron are covered in sand and silt. At the same time, as has been said, the power has been out.

In Arahama in Sendai, where the houses were, nothing remains but matchsticks. Farms have been reduced to soggy saltwater logged morasses. The village of Fujitsuka in Sendai, where there were houses with neat vegetable crops in the yards, was literally steamrolled by the tsunami wave. When you look at these you can see there is always going to be that vulnerability of these small villages and small farming communities. Those houses have been there for a long time. It is the way of these rural areas that they are not as well developed and not as strongly built as in the cities. A normal earthquake would shake these houses and a few things would fall and that would really be about it. But when, as we have seen, there was a magnitude 9.0 Richter scale earthquake followed by a tsunami across the low flats along the coast, it is no wonder there was great and terrible destruction. Those who were in its path had no chance whatsoever. There has been a tragic loss of life and a terrible destruction of houses.

Loss of electricity has also hampered all forms of recovery effort, but, ultimately, overall recovery over a great period of time will be hugely difficult because a whole swathe of the best farming land on the east coast within the prefecture and surrounding areas has been destroyed. It will take a long time for recovery. As we know, with a country so densely populated as Japan, farming land, food-producing land, is at a premium. You can understand that it will be an extremely hard road for Japan to recover. As has been said by a number of speakers, the economic circumstances of Japan are not as strong as they were 10 or 20 years ago. It will be a difficult road for Japan to recover.

We know the Japanese are tough people and we know that they are determined. We know that they can work hard and that they know that working hard will deliver rewards. In the fullness of time, with the right planning and the right recovery effort, Japan will rise again and the farmland in those areas can be recovered and villages can be rebuilt. Unfortunately, the loss of life cannot be replaced. It is important that on these occasions we take time to think. The Japanese people have families like us, and our children and our lives could be subjected to the same sort of devastation. When we think about our families we also think very carefully about what has happened in Japan. Certainly, our thoughts, our prayers and our hopes for a good recovery are with the Japanese people. We wish them well.

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to join with my parliamentary colleagues in adding my condolences to the people of Japan. Having visited Japan and, in particular, Miyagi prefecture, it is all but impossible to comprehend the magnitude and impact the earthquake and the tsunami have had on those communities in Japan.

I want to address the facts and figures of the devastation shortly, but all the facts and figures in the world cannot deliver the true human horror and devastation wrought by this disaster. One such story that has struck me, I think particularly as a parent, has been the circumstances of Toshihito Aisawa. This young nine-year-old boy has not seen his mother, father or grandmother since the tsunami hit. Toshihito has been continually going from refugee centre to refugee centre across his home town of Ishinomaki carrying a sign with the names of his missing family members. He places it in each of the refugee centres. It says: ‘I will come back at 11 o’clock tomorrow, so please wait. I will come back tomorrow.’ Our thoughts are certainly with Toshihito in his hopes to reunite with his family once more. His heart-wrenching story is one of many thousands that are just too grim and difficult to comprehend, but, sadly, for many children it is very real. The experiences must be harrowing. We have heard many stories of survival and heroism throughout Japan, but, unfortunately, we have also heard many stories of loss and despair. The story of poor little Toshihito is a bit of both: he is clearly a survivor, but his loss and despair must be unimaginable.

People across the world have been shocked to see the scale of the Japanese disaster. The earthquake and subsequent tsunami have resulted in the deaths of some 8,800 people, with more than 12,000 still unaccounted for and many people injured. A further half a million Japanese people are homeless. Quite simply, this has been one of the most destructive earthquakes across the globe on record. In fact, the 9.0 magnitude earthquake is the largest in Japan in the last 100 years.

With some 5,000 Australians registered as living in Japan, I know that many of our fellow country men and women were very anxious to hear from their families and friends. It was very pleasing to hear from the foreign minister that he was able to confirm this week that all Australians in Japan have been accounted for, and I certainly hope, as do many of us in this place, that no new names emerge. Given the scale of the disaster, it is truly astounding. I want to pay tribute to the DFAT Crisis Centre and embassy staff who have worked incredibly hard to find and assist all of those Australians.

The Australian government is in a position to provide support to Japan and has done so from almost immediately after the disaster. A 72-person search and rescue team, including one EMA liaison officer, although now returned, were dispatched to Japan very quickly. Nineteen Defence operational response officers and three Defence liaison officers were on site. All of Australia’s currently operational C17s are engaged in Japan providing support to the Japanese people, including two that have been tasked recently at the request of the US government to transport equipment to assist in restoring the cooling systems to the nuclear plants. As a government we have also made a donation of $10 million to support the recovery effort to the Red Cross Japan and Pacific Disaster Appeal.

The Australian government has taken the ongoing concerns of the nuclear situation in Japan very seriously. The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, ARPANSA, has been working literally around the clock to provide me and my parliamentary colleagues with up-to-date advice about the ongoing nuclear situation. ARPANSA has published advice on its website, which is updated literally every six hours to ensure that the Australian people both in Japan and returning have the most accurate and timely advice that is possible on the unfolding nuclear situation in Japan. ARPANSA is the federal government agency charged with responsibility for protecting the health and safety of the Australian people and the environment from the harmful effects of radiation. I suspect that before this particular event not many people knew about it or had heard of what is a very small agency sitting within the Health portfolio under my areas of responsibility. The agency has been called upon in this time of great uncertainty in Japan to provide advice on the status of the nuclear power plant as well as health and safety advice to Australians in Japan and those returning home to Australia, as well as liaising very closely with the Department of Health and Ageing on providing health advice to general practitioners here in Australia.

I want to personally thank the staff, but in particular Carl-Magnus Larsson and his team at ARPANSA, for the professionalism and commitment that they have shown during this challenging time. We have been very lucky to secure Dr Larsson from the Swedish nuclear safety agency. He is very actively engaged with the IAEA and other regulatory bodies internationally and is very well respected, so we have certainly been well served during this time by ARPANSA, the CEO and its staff. There have been unprecedented demands placed on the agency and they have consistently responded with dedication and expertise. As the Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing with responsibility for ARPANSA, I thank the agency on behalf of the government for its work.

I also recognise the work of FSANZ—Food Standards Australia New Zealand—which has been providing the government with advice on food safety and continue to do so, and has been working very closely with the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Jim Bishop, and the health incident team which was established very quickly once that was requested. I pay tribute to those health team staff who have been providing the government with that advice.

The latest advice on the nuclear situation in Japan is that it is a very serious situation and the Australian government continues to monitor it. As a precautionary measure, Australians have been recommended to remain 80 kilometres away from the power station, and that is not based on the current danger but reflects the uncertainty of the situation. Australians returning from Japan are highly unlikely to have been contaminated with radiation and will not require checks for radioactivity, but certainly we understand that some may be concerned about that and we have encouraged them to visit their local GPs. Advice has been provided to GPs as to what recommendations are made. Certainly I again thank ARPANSA and the health department for working so closely on making sure that that advice was actively available.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand, the Department of Health and Ageing and ARPANSA have advised that Australians in Japan are strongly recommended to follow the protective measures recommended by the Japanese government in relation to food and water safety. FSANZ is working very closely with AQIS and the Customs and Border Protection Service to ensure a coordinated and vigilant approach to managing any potential risk to the Australian food supply chain.

As we battle to overcome natural disasters in our nation we can only begin to understand the difficult task that is being faced by the people of Japan to rebuild their homes, their schools, their hospitals and their communities—to rebuild their lives after they have lost their family, friends and colleagues. The floods in Australia, the earthquake in New Zealand and the latest devastation in Japan are a reminder of just how harsh our planet’s extreme conditions can be and how fortunate we are to live in a nation of generosity and kindness. The Australian government stands ready now and into the future to support our friends in Japan; friends like the young nine-year-old Toshihito, who I mentioned earlier. I know that all Australians will seek in whatever way they can to ease the burdens of the Japanese people as they confront the massive challenges ahead.

Ian Macfarlane (Groom, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Energy and Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to offer my condolences to the people of Japan, a country which I have been fortunate enough to visit on a number of occasions. It is a county of incredible beauty and a people who have in their own way a culture and gentleness which I admire.

Australia has been a close friend of Japan for many decades now. I know that deep in our past, and in my father’s generation, there were conflicts and a residual anger that existed between people of that generation and the Japanese people. But, fortunately, most of those differences have been resolved. In my lifetime I have only known the Japanese as people who come here as tourists, people who have welcomed me when I have travelled to their land, people who have traded and done business with us and people who have been very much a part of the development that has gone on particularly in Queensland and, in fact, right around Australia in the resources industry.

The graphic images of what happened in the Miyagi prefecture and the devastating impact of the earthquake, followed by the tsunami and the ongoing issue with the meltdown of the nuclear power station are issues which bring me great sadness. I come from an electorate and from a city that has suffered its share of natural disasters in this recent year, and the hurt and the misery that has been brought upon the people of Toowoomba and of Oakey, and out of my electorate in the Lockyer Valley, Brisbane and Ipswich, is small by comparison to the devastating impact of what we have seen on television.

I think that the most moving image that I saw, watching what I know as a beautiful and resilient, resourceful people trying to deal with this disaster, was the sight of snow falling on these people—homeless and bewildered, but still with the outlook on life that they know they are going to recover. I can think of nothing worse than to be beset by this string of natural disasters. As a friend of Japan, and as someone who, as I said, has been socially and in a business sense in close contact with them over my parliamentary career, I extend my deepest sorrow. I find it a challenge that I know they will recover from.

I say to the Japanese people that the people of Toowoomba, of the Darling Downs, of Queensland and of Australia will stand with you every step of the difficult path that I know you face on your way to recovery. I know you are a courageous people and I know you are a people who are deep in culture; but you are also a people who inevitably look to the future and to the future opportunities that you can give to your country, to your people and to your children. Australia will always look to you as a friend.

We are, of course, business partners, joint venturers in commerce and trading partners. But most of all we are friends, and we from my electorate want to make sure that that message is reinforced at a time of incredible hardship. No-one in the electorate of Groom or in Australia can imagine the incredible adversity that the people of Japan are facing. We had a taste. We had floods and homes swept away, but they were small in number. Whilst we did have two fatalities in my electorate—and they were in tragic circumstances—no-one can imagine what it is like to have a death toll that is in all likelihood going to exceed 20,000 people, perhaps even more, and a recovery bill in the hundreds of billions of dollars. It may, in fact, take decades to reinstate the country to what it was.

I have no doubt at all that the people of Japan will rebuild their community. Like all human beings world wide, they will learn how to rebuild their community, as we will. I have no doubt that the Japanese people will see this as one of the challenges that befalls them in life. I have no doubt that as they go forward the Australian people will stand beside them.

This is a terrible time for our friends in Japan, but it is a time in which friends need to stand up and speak for them. That is why, even with the lateness of the hour, I have come to this place to make a point of expressing the deepest sympathies and condolences of the people of my electorate, of my own family and of my wife and me in particular. We have travelled to Japan and dined and lived with the hospitality of the Japanese people. I want to take this opportunity to express our very heartfelt sympathies and to say that we are thinking of you now, we will think of you next week and we will be thinking of you in a month, in a year and in five years time. We will always be there to help you.

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

I am sure that all members would associate themselves with the moving comments of the member for Groom.

Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also take the opportunity to express my deepest condolences to the people of Japan. I do so on behalf of my family, of the community where I live and of all those people of this country who have been taken, just as I have been, by the unbelievable scenes of carnage that they have witnessed on their TV screens.

It is quite overwhelming to witness the number of natural disasters that we have seen in recent times—our own floods in Queensland, the cyclone, the earthquake in New Zealand and now the devastation in Japan. No doubt everybody in this place has felt these calamities personally through what they have witnessed on their TV screens, and we know from our own electorates that the earthquake in Japan has had a very wide impact on the psyche of the Australian people. We have witnessed a disaster of major proportions. It was something that was truly unpredictable and very much an unstoppable force of nature. I find it incredible to think of what we saw: a tsunami coming through, at some points 30 feet high, and taking out towns. Those towns are like towns we have. They have schools, pre-school centres and places where people work and live. In the short space of time when there were glimpses of images on our TV screens we saw those towns devastated. We did not witness it personally, but we know the effects of what occurred.

Presently, we understand that the casualty count is somewhere in the vicinity of 15,000 and likely to rise to over 20,000. Not included in that are the incredible injuries that have occurred, both physical and psychological, and the effect that this is having on the future of mums, dads and children who all crave the same things as we do: just normal living and the wellbeing of our families. The Japanese have not experienced something of anywhere near this magnitude since the last World War. From that time we have seen a stoic people who have worked with their natural resilience and rebuilt a country and have played a significant role on the world stage ever since—very industrious, very innovative and enterprising. They have made much of their country and their country has contributed much to the world stage socially, politically and economically.

I have always had a great appreciation for the ingenuity of the Japanese people, a people who lack natural resources, who certainly lack land space as we would understand it, and yet they have made their country strong to the point where, prior to this disaster, it was the fifth largest economy in the world. As a consequence of that, this disaster has obviously had significant impacts on their economy and also on the way they can relate to the world as such.

It seems paltry, but we have already committed and we are donating in the order of $10 million, I think it is, to help support immediate Japanese efforts in rescue and reconstruction. We have people who have been dispatched there, and rightfully so, to assist. Unfortunately, much of it is in victim recognition. As I have mentioned, we now believe there is a death toll which will be over 20,000. Something over half a million people have been left homeless and lives have been truly devastated. Despite what we have contributed, I think it should really fall to all of us to pledge our position to the Japanese people that we will be there not only for this immediate period but to assist wherever possible in the reconstruction and the normalisation of Japan itself. As I said, the Japanese people have played such a significant part over the last 60 years on the world stage, and we have all been the beneficiaries of their energy, their enthusiasm and their ingenuity. I just hope that this again comes to the fore. These qualities will help rebuild their nation to the position of strength that it had immediately prior to this earthquake.

With all the political debate that occurs in this place and the matters of difference that we may have, where we think we are strong and accuse others of being weak, when it comes to standing in front of Mother Nature I think that shows us our vulnerabilities. I think it behoves all of us to look at the world as being not as big as we might have once thought. Whilst we are all independent people, we are all interdependent on one another. Particularly at times like this, that requires countries and people of various backgrounds to work together.

We cannot all contribute and we are not advocating that this is another means for lending assistance to another country, but I think it is important to make sure that, in the light of these events occurring on a world scale, we do hold the wellbeing of all people—and particularly in this case the people of Japan—in our prayers. They have much work to do and much recovering to do before they can start moving out of this calamity.

Could I conclude where I started. On behalf of my family and those people that I represent in the electorate of Fowler, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the people of Japan. Through our thoughts and prayers we will keep them in the forefront of our minds and, where we can, be of assistance now and into the future.

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Action, Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The strongest expression of common humanity which comes out of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami is that 128 nations have offered one of the wealthiest states of the modern world assistance. One hundred and twenty-eight nations recognised the tragedy which everybody has seen and decided that we were of a common humanity. That figure alone speaks volumes for what we can be at our best as well as acknowledging the extraordinary magnitude and scope of the tragedy which has struck our great friends in Japan. It brings to mind the words of John Donne in the Devotions over 400 years ago:

No man is an island,

Entire of itself.

Each is a piece of the… main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less.

As well as if a promontory … of thine own

          …            …            …

Therefore, never seek to ask

For whom the bell tolls,

It tolls for thee.

It is not a perfect rendering, but it is a remembrance that this notion of unity within a broader concept of humanity dates back and exists and will lead forward.

What we have seen in Japan I think can be summarised into simple concepts: one is common humanity and the second is courage. The common humanity is that the world looked on, they saw the pictures, and everybody recognised the sheer weight and tragedy of what occurred with the evidence of the waves, the power of the water, the simple apocalyptic destruction which followed. No person could have hoped to survive if they had been in the path of those great waters. That is, sadly, a simple fact—with so few discoveries having been made of people living. Each one of the discoveries—the man on the roof out at sea, the grandmother and her son and the baby all found within the rubble—have brought joy and a sense of hope and a sense of humanity to the world and not just to Japan. But there are 20,000 other stories which have not ended in that positive turn of events.

We know that well over 8,000 lives have been lost so far; we fear that there are another 12,000 or more still to be determined. As with the Asian tsunami, many of the bodies will never be recovered. That is the simple truth. If we as Australians have played our part, then that is a good thing. Seventy-two Australians were sent abroad. They have searched, they have done their work, they have only uncovered bad news but they have been part of the task of people from all corners of the globe putting their shoulders to the wheel to try and find those that have been lost and those that have been injured. It is an ongoing process. The next phase will be the reconstruction of Japan. But Japan will survive. Japan will recover. I hope that Japan takes this opportunity to build a new Japan, dealing with some of the economic challenges in the form of debt and economic sclerosis which have challenged this great nation since 1990. But we are with them, as is the whole world.

The second thing I want to refer to briefly is courage. The extraordinary stoicism of the Japanese people—the dignity, the comparison with how others in different parts of the world have responded to tragedies—is manifest. The sense of getting on with the task of the recovery and getting on with helping those most in need has been a great honour to witness. In the midst of the tragedy, there has been a sense of decency, dignity, honour and courage which reminds me of the spirit of Brisbane after the floods. Both stories tell us what we can be.

The usual course of history is that, as we grow in number, our connections cease. The village generally becomes a city, but what we saw in Brisbane in the days after the floods was that the city became a village. The connections were real. You would have seen this yourself, Mr Deputy Speaker Slipper. It is the same with Japan, but it is the globe which has become a village in light of the tsunami and the earthquake.

As the Japanese people have shown this courage, my last thought is reserved for the extraordinary workers of Fukushima nuclear plant No. 1. These workers have stood at their post in the belief that they may well be facing certain death. I hope that it does not come to that and that the radiation to which they have been exposed will prove to be less than we had expected. It appears that they are on track to beat the threat of meltdown. But they have knowingly placed their lives—en masse—in harm’s way. They have done so with the belief that they would pay the ultimate price. They may not, but they have placed themselves in harm’s way with the most significant valour imaginable. It is my hope and my firm belief that they will be successful in preventing the meltdown of the reactors. We have some cause for hope and positivity.

It is my hope and my belief that the Fukushima workers will be honoured and celebrated throughout the ages in Japan, because no civilians could have made a more dramatic, more courageous, more important contribution to the safety of the 20 million people nearby than they have done. Modern Japan has been a beacon of honour and decency. In that modern Japan, the highest recognition must go to those who have remained at their posts in Fukushima nuclear plant No. 1. I believe they will be honoured and rewarded, but above all else I believe they will be successful in protecting those 20 million people who rely upon their courage.

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

I add to the condolences that have been made here in this place to the people of Japan. I think it was a devastating tragedy and it does seem that it has been, for us, a summer and now an autumn and, for them, a winter and spring that are going to be forever remembered. We always hope that it will be remembered for the resilience and the generosity and the spirit of people to survive and to go on and support each other.

I would like to draw attention to a matter that affected my electorate. At the time of this tragedy there were 45 young exchange students from Kesennuma—an area in Japan that was seriously affected by the tidal wave and earthquake—who were being hosted by the Hunter Christian School and the Maitland Christian School; 25 were junior high school students and 20 were senior high school students. They were due to go back last Friday, and you can understand that these young students really wanted to go home to their families. Unfortunately, they were not all able to contact their families to learn whether their families were all right and what would happen. The parents who were hosting these children and the principal of Hunter Christian School, Boyd Allen, contacted me and expressed the community’s concern. The key message was that, if it was in the best interests of the students and if it was the decision made by the Japanese authorities that they should stay for a period, the community and the school were very willing to host them. They were particularly concerned because of the uncertainty facing these students.

I was then able to contact the office of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kevin Rudd. His actions were wonderfully helpful to us. The Japanese embassy here became involved straightaway through Minister Mori and coordinated with the consulate and consul-general in Sydney. There were some wonderful responses. They instantly deferred the return to Japan for 24 hours just to make sure that every student had arrangements in place. It is days like that that you know why you are a member of parliament and that you can actually manage some human dramas and emotions and give some comfort. The consul-general, the Japanese embassy here and the foreign affairs minister and staff went to an extreme effort to make sure that every student would be accommodated when they returned. Most of the 45 students and three teachers returned to Tokyo to have families greet them. Those who could not be greeted by family made arrangements with the Kesennuma education department and the local councils to make sure that every student was met.

In that frantic time—a very short window of opportunity—some people in Newcastle asked, ‘How can these children go back home?’ That is not our decision. If they were Australian children in a similar dilemma, we would want the Australian authorities to make that decision. But we had the comfort and assurance of knowing that that decision was made at the highest level, and that reassurance gave us great comfort. The consul-general has given me an undertaking that he will follow up on the post-return settling-in of those 45 students.

It was wonderful to see the networks begin. A person teaching in Japan contacted his mother, Jenny Brannon, straightaway to send a message to one of the children who had not been able to contact her family that her family were okay. It was very heart-warming to know what arrangements should be made for her—that she would have to go to a certain place. It was lovely to see the internet connections of people contacting each other all over Japan. I hope that after those young people return Facebook and social networks will help them to keep in touch with us.

It was wonderful that the community said, ‘No matter what, those students have a place at any time in Newcastle.’ But we also hope, of course, that they are returning to a situation that is bearable and will be manageable for them and that it will allow them to enjoy youth. It is rather hard to think of the children and young people in Japan. There is such respect for the elderly, and we have seen so many elderly people coping with this disaster. Of course, in Japan, you do not need age care; elders are revered and looked after.

To see stories of recovery and survival lifts the spirit. To know that they are dealing with a calamity from a nuclear power station is shattering for all of us. We can only hope that there will be some satisfactory resolution to these matters. It is good to see the world rally and I hope that will be carried through for a long time. Our relationship with Japan is one that we prize. Mr Deputy Speaker Slipper, you and I were there together, and their generosity and warmth in sharing with us their history, their present and their future were something that we really respected. So I join the House in this condolence motion tonight.

Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Newcastle for her thoughtful contribution.

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

I acknowledge that that was an extremely thoughtful contribution from the member for Newcastle, and very well said. I would like to express my condolences to the Japanese people as well.

I am very fortunate to have had fantastic Japanese hospitality on three separate occasions. When I was working with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, I was fortunate enough to be a guest of the Japanese government under a program that the Japanese Prime Minister and the Australian Prime Minister had launched, a young business leaders exchange. There were 25 young Australian businesspeople who went to Japan as guests of the Japanese government. We had two weeks in the country and we received extraordinary hospitality. We travelled widely throughout Japan and, without exception, everyone we met welcomed us and was willing to teach us about every aspect of their culture, society and economy. You could not wish for a more insightful experience than we had in undertaking such an exchange program.

I also took two trips to Japan as a trade adviser. At that time, Japan was our No. 1 trading partner, a very important economic partner to Australia. We were working closely with them in the World Trade Organisation. They hosted, very successfully, a World Trade Organisation mini-ministerial meeting in Tokyo, and once again their hospitality was extraordinary. In addition, on a separate bilateral visit, we undertook visits to Toyota and also Toshiba, where, among other things, they have a very good nuclear program where they build reactors.

Having seen that aspect of Japan gave me great confidence in recent times, knowing that, if anyone could deal with what was taking place at Fukushima, it was the Japanese, because their knowledge and the technology that goes into building their reactors is world class. I think we have seen that displayed not only in their commitment to making sure that everything is being done to avoid a complete meltdown of the facilities—and they have, hopefully, avoided that—but also in the way that the staff have been prepared to risk serious injury and even, potentially, levels of radiation that could lead to death to make sure the reactors do not melt down. I think their example is an absolute inspiration to all of us, globally.

Following the events in Japan, the death toll is around 9,000, with still another 13,000 reported missing. Sadly, those figures are a testimony to what has occurred—the sheer horror of the earthquake, and the tsunami that followed. It beggars belief that in today’s world we can see such devastation by a natural disaster, especially given that we are looking at an incredibly modern and sophisticated economy.

We have 350,000 people in shelters. The fact that so many have lost their homes and lives in this natural disaster brings up images of something you would expect to have seen in the 15th or 16th century. To have 350,000 people to house with winter lingering—and we have seen snow—is going to require incredible logistics. I do not think there is any other country in the world where you could look to a government and a people to provide such logistical support. I have no doubt that the Japanese government will do everything in their power to make sure that those 350,000 people are as comfortable as they possibly can be.

In terms of the nuclear plant, we have had 177,000 people evacuated from a zone around the plant. Once again, logistically it is incredibly difficult for the Japanese government to organise, but the fact that they have done it in a way that has not led to mass panic is a credit to them and a credit to how the society operates. You only have to go and spend some time on the Japanese subway to see how efficient, organised and polite the Japanese people are. They are very fortunate given what has happened and the way it has been dealt with. It is very much the nature of the Japanese people that has led to this not being a bigger disaster than it has been. Once again, full credit goes to the Japanese people for that.

We have got a total of 442,000 households without electricity. There are 1.4 million households without running water and 14,637 buildings that have been completely destroyed. That is nearly 15,000 buildings just wiped off the face of the map. It beggars belief. It is something that you would think you would see in a Hollywood movie rather than something we were seeing live on our TV screens.

The impact on their economy is going to be stark. The cost could range from $122 billion to $235 billion, 2.5 to four per cent of their GDP, and Japan will require huge assistance from around the globe to deal with this. It is pleasing to know that 128 countries and 33 international organisations have offered assistance as of Saturday to the Japanese government. I think that we in Australia and across the region in particular are going to have to do all we can to help the Japanese economy recover. It is an important economy for us here in Australia, but it is also an important economy for the region. We should not forget how generous the Japanese have been throughout their economic success. There is no country that has given as much in terms of aid regionally than the Japanese government, and given their generosity, I think it is beholden on us here in Australia and across the region and globally to make sure that in this hour of need we returned that favour to the Japanese.

I will end my condolence speech there, but I would once again say to the Japanese people and the government that our hearts are with you, our thoughts are with you, and I would hope—and I am sure that it will be the case—that our government stands ready, willing and able to help the Japanese people and the Japanese government in any way that we can.

Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would just like to congratulate the member for Wannon on what was a very moving and very eloquent speech. I join with him in adding my condolences to the Japanese people for the great tragedy and great horror that have been wrought upon them.

Over the past few months we have witnessed some truly devastating events, beginning with the floods in Queensland and Victoria, Cyclone Yasi and bushfires in Western Australia. We have seen earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand. But what has happened is almost unimaginable: a 9.0-magnitude earthquake, a tsunami and multiple aftershocks—aftershocks that have wrought very significant impacts not only in terms of lives that have been lost but also on the infrastructure of Japan. We know at this point in time that some of the most critical infrastructure—the energy infrastructure—is still currently under threat with the nuclear reactors in Fukushima, and our thoughts are with those workers in Fukushima who are doing all that they can to prevent even further disaster. We pay tribute to them and their courage in continuing to do the important job that they are doing and we know that they are doing it for a more important purpose.

What we have seen in Japan has been truly monumental in terms of the scale of destruction, the number of lives lost and unaccounted for and the effect on people’s lives as they prepare for the very grim task of reconstruction that will undoubtedly take many years. The total number of people unaccounted for in Japan is over 12,000. We already know that over 8,000 people have been found to be dead as a result of the devastating earthquake. We also know that the figures of the dead will probably continue to rise quite dramatically as we find what has happened to those over 12,000 people who have been unaccounted for.

Australians offer their grief and sympathy to all those who have suffered, and we hope that recovery and reconstruction will be as swift as possible. Having suffered natural disasters ourselves just recently, we have a small idea of what Japan must be facing at this time. But, as I said before, the sheer scale of the tragedy is nonetheless very difficult to comprehend.

Japan, like Australia, benefits from strong institutions and a sound system of democratic government, which will ensure that recovery will be brought about as quickly and effectively as possible. It is a nation with a strong system of international trade, high levels of savings and the ability to raise the money needed to finance reconstruction. For these reasons, Japan is in the strongest possible position to recover.

The World Bank has estimated that it will take around five years for Japan to rebuild. If this is true then we may at least remain confident that Japan will pull through this disaster and will soon return to stability. There will no doubt be widespread disruption to the Japanese economy, particularly to the electricity and transport sectors, and export trade is expected to decline dramatically. The destruction of real wealth and the precipitous drop in share values cannot be ignored. But we are already hearing some positive reports of factories preparing to reopen in coming days, such as the iconic Japanese companies Sony, Toyota, and Honda. That gives us great hope.

Although any estimate of the length of recovery at this stage is uncertain, there is every reason to believe the Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, when he says there is light at the end of the tunnel. We have every reason to believe that the strength of the Japanese people and their ability to overcome setbacks will see Japan recover quickly.

Australians have great respect for the Japanese people. Although historically Australia and Japan have been divided through war, we were united again through peace and today we are united through this tragedy. We have great respect for the Japanese people for their strong social institutions, their great sense of duty and their ever-present civility and refinement. Even in the face of a disaster such as the one that has struck the main island of Japan, the people have still preserved those attributes and we have seen and heard of miracles.

We recall the story of the 80-year-old grandmother and her 16-year-old grandson being pulled from the rubble and wreckage after nine days of being buried. We have heard of great acts of altruism, of people who have not just thought of themselves in this great disaster but thought of others—finding out what has been happening to their friends, neighbours and business colleagues and ensuring that they are being cared for. We have also heard of great acts of courage, and I referred earlier to the workers at the Fukushima nuclear plant. We salute their tremendous courage in the face of great and grave danger.

The recent earthquake is Japan’s deadliest natural disaster since the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923, which killed more than 142,000. Mercifully, the death toll for the recent disaster has been less than this, yet it is no less terrible. When we think of Japan we think of its great technological and industrial prowess. But we know at the heart of it all that the human capital of Japan is its greatest strength and its strongest asset. We know that the rebuilding of Japan will occur over time. We have been struck by the grace and dignity with which the Japanese people have dealt with this disaster. Many people’s lives have been turned upside down, with the loss of their homes and loved ones. Temporary housing has been built for the hundreds of thousands who have been displaced. There is so much work to do not only in the days and weeks to come but in the months and years ahead. We know that the scars will remain, despite the rebuilding that will happen into the future. There is still much difficulty for the people of Japan to endure, and we hope that those affected may see their lives repaired as Japan begins the task of rebuilding its towns and cities.

Our prayers are with the people of Japan and with those who are mourning their loved ones and who are starting to rebuild their lives. But, before I conclude, I think it is very important to pay tribute to Australia’s response to this great tragedy. Australia, of course, has acted quickly. Japan has deployed over 100,000 Self-Defence Forces personnel to the devastated areas to help the search and rescue efforts. The Australian government has sent a 72-strong urban search and rescue team, including sniffer dogs. We have also offered field hospitals and victim identification specialists—critical personnel in what has been a terrible tragedy. We salute the work that the Australians have done in this awful time and, again, I reiterate that our thoughts are with the Japanese people, and I add my condolences.

Deborah O'Neill (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to place on the record my deep sorrow and sympathies for the people of north-east Japan, who have suffered disaster on a scale that we Australians can barely begin to comprehend. At 2.46 in the afternoon, Japan time, on Friday, 11 March, when the massive earthquake struck off Japan’s north coast, I am sure that many Japanese workers and their families were looking forward to the end of their working week. What they encountered instead was later confirmed as the fourth strongest earthquake in recorded history. It was later given a reading of 9.0 on the Richter scale. As many have observed over the last few days in the aftermath of this major earthquake disaster, the quake that levelled large areas of Christchurch in February had a reading of 6.3. While the difference in scale may not seem much, it has since been pointed out in the media coverage that the Japanese quake was hundreds, if not thousands, of times more intense than the Christchurch earthquake. Whatever the intensity, the effects of both quakes were devastating.

In the case of Japan, the quake triggered a devastating tsunami that within minutes was speeding towards the north-east coast. As many other speakers have encapsulated tonight, there was no chance of escape for many in coastal communities. As a resident of a coastal area of Australia myself, I cannot help but reflect deeply on how helpless we would have been in the same circumstances. No country is as prepared for disaster as Japan. The thought and images of that unstoppable, remorseless black tide swallowing up all living things in its wake is chilling.

The toll is still growing and will be unknown for some time. Many families have been lost entirely. Others have been wrenched apart and had their lives destroyed. This is a terrible fate to befall any of our fellow human beings. So first and foremost I pay my respects to the lives lost and the lives ruined. I am proud that Australians have responded as the friends we are, and I encourage all Australians to keep up their assistance through donations to the Red Cross appeal. The Australian government is making a $10 million donation to support the recovery effort. I am proud, as I am sure all members of the House are, that in the rescue phase we were able to send our New South Wales search and rescue team of 72 officers, together with Queensland sniffer dogs and their handlers.

Japan has been there for us in our recent disasters. This is the nature of our abiding friendship. I know we have had many fundraisers of our own to attend this year, but we will attend more. There has been much reflection on the endurance and fighting spirit of the Japanese people. The Prime Minister in her condolence earlier this week spoke of a famous Japanese proverb, ‘Fall over seven times, get up eight times.’ In Japanese, I am told, it is said, ‘Nana-korobi ya-oki.’ On that eighth time, I would like the Japanese people to think that the hand helping them up had an Australian face at the end of it.

While I have never been to Japan, I understand the coastline of north-east Japan is particularly beautiful. There is a group of pine-tree-clad islands off the coast of Miyagi prefecture called Matsushima. Matsushima is renowned as one of Japan’s three great panoramic views. It is a landmark that has been celebrated in Japanese literature for centuries as a place of unique scenic beauty. Japan’s most celebrated haiku poet, Matsuo Basho, travelled there in 1689 and recorded his trip in a famous travelogue, the Narrow Road to the Far North. This month, even the famous Matsushima was not spared damage by the tsunami. Six people are confirmed to have died there, which leads me to the haiku attributed to Basho, who was said to be—on a rare occasion—lost for words when he saw these beautiful pine-clad islands floating on the sea. His haiku was:

Matsushima—ah!

Ah—Matsushima.

Matsushima—ah.

Our prayers and hopes are with the people of north-east Japan.

John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The magnitude 8.9 Tohoku earthquake near the north-east coast of Honshu, Japan, shocked the world on 11 March this year. An event described by geologists as thrust faulting occurred near the subduction zone, which is the boundary between the Pacific and North American plates. At the particular latitude of this earthquake, the Pacific plate shifts westward towards the North American plate at approximately 83 millimetres per year, descending beneath Japan at the Japan Trench as the two plates overlap. Yet, whilst this is a seemingly fractional movement of tectonic plates, we watched in horror as it led to a tsunami that devastated countless villages and left absolute destruction in its wake.

As of 12.30 this morning, Japanese authorities have listed a death toll of 8,649 people, with the sheer size of this tragedy evident in the fact that officials are now forced to bury unidentified bodies. There are still 13,261 people listed as missing, with another 2,929 reported as injured. With many coastal locations in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures still awaiting full investigation, it is envisaged that these numbers will only increase before the final death toll is known. These are massive numbers, in local terms roughly equating to the population of a city the size of Coffs Harbour.

The north-eastern coastline of Japan is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunami waves due to its proximity to the plate boundaries and the underwater coastal structures that amplify tsunami waves. Since 1973, the Japan Trench has witnessed nine earthquake events of magnitude 7 or greater. The largest of these was a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in December 1994, approximately 260 kilometres north of the recent location. This one caused three fatalities and almost 700 injuries. In June 1978, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake 35 kilometres to the south-west caused 22 fatalities and over 400 injuries. There is evidence that large offshore earthquakes occurred in the same region in the years 1611, 1896 and 1933, each of which produced devastating tsunami waves that hit the Sanriku coast of north-east Japan. The magnitude 7.6 earthquake of 1896 is said to have led to a tsunami wave 38 metres high and a death toll of 27,000. The magnitude 8.6 earthquake of 2 March 1933 produced tsunami waves 29 metres high and led to more than 3,000 fatalities. We even have records of an earthquake in the year 869 which saw the entire Sendai area swept away by a massive tsunami. We are also reminded of this record of earthquakes and tsunamis in the world of art. Many would be familiar with the classic Japanese woodblock piece entitled The Great Wave off Kanagawa, which dates back to the 1830s and shows a huge tsunami wave dwarfing the distant Mount Fuji.

The point of this short run through the history books is that these events, whilst devastating and tragic in so many ways, are far from new to this area or to these stoic people. The American Geological Survey has stated over the past few days:

While the probability of future large earthquakes far from northern Honshu has not increased, neither has it decreased and large earthquakes will continue to occur just as we have observed in the past.

The global response to this catastrophe, from a policy perspective, must retain this understanding and not fall into the trap of thinking that this is a problem of our making and that we as humans have the ability to concoct a resolution. The global response at this moment must be limited to aid and assistance to the hundreds of thousands of people directly impacted by this disaster. We mourn, we grieve and we give our wholehearted support to the Japanese people. We give aid and we give assistance with the rebuilding effort.

Our diplomatic, political and trading relationships will grow stronger in the days, weeks and months to come as we share this hardship. The Japanese people, much like the victims of our own summer of natural disasters, will call on the stuff of which they are made—the stuff that has made them heroes in the face of fire. Now their heroism is demonstrated in the face of this fire.

It is outside of the living memory of all but a few Australians that our diplomatic relationship with Japan used to be somewhat different, and the Japanese soldier was feared for his tenacity and discipline. Underlying this fear was our deep respect for the Japanese willingness to offer absolute self-sacrifice in the name of their nation and Emperor. The Japanese have a history of selflessness dating back a thousand years, from stories of ritual suicide by the bushido warriors of the samurai through to the kamikaze pilots of World War II. While we are now able to look on those stories as purely historical and we can celebrate the strength of friendship between our two nations, these national characteristics have been on display through the heroic efforts of the firefighters from Tokyo’s 3rd District who have faced intense radiation levels as they have attempted to douse the reactor fires. It is these values of selflessness, this integrity, which will guide the Japanese people through this most difficult time.

It has often been said that war provides the ultimate test of the mettle of mankind. In the same way, natural disasters like this stress the necessary physical infrastructure—the transport and communication networks and the power grid. As a result of this natural disaster, the nuclear industry is now being tested like never before. The leadership they have shown on this issue, the technical and innovative genius is indicative of the role they may well play in finding real solutions to carbon pollution and global warming through the improved technologies and safer practices that will no doubt be utilised by their nuclear industry in the wave of this tragedy. The problems that we have all witnessed at the Fukushima nuclear power plant are not something to be used as a political football but an experience to be analysed and learnt from as both process improvements and real alternatives are proposed and assessed. It would be typical of the Japanese spirit that out of the rubble of this disaster should spring forth a renewed confidence, as this difficult circumstance allows them to discover some of the answers to our global plight.

Both in politics and in sport the true champion learns from defeat and setback to return stronger and reclaim the title. The Japanese people are stoic, heroic and strong. Japan is geographically a small country that is economically a global superpower. Their greatness is coupled with the friends they have earned and relationships they have developed. In building these relationships they have displayed a character focussed on hard work and an integrity in their dealings with all people that now brings the world to their door in this hour of need.

Japan has heroically risen from the ashes of war to lead the world in economic development, technological advancement and prosperity, while maintaining its unique traditions and culture. It is inappropriate at this time for some to seek to discredit, mostly through inaccuracy, the path that Japan has chosen to take in the provision of energy to its thriving industries and the world’s 10th largest population. If through this extraordinary event that Japan has recently suffered there are shortcomings discovered in their nuclear power plants, there is no question that the world will watch with great interest as the might of Japanese ingenuity is applied to this situation. The results that will surely follow will benefit the world at large in its quest to address the challenges of climate change and carbon dioxide emissions. The brainpower and national character that will rise to the surface during this tough time means all mankind will reap benefits as the use of nuclear power is made safer for all. This may be a long-term view, as there is much work to be done and many lessons to be learnt along the way, but it is a perspective that we should maintain nonetheless.

There is no doubt that the recent Japanese disaster is a tragedy of epic proportions. It is our duty to offer our support through whatever method the Japanese people require. We must also be cognisant of the proud and resilient nature of the Japanese character, and the importance of respecting their need for space during this period of national mourning. Assistance will flow, and, once this strong and gracious nation has had the time to bury its dead and to grieve, it can then assess the scope of the situation. When the time comes, the rebuilding process will begin on a large scale. It is at this time, when this disaster is no longer dominating global attention, that we must ensure we are there, standing side by side with our friend, assisting them to become an even greater nation and once again a champion on the world stage. On behalf of the people of Bennelong and as a representative of the Australian parliament I send my deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolence to the proud nation and strong people of Japan. We feel her pain. We mourn her loss. We give our respect. We offer our support. We are her neighbour and we are her friend.

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Nine thousand deaths is a figure which is unfathomable for us as a community here in Australia, with the possibility of 20,000 deaths to come. As a member, I find it hard to correlate that amount of devastation and destruction. In my experience in the seat of Wright on 10 January we experienced a wall of water—nowhere near the velocity of the tsunami that was experienced in Japan—that was 28 feet high. It came through and destroyed homes in my electorate, displaced families and people who today are still unable to return to their homes because they are either not there, they are gone, or have been condemned as a result of heavy inundation of water from flooding.

My heart goes out to the people of Japan. But if Japan has taught us anything in the past 200 years it is that it is a resilient country. To understand that you only have to look at the quality of the Honda motors they build, which I believe are one of the best small and high performance motors. The guys just get it when it comes to performing. Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank you for your indulgence. My heart does go out. The people of Wright offer their condolences to the people of Japan. As a nation we are tired of disasters. Our hearts go out to our New Zealand cousins and, of course, our Japanese cousins. I leave the Japanese people with a quote from the Beatles’ lyrics: ‘I get by with a little help from my friends’. Japan as a nation can see Australia as a friend.