Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the statement made by the Prime Minister on the anniversary of the Japan tsunami and nuclear disasters, which were sparked off by an earthquake that occurred on 11 March last year. This was one of the five largest recorded earthquakes in human history and it unleashed a tsunami of enormous proportions which hit the north-east of the island of Honshu in Japan. The devastation that was wreaked by the tsunami was utterly shocking and unimaginable. It gave rise to stunning visions on TV. It is hard to imagine the force behind a tsunami but you could see it in the incredible pictures that we saw on our TVs. Nineteen thousand people were dead or missing as a result of the tsunami, thousands more were injured and hundreds of thousands more were left homeless. Whole villages were swept away and, as is always the case in natural disasters of this kind, the way in which the natural disaster impacts upon the community is not uniform and is certainly not fair—it can be extremely arbitrary.

One elementary school in Ishinomaki, Miyagi—the Okawa Elementary School—lost 74 of its 108 students. It lost 10 of its 13 teachers and staff. One of the great tragedies of this tsunami was that it occurred whilst children were gathered during school hours. It is unimaginable that you could head off to school in the morning or send your kids off to school as a parent and by the day's end find that three-quarters of those who attended that school and most of the staff had perished. But that was the nature of this extraordinary event.

As a consequence infrastructure was completely wrecked in the vicinity of the tsunami, particularly the Fukushima nuclear plant, which had a significant radiation leak as a Debate resumed. ult of the tsunami. That in turn gave rise to a range of issues and consequences in the region of the power plant. Former Japanese Prime Minister Kan described it as the most testing moment in Japan's history since the Second World War, and I am sure all of us would agree that is exactly the nature of the situation that Japan faced.

Australia's reaction to the tsunami was very swift and makes one proud as an Australian. We were very keen to be there on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Japan. A $10 million donation to the Japanese Red Cross was announced very quickly and soon after that we saw emergency workers, including urban search-and-rescue teams, deployed to the Miyagi region of Japan, exactly where the Okawa school was washed away. I know that every Australian was proud of the contribution that those emergency workers made in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami. This happened at the conclusion of a Southern Hemisphere summer of disasters and tragedies. There were the floods in Queensland and Victoria, bushfires in Western Australia and then the tragic earthquake in Christchurch, but this was of a magnitude completely different to what we had previously seen.

Not long after the tsunami two prominent Australians visited Japan in a way which was incredibly important to the Japanese. The first of course was our Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, who was the first foreign leader to visit Japan in the aftermath of the tsunami and to tour the devastated region. She spoke very eloquently at the time and indeed in the last two days about the effect that it had on her, but I also know the effect that her visit had on the people of Japan was one which gave them an enormous sense of confidence and also a sense that the world was standing in solidarity with them against this incredible tragedy. The other person who was in Japan at the same time as the Prime Minister was Kylie Minogue, who was performing a series of concerts in Japan. As I understand it, she asked her touring crew whether or not, given everything that had happened, they wanted to visit Japan in the aftermath of the tsunami and nuclear disasters. She was going to go through with the concerts that she had planned and indeed, as I understand it, her crew came with her. Being able to perform in Japan in the aftermath was something that the Japanese regarded as very important, knowing that the international community was standing with them.

In my capacity as Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs I visited Japan on 9 June last year, almost three months after the tsunami. At that point I was really struck by the life that is led in a country which is prone to earthquakes and earth tremors. Indeed, there was a tremor on the day that I was there, which was very noticeable where you could see things move. Incredibly, there is now a phone app, which, literally within a matter of minutes after an earth tremor, will tell you the size of it and where it occurred. That says something about the ever-present nature of the shifting earth in a place such as Japan and what the people there live with on a day-to-day basis.

I met with a number of Japanese politicians in the context of my duties as Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs. In the afternoon I also had a meeting with a couple of members of the Democratic Party, members of the Japanese Diet, Keiro Kitagami and Norihiko Fugita. Both of them are members of the Australia-Japan Parliamentary Friendship Group in the Japanese Diet, which of course is the parliament of Japan. They spoke fulsomely about their respect for both Julia Gillard and Kylie Minogue in coming to Japan in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami. They said there was a sense that all of them felt that they laughed about this, and it was good to see that their humour was intact. If you had taken a satellite photo of Japan in the aftermath of the tsunami, in terms of the international reaction to it all you would have imagined that Japan was glowing green because of what had happened at the Fukushima plant. Of course, that was not the reality. Tourism and international trade and people going in and out of Japan are very important parts of their economy. They were deeply concerned that this international perception of Japan, in the aftermath of the tsunami, would mean that people would not come to Japan. They cited the actions of our Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and Kylie Minogue as being very important to overcoming that invalid international perception. There is no question that the Prime Minister's visit to Japan was one of the most significant visits that an Australian head of state has ever made to that country.

In conclusion, in the global community of nations Japan and Australia are the very best of friends. Japan is a close ally in all that we do. It is a partner in what I do, representing this country in the Pacific. I will be in Japan in a couple of months time in that capacity. We are very close friends with Japan. It is a key trading partner of our country. There is an enormous sense of kinship between Australia and Japan. Our hearts went out to Japan this time last year and our thoughts are very much with them on the anniversary of that terrible occasion.

Alex Hawke (Mitchell, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in support of the statement of the Prime Minister in relation to Japan and acknowledge her remarks and the remarks of the Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, and those of the Leader of the Nationals, Mr Truss. I recently had the opportunity to lead a delegation of Australian MPs and young political leaders to Japan. In fact, we just returned from Japan on Saturday, preceding the one-year anniversary of the disasters. On the delegation were Jill Hennessy, the state member for Altona; Matthew Groom, the state member for Denison; and Ryan Batchelor, Chief of Staff to Minister Macklin.

The disaster is known as 3/11, representing an unprecedented challenge for Japan and its people. The main shock, at a magnitude of 9, was one of the highest ever recorded earthquakes in world history. However, many people do not know that there were over 96 aftershocks at levels 6 and 7, and at level 5 or greater, over 580 aftershocks. The earthquakes, which Japan of course was well prepared for, triggered a tsunami of a scale completely unimaginable to the human mind. Going there and seeing the 15-metre high watermarks that wiped away those buildings and towns is something that really does expand your mind in terms of belief. The tsunami led to the nuclear incident off Fukushima, which makes up the triple disasters of 11 March. There were devastating consequences from these disasters: 15,700 died, 4,500 are still missing and over 5,700 were injured. These were the immediate consequences of these awful disasters, with over 124,000 people having to be evacuated and temporarily resettled. Japan is still wrestling with the question of how to resettle those people unable to return or who have nothing to return to from this immense devastation.

It is really quite difficult to understand exactly how vast the nature of the devastation was until you see it in person. We saw the horrific scenes of devastation in every town that we visited, coastal and otherwise—and inland, quite substantially inland—that were devastated. All of us on the delegation were shocked. Boats were still on the top of buildings. Entire towns and places were completely devastated and removed. The difficulty and the challenges faced by those recovering, and their personal and deeply moving stories were sometimes unbelievable.

We visited the empty space that was once Minamisanriku. Standing in front of the skeletal remains of the disaster centre was a profoundly moving experience. The only structure left in this entire plain was the twisted metal of the disaster structure which was made of reinforced steel. On level 3, you could still see the machine that was used to warn the entire town that a tsunami was coming. We heard the story of a young 25-year-old Japanese girl, who made the announcement to warn her fellow citizens that a tsunami was coming. She was swept away an hour later—that certainly moved all of us on the delegation.

It was so appropriate that the Prime Minister visited and held a fundraising dinner soon after these disasters. In our opportunities seeing and visiting the recovery of Miyagi Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture, I can record that the Japanese people are overwhelmingly grateful to Australia and its people for the support and the deep and profound assistance that we have provided to them. Everywhere we went, we were greeted warmly by the Japanese people, who were so grateful to Australia and keen to impress upon us that they are focused on recovery and working very hard to see their lives, businesses and culture rebuilt in these areas. Australia contributed a 72-person urban search and rescue team, a $10-million donation and the use of C17 aircraft for relief operation—Australia and the United States being the only two nations allowed to do this. There have been so many individual and business donations by Australians that they cannot be recorded here—money, in-kind goods, all of which is deeply appreciated in Japan today.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend the Japanese embassy where His Excellency Mr Shigekazu Sato hosted a ceremony and we marked a minute silence for those who had passed away. It was a moving event well attended by embassies, people from around the world and members of this House.

The thing that impressed us so much about our tour of Fukushima and Miyagi Province was the fact that there was so much resilience and inspiration in the recovery that is going on there. In spite of the serious challenges in terms of the future energy generation and the future of how to rebuild places that have been completely wiped out, the resilience and improvisation of people, families and businesses in the face of adversity is a wonderful thing that we encountered. The quick recovery of key industries for the world, like car parts in areas of Fukushima and Miyagi Province, was amazing. The ability of businesses to improvise without the adequate supply of energy and still produce, and indeed innovate, so that they can meet their quotas and demands is very impressive.

Australia and Japan have been strong trading partners for some 50 years or more and our nations are firm friends. Our relationship is strong and our future together is also strong. From my own visit and the visit of this delegation, I can record for the House that out of the terrible tragedies of 11 March 2011, the people of Miyagi and Fukushima, and of Japan, are working hard to rebuild and planning for a better future. One year on from the triple 11 disasters, today our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan, those who lost their lives and the families who lost loved ones.

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

I would like to start by taking the opportunity to renew my condolences to the people of Japan, who are still suffering in the aftermath of this terrible earthquake and tsunami, the one-year anniversary of which we mark today in this debate.

The Australian and Japanese people have a strong bond that goes back many generations. Our governments have long shared a common bond and political, economic, trade and agricultural interests. I felt privileged that as a result of being in Japan during the earthquake and tsunami last year, but for me this bond now has a very personal dimension. I will never forget my experience during what was my first delegation overseas as a member of this place. As many here know, at the time of the great east Japan earthquake in March last year I, along with a number of my other parliamentary colleagues, were a part of a delegation that was caught on a very fast train somewhere between Kyoto and Tokyo, on what was to be the last day of our fact-finding study tour in Japan.

I understand that this was the most powerful earthquake to have ever hit Japan. It was quickly followed by a 10-metre tsunami wave that hit the Tohoku region in the northern part of the Island of Honshu. I say that it was a 10-metre tsunami, but as a result of the geology and geography of some of the river valleys in the northern part of Japan the wave was recorded at over 40 metres in some parts along the coastline. It is a natural phenomenon that we in this country are simply incapable of contemplating. In some parts of the region the wave dissipated some five kilometres inland.

The toll was horrendous. Over 19,000 people were killed or are missing. Another 6,000 were injured and more than one million buildings were destroyed or damaged. Vital infrastructure was wrecked. People in this country will have burnt into their memories the images of bridges and roads being washed away and the famous Shinkansen trains hanging off bridges as though they were part of the bridges, while other trains were washed away. Many other images have been burnt into our contemporary memory.

The image of the force of the tsunami was terrifying. We saw whole streets and buildings simply being washed away. What we saw of the scale of the devastation in the aftermath of the tsunami was really quite disturbing. In the words of Ambassador Sato in his commemorative ceremony at the Japanese Embassy yesterday, 'Hopes and dreams were washed away on that day.'

One year later we know a few of the stories of those who are still grieving their lost family members, homes, villages, schools and lives. Their loss and devastation is almost unimaginable to us here in this place. It is a terrible aspect of this disaster, which occurred at approximately a quarter to three, during school time. Over 500 school children were killed or lost, including 74 from a school of just 108, almost the entire school population. It is hard to imagine how life would ever feel normal again in a village or town in which nearly all of its children were taken away on one terrible afternoon through one terrible event. We know that hundreds of children will now face a future as orphans, without the love and care of their parents.

The scale and impact of this disaster will resonate for years and decades to come. This time last year we were in Tokyo to build political and cultural bonds between the future leaders of our respective countries. I was pleased yesterday to have the opportunity to once again renew these bonds by attending an event, with many of my parliamentary colleagues from all sides of the House, together with many from the Canberra and Australian communities, to show our mark of respect on the one-year anniversary.

During the visit of 12 months ago we met a number of political, community and business leaders during the five days we were in Tokyo. As I have marked before in this place one of the highlights of the trip was our visit to a place called Kobe. Whilst we were in Kobe, we visited the earthquake memorial, where we had—and it now seems ironic, with hindsight—the experience of going through a re-enactment of the terrible 1996 earthquake. That 1996 earthquake in Kobe killed nearly 6½ thousand people and flattened almost the entire city. We toured the research centre and had the benefit of seeing the work that the people of that town and that country had put into ensuring that their cities were, in the future, earthquake proof.

While we were there in Kobe at the earthquake museum, we were taken through a room that had, graphically displayed on the walls, prints of tidal waves, or tsunamis, that had hit the island over the past 300 years. A number of our colleagues looked up at the third floor of the building to see the 10-metre and 12-metre marks for the earthquake-driven tsunamis that hit the island in the 1700s. Little did we know that, within 24 hours of our visit to the museum, the island of Honshu would again experience the horror of tsunamis of that magnitude. We found it almost impossible to believe what it would be like to see a wave of water bearing down on us that was literally the size of several floors of a large apartment building. That is the height. The tsunami in the case of this disaster was several kilometres deep.

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 it is designed to withstand this sort of disaster and the people know exactly what to do when a disaster like this strikes. I and many of my parliamentary colleagues gained a new-found respect for the people of Japan and the people of Tokyo, who, with a military-like discipline, set about doing exactly what was needed to ensure that a city with a population larger than that of our country could withstand the immediate aftermath of the earthquake and its people could find their way home and then back again to work the next day, all the while taking care of each other and their families—and strangers who were not known to them.

Japan is located at the edge of the Pacific Plate, which moves around nine centimetres a year. It receives somewhere in the vicinity of 20 reasonably sized earthquakes each year. It knows its fair share of adversity, but the one thing that a number of speakers on this matter have commented on—and I have direct experience of it myself which gives me great hope—is the enormous resilience of the Japanese people. Over the last 12 months, they have started the work of cleaning up after the disaster. Over 22 million tonnes worth of wrecked homes, concrete, steel and other debris is being cleaned up and in many instances recycled to form the new seawalls, the new road bases and the new buildings of a rebuilt northern Japan. It is estimated that it will take over two to three years to clean up the carnage that was left behind after the earthquake and tsunami, but I have great confidence that, as the people of Japan rebuild, they will do it in a way that helps them to withstand disasters of this magnitude in the future.

They are also taking the opportunity, I note, to reconsider their energy security policy. One of the more widely publicised results of this terrible disaster was the impact that it had on the power facility of Fukushima, a city in the north of Japan which provides an enormous amount of power to the Japanese electricity grid. The fate of that power facility is well known. It is also well known, as other speakers on this matter have said, that there is great respect for the efforts of Australian disaster recovery workers in assisting in the clean-up in and around that town and elsewhere in Japan. We were one of a few nations to have the expertise to assist the Japanese people in those areas in that time of need. Japan is renewing and revisiting its energy security policy. As an energy rich country with some expertise in this area, I know that we will work closely with the Japanese people to ensure that as they recalibrate their energy future they have the raw materials that will continue to power their energy system into the future.

There were some lessons for me personally, and you always contemplate after an event and an experience such as this what it all means. For me there were some lessons in what really matters. When you see a community pulling itself back together again and dealing with the tragedy and horror, there are some images that really burned in my mind. It struck home to me when I saw people picking through the ruins of the towns and villages in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami. It was not their mobile phones, their PlayStations, their flat-screen televisions or their cars that they were looking for—it was their loved ones or memories of their loved ones, some memento of the life that had just been washed away that they were looking for. That brings home to each and every one of us to take more care and caution about the things that really do matter, and that is an enduring lesson I have taken away from this. It really does remind us about what matters in our lives.

I conclude by saying that we wish the people of Japan the very best in their efforts to pull their country and their community back together again. I know that we will stand shoulder to shoulder with them in that task. If there are any lessons to be learned from such a terrible disaster, there is the very human lesson in life about what really does matter. I am very pleased to be a part of this debate.

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

I join with my colleagues on both sides of this chamber in also joining the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in making a statement on the anniversary of the tsunami and nuclear disasters in Japan. Like so many people who have contributed to this debate already, I too feel a very personal connection with Japan. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to visit Japan when I was very young, at the tender age of 15. I travelled to Japan as my very first experience travelling overseas as a young Australian citizen and I visited the island of Honshu and the cities of Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara and Osaka. It was there that I got to see the very best of Japanese hospitality.

But like so many people the world's attention was drawn to Japan on the horrific day of 11 March 2011, when I think everybody felt a great affinity for the Japanese people as they dealt with one of the most significant earthquakes to have hit them, at a scale of 9.0, when it struck 125 kilometres off Japan's north-east coast. This led to a devastating tsunami that swept up to 10 kilometres inland, leaving devastation in its wake. It led to more than 20,000 people dying or missing. Villages and towns were wiped out and, as we have already heard, over a million buildings were also destroyed. But it was dealing with the after-shocks that was devastating to so many communities, so many individuals and so many families.

We heard about the explosions at the Fukushima nuclear plant which led to mass evacuations, with more than 350,000 people becoming homeless in that event. But just as we heard the tales of great devastation and great loss we also heard the tales of great heroism and dedication. We heard of the retired engineers of the Fukushima nuclear plant who went back to work to help those younger engineers who were dealing with this disaster, to give them relief and to apply their skills and knowledge to the problem that was then gripping not only the nation of Japan but also the world. We also heard of miracle survival stories and they gave us great heart and great hope. Today, though, I would like to acknowledge the emergency workers, the defence workers and all of the volunteers who worked so tirelessly and so selflessly to try to assist those who needed great assistance. We also today share our grief with the Japanese people. We mourn with them for those loved ones that they have lost.

Australia's response to this disaster was very swift. The government was completely supported by the opposition in sending a 72-person urban search and rescue team and a team of defence operations response officers, in offering the use of C17 aircraft for relief operations, and in donating $10 million to the Australian Red Cross Japan and Pacific Disaster Appeal. In the PM's first visit to the region—I understand she was the first official to officially visit the region post disaster—she announced a program whereby those most affected by the disaster could spend time in Australia. But the people of Australia also responded. The people of Australia opened their hearts and they opened their wallets. Many volunteered their time here in Australia to raise funds and awareness.

After the disaster the Japanese people have stoically set about rebuilding their lives, their homes and their communities. They have also set about rebuilding their very shattered economy. Recently my husband visited Japan and he said that in the very true Japanese way every individual was making a sacrifice as a contribution to the nation. In the very significant summer heat the air-conditioning was turned down incredibly low—in fact it was non-existent in many parts of downtown Tokyo. The typical business casual went to super business casual as all Japanese citizens dealt with the energy crisis gripping the nation.

Yesterday I had the privilege of joining his Excellency Mr Shigekazu Sato the ambassador of Japan to commemorate the great East Japanese earthquake. We then gave our thoughts and prayers to the families and loved ones who were lost, and we do that again today. We know that the Japanese people are a very resilient people; they are a very stoic people. We hope that they do not have to deal with a disaster of such scale and magnitude ever again. We stand with them, we think of them today and always, and we commemorate the great and significant loss of life in the Japanese earthquake and tsunami of 11 March 2011.

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

I rise today to make a statement in connection with the anniversary of the Japan disaster. We know that this was a horrific disaster. I was in Japan when the earthquake struck. To give you an idea of the magnitude, 700 kilometres away from the epicentre the train that we were riding on felt that earthquake. So I can only imagine the force of the quake and then the resulting tsunami in places a lot closer. As time has gone by we see the absolute devastation, which I do not think we were able to comprehend while we were in the train when we felt the earthquake. It was not until we started seeing some of the pictures come through on television and through the internet that we really got a full understanding. Certainly, when we arrived in Tokyo that evening we had no doubt about the difficulties caused by the destruction that had occurred in the top part of Japan. One thing I noticed that night in Japan is that the Japanese people are very stoic. In a time of crisis and a time of devastation they go about their business ensuring that they are helping one another out. In my condolence speech I recounted that in other places looters have followed earthquakes and destruction—not in Japan. In Japan people were offering bathrooms and places to stay for people who had been stuck in Tokyo and unable to get home. So I have to say that my experience there, while obviously very devastating, did give me some hope that Japan would, with cooperation, be able to rebuild itself.

We now know that in the order of 19,294 people were killed. Around 15,844 have been confirmed dead and the whereabouts of 3,450 is still unknown. This is a devastating number of people to have died. I cannot imagine the toll that that has taken on people's families and on townships that have been destroyed. People have lost so many members of their family and so many friends. It is quite incomprehensible. Whole towns and villages and massive areas were wiped out and many people injured—and there is also the psychosocial impact. Today, no doubt, this is still significant and the Red Cross is certainly working very hard in Japan. The psychological damage from the grief brought about by the destruction of places where you have grown up and known people your whole life is unimaginable. This is a very big disaster to come to grips with and, of course, Japan is still recovering.

I am pleased, though, to read that the reconstruction has started. Soon after the earthquake, the Japanese government went into full swing on the reconstruction and recovery effort. I understand that a lot of the infrastructure has begun to be repaired and I was pleased to also read recently that the Red Cross has reported that evacuation centres are now virtually empty and people have been placed in temporary housing. However, this is only the start. Japan has a very long way to go in rebuilding permanent housing, villages and the damaged areas, and also the economic livelihood of many people. Not only have these people lost their loved ones, their houses and their towns; they have lost their way of life and ability to earn money. In reading some of the statements by the Prime Minister and members of the government, there is a real commitment to help a lot of these people get back on their feet economically, but, of course, it is a very long journey.

The Red Cross is working very hard to rebuild houses, reconstruct these areas and help people re-establish their lives. I was really pleased to read a nice story in the Guardian. Mr Kono is a businessman who runs a soy sauce company, Yagisawa Shoten, which has been in existence for over 200 years. The factory was destroyed by the tsunami. It will reopen its factory in a town just outside its original location. They are getting back on track and have started to produce some of the Kono products using old recipes that have been passed down for generations. Mr Kono said:

Having our own factory will help us rebuild our brand and our relationship with our customers.

It's a shame we can't reopen on the old site, but the damage there was so serious that it would take years.

It is heartening to see that, while so many people are still struggling to come to terms economically with this disaster, we see rays of hope with people getting on and rebuilding their lives.

The Prime Minister of Japan, Mr Noda, made some short but very moving comments on the anniversary of the disaster. He said:

Our forebears, who led our country to prosperity, stood up with brave resolution in times of crisis.

While offering our support for the daily struggles of those people in the disaster-affected regions, we will join hands as we seek to fulfil our historic mission of the rebirth of Japan through reconstruction.

Like many people in this House, I offer my condolences to Japan and its people, including the volunteers who have helped out and the people who have lost loved ones. I wish them the best as they try to rebuild their shattered lives.

Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too rise to pay my solemn respects to the victims and to the survivors of the disasters that were unleashed on the people of Japan on 11 March last year and in the weeks after that. Unlike the two previous speakers, I have not visited Japan, but nevertheless I was very moved by those images we all saw that shocked us. One year after those catastrophic events, we remember the triple disaster of the earthquake, the tsunami and the subsequent nuclear accident in the Fukushima area. It was absolutely tragic and destroyed so many lives and properties.

The earthquake occurred about 400 kilometres north-east of Tokyo, approximately 70 kilometres east of the Oshika Peninsula of Tohoku. At a massive 9.0 on the Richter scale, it was the strongest earthquake recorded in Japan's history. It set off a tsunami that swelled to more than 20 metres in some spots, hitting many coastal areas at seven, eight and nine metres in height and devastating everything in front of it. The wave was felt along almost the entire eastern coastline, but the island of Hokkaido in the north and the main island of Honshu took the tsunami's full force. It was devastating, as we all saw on TV. The wave destroyed tens of thousands of homes, many of which were simply picked up and washed away intact, swept into the sea, from towns across the countryside. Its power and force were relentless and its effect was catastrophic.

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 11:17 to 12:07

Before the bells went, I was talking about the horrific tsunami that devastated tens of thousands of lives, tens of thousands of homes and thousands of other properties and buildings. We all saw the footage of the slow and almost silent wave sprawl over the coast and through towns across the countryside. The disaster claimed more than 15,800 lives and more than 3,000 people remain unaccounted for one year on.

The nuclear accident at Fukushima, rolling out over the days subsequent to the earthquake and the tsunami, was similarly a slow and relentless disaster that played out in full view of the world. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced. Approximately 325,000 people are still in temporary housing, including 80,000 people evacuated from the vicinity of the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The other day there were disturbing images on the TV that many would have seen of a woman feeding the homeless animals that have remained behind in that Fukushima area. Dogs, cats and all sorts of other animals are just wandering aimlessly, obviously suffering as well. In the abandoned town of Okuma, only one kilometre from the Fukushima power plant, former residents were permitted into the evacuation area for just a few hours for the ceremonies that were held on the anniversary of this disaster to honour the dead.

Here in Australia we have heard many speeches on this disaster. The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition and we too have paid our respects to those who were lost on that fateful day and to the survivors who mourn their loved ones—their families—and who lost property. We also pay our respects to those who grapple with the aftermath: the clean up, the rebuilding and the restoration of that great country.

Harry Jenkins (Scullin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure to be here in the Federation Chamber to add my remarks to these statements on the anniversary of the Japanese disaster, the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear incident at Fukushima. I was lucky enough to visit Tokyo in May of last year, some two months after the incident, on the way to the G20 Speakers Consultation in Seoul. One of the things that I found interesting was that this gave an insight into the way that this had affected the Japanese community. The Japanese community was aware of the continuing aftershocks some two months after the major incident. They were on heightened alert. One of the things we should remember is that this incident knocked their confidence. What they were looking for was people to engage with the Japanese community to bring back that confidence. One of the gestures that was so important and so significant was the Prime Minister's visit so early after the incident. From time to time, we might hear some churlish remarks in the political argy-bargy about the level of leadership that our leaders show on the global stage. The fact that Prime Minister Gillard was the first world leader to visit and go to the affected areas and witness the devastation was well and truly appreciated. That visit was a significant thing.

The other thing I want to take the opportunity to do here is to thank and congratulate those who worked in the Australian mission in Tokyo on our behalf in the post-tsunami period. Their work was significant and was acknowledged. Whereas other overseas missions closed down and sent personnel away from Japan, Australia's mission was open for business. That was again significant. Sometimes the importance of these kinds of gestures is overlooked.

I was intrigued that upon arrival and when you entered hotels the major thing you saw was a warning about what to do if there was an earthquake. People were very conscious of appropriate behaviour. And this was, as I said, some two months after the incident. Another thing that struck me—and I am reminded of this by some diary notes I took at the time—was what happened when I met members of the Diet and members of the Japanese House of Councillors who had interest in international relationships. They were accepting of the condolences that were offered. But I made a note of something that was said to me—something that struck me—in a general discussion about the incident and about the safety of nuclear power plants by one of the members of the House of Councillors. That member said, 'I'm sorry that we have caused concerns to the people of the world.' This sort of selfless behaviour characterised what we witnessed in the Japanese response to their disaster.

They were very grateful and thankful for the support they received from around the world. It is hard to imagine a toll of 19,000 killed or missing, 6,000 injured and more than a million buildings destroyed. Coming to grips with something of that magnitude is difficult. And then there is the continuing uncertainty as they try to come to grips with the failure of the Fukushima nuclear plant and try to understand what long-term damage might have been done by that incident. These types of incidents make the world a much smaller place. It brings us as members of a global community together. I join the many contributors, including the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, in yet again expressing sorrow to the Japanese people and our condolences for their losses, but also our admiration for the way in which they have come together and worked with a spirit of defiant stoicism to bring back their lifestyle in those areas. We can also reflect that this has happened at a time when over the last 12 months political activity in Japan has been heightened and has continued, but there is still a sense of that national purpose—and I think that is something that should characterise any political debate in the community. Once again Australia's response was appropriate; it was appreciated. We do not look for the gratitude of a country like Japan but they were very grateful for what we did—we stood shoulder to shoulder with them and that was appropriate. From time to time there are more important things about the way we engage globally.