Melissa Parke (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 25 April, while Australia commemorated the Centenary of Anzac, Nepal was hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, the worst natural disaster to strike Nepal since 1934. Casualties were also reported in India, China and Bangladesh. Yesterday a further quake struck Nepal—a 7.3 magnitude event. We are still waiting to hear the extent of the damage. We know at least 50 people have died and more than 1,000 were injured. As a result of the widespread devastation caused by the initial disaster, more than 8,000 were killed and 18,000 were injured. The impact in terms of the destruction of homes and infrastructure has been immense.

Facing this catastrophe Nepal has showed great resilience and spirit. We have seen local Nepalese people, emergency personnel, aid workers and international visitors doing extraordinary things in their tireless work to rescue and care for those affected. The scale of this disaster, now exacerbated by a second quake, will put severe pressure on Nepal's already limited resources, making it essential that international efforts to assist continue and grow, with a special focus on vulnerable communities, women and children.

At the same time I am heartened to see people in my community respond. For example, the 'Restoring Nepal' collaborative will hold a clothes swap at the University of Notre Dame next Friday, operate an ongoing crowd-funding campaign and host a concert in June at the Fremantle Sailing Club. Proceeds will be delivered to Nepal via Oxfam and the Gyuto monks of Tibet. I thank the Australian government for committing $20 million in immediate emergency assistance but also urge the foreign minister and government to reconsider the further devastating aid cuts that were delivered in the budget overnight.