Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on indulgence to express our deep sympathy and condolences for the four victims of the recent Western Australian bushfires and their families. The tragedy of people going about their daily lives in a farming community in Esperance, only to be confronted by a firestorm, drives home to all of us the very grave dangers to life and property as the bushfire season is upon us. The Australian summer can be a very challenging and unpredictable time. I want to pay tribute to the firefighters and their crews who tackled these Western Australian fires and brought them under control. As a nation we have a great debt to the service and bravery of our professional and volunteer fire services who put their lives on the line to keep their communities safe.

In the Shire of Esperance this is a time for rebuilding and we are committed to providing whatever is needed to help that community through this heartbreaking event. The shire's president, Victoria Brown, summed up the challenge ahead when she said:

Our geographic isolation … is actually our greatest strength in a situation like this. It makes us strong. We are a close-knit, resilient community and we have always been supportive of one another in times of crisis.

That is the strength, solidarity and unity typical of communities across our great country when tested by the ravages of natural disasters. The bushfire season has arrived early in parts of Australia. All of us will need to be especially vigilant to protect our lives and property in the weeks and months ahead.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on indulgence. The president of the Esperance Shire, Victoria Brown, called it 'The day from hell,': farms and crops reduced to ashes, homes, sheds and wheat bins destroyed and four lives lost. Our hearts go out to their families, friends and loved ones today.

Three of those who perished were international visitors, two from Germany and one from Norway, all working on Karranga Station. Kym Curnow was the fourth, a farmer who had been driving around the district warning others of the approaching fire. It was an act of selflessness that cost him his life. Kym was a volunteer firefighter with the Scaddan Bush Fire Brigade. Brigade chief Gavin Egan said Kym was the one bloke no-one could say a bad word about. Even as they mourn the loss of their friend, the Skadden brigade are continuing the clean-up. We have brief moments where we get emotional,' Gavin says, 'but we just have to carry on.' We pay tribute today to the work of all the firefighters who saved more than 100 homes from the flames, and we salute the generosity of all those Australians who have offered assistance to those in need.

In 1939 when Judge Leonard Stretton concluded his report on the Black Friday bushfires of that year he wrote, 'They had not lived long enough.' This was not just a lament for the dead, many who lost their lives far too young, it was a comment on our whole nation, unprepared for the speed and ferocity of a fire that engulfed communities. In 2015 we have lived longer. We understand the ever-present danger of bushfires. We know the need to be prepared. But on a dry continent like ours we will never live long enough. Summer in Australia will always be a bushfire season. We will always need to take care. We urge all Australians to get their fire plans in place to look after themselves and their families this summer.