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

I move:

That this House:

(1) expresses its deepest condolences for the victims of the devastating earthquakes that hit central Italy on 24 August and 30 October 2016;

(2) recognises the:

(a) ongoing suffering and displacement that the earthquakes have caused to the residents of the affected towns; and

(b) courageous and tireless work of the emergency and medical workers, and volunteers to save lives and prevent further tragedies; and

(3) expresses our sincere thanks to the Australian communities who have rallied to show their support and solidarity in the face of this tragedy.

Today I want to take the opportunity to talk about the generosity of the South Australian communities who have rallied together to help the victims of these devastating earthquakes in Italy.

On 24 August a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck central Italy, reducing three towns in the regions of Lazio, Umbria and Marche to absolute rubble and devastating many other towns and villages. In total almost 300 people died and 400 people were injured.

In the town of Amatrice alone, 234 people lost their lives. The area had hardly settled into this new reality when it was struck by another 6.6 magnitude quake, which hit central Italy on 30 October—the biggest tremor to be felt in the region for 40 years. The second quake was centred near Norcia, around 68 kilometres south-east of Perugia. The area remains devastated and more than 15,000 people are being housed in temporary shelters.

I moved this motion because I wanted to ask this House to express our deepest condolences to the Italian people who suffered so much as a result of these disasters. We grieve for those who lost their lives or who were injured, and for their friends and families; for those who were left homeless or without work; and for those who suffered and who continue to suffer the shock and fear. A massive reconstruction effort will now be needed.

I also want to take the opportunity to thank the many thousands of Italians who donated food, clothes, toys and blankets and who opened their homes to those who no longer had one. They staffed makeshift kitchens, fed people and clothed people in that region. This spirit of generosity was also not just in Italy. Solidarity was certainly felt all the way here in Australia in efforts that certainly have been echoed throughout all around Australia in the Italian communities.

The Marche Club in Adelaide mobilised its efforts immediately to help in any way it could. I attended a fundraiser with the member for Makin, with the whole Italian community in South Australia coming together. Marche is one of the regions severely destroyed in the earthquakes, and the Marche Club immediately set up a fundraising committee called the Adelaide Central Italy Earthquake Appeal. They undertook a massive fundraising effort that included dinners, donations and countless volunteer hours. In a sign of great generosity and friendship, the Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia took the initiative to pass around an extra collection plate at all of their churches for the victims of the Italian earthquake during church services. This simple act collected $5,000, which the Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia decided to contribute to the funds being collected by the Marche Club.

I had the great pleasure of assisting in bringing in the Greek and Italian efforts together. Together with the member for Makin, we held discussions with the Italian ambassador in Canberra, His Excellency Pier Francesco Zazo, at the embassy and the Italian consul in Adelaide, Ms Roberta Ronzitti. Both were very touched by this thoughtful gesture and the friendship between the two communities. We facilitated a meeting between Bill Gonis, the president of the Greek Orthodox Community, and Cathy Papandrea, chairperson of the Adelaide Central Italy Earthquake Appeal. Cathy invited Bill and I to join the fundraising committee for a dinner to officially hand over the money that was raised by the Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia. It was a wonderful evening. It was inspiring to see the goodwill that exists between our wonderful communities in Australia. In total, the fundraising efforts by the Adelaide Central Italy Earthquake Appeal are likely to raise around $100,000. This money will go towards funding a project to help people in some of the worst affected towns in the Marche region.

There are too many people who have contributed to this fundraising effort to single out any one person or group. Instead, I want to acknowledge the sense of generosity, solidarity and friendship that this act symbolises, because this is what keeps us going through difficult times. I sincerely commend and thank everyone who has contributed to these efforts. I would just like to say a couple of words of Italian, and I am sure the member for Makin will correct for me if I do not pronounce them correctly. Grazie per la vostra generosita' e amicizia: your assistance is greatly appreciated and acknowledged. That is for all those people who have volunteered their time to raise much needed funds for the Italian earthquake victims.

George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to second this motion and commend the member for Hindmarsh for bringing this matter to the attention of the House. He did very well with his Italian and the translation just a moment ago.

All of Italy was in shock on 24 August. It was in physical shock in the central part of Italy where the earthquake and the subsequent tremors took place, but the rest of the country was in emotional shock as a result of what was happening. I will not go through all of the statistics again, because I think the member for Hindmarsh has already done covered the extent of the devastation that occurred on that day—and, indeed, on subsequent days. I understand that even up to a couple of weeks ago there were still tremors being felt in the same region generally. Instead, I just want to make some general observations and comments about what happened in Italy.

Italy is not a country where the people are unaccustomed to natural disasters, be it earthquakes, in particular, or floods or landslides. The records will show that over the years, particularly in the last 100 years, there has been a series of events, one after the other, where people have lost their lives, homes have been lost and many people have been left homeless. The country is quite accustomed to dealing with natural disasters. In fact if we look at some of the statistics in recent years, we find that in 2009 in L'Aquila, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake left 308 people dead, 1,500 injured and 65,000 homeless. On 24 August we saw that happen again, with a very similar numbers. In 1997, so in the last 20 years, another 40,000 people were left homeless and 13 killed as a result of an earthquake in Umbria-Marche region. So the country is accustomed to dealing with crises.

But this particular time I could sense from the news reports I was reading that were coming out of Italy and from people here in Australia who were in regular contact with their family members in Italy that this was quite devastating. I think the devastation was because they knew what happened on 24 August was not necessarily the end of the earthquakes and that they would continue, and I think the scientific advice that was being provided to them was suggesting that that would be the case. Whilst I understand that, at the time, the relief efforts were absolutely fantastic—indeed, the member for Hindmarsh and I met a young man at the Marche Club who had just come from Italy and who had participated in the relief efforts at the time. He talked about the devastation—he had seen it firsthand—and was able to give us a firsthand account of what happened there. It was truly terrific to see everyone pulling together.

One may well say, 'Italy is an advanced country, and I am sure that they can manage to deal with situations like that.' But I believe that when countries like Australia and others stand up and show acknowledgment for what has happened and in turn try to do what we can to give support, it adds a level of moral courage to the people who are back there doing the work. I think that is the importance of what happened at the Marche Club in Adelaide a couple of months ago, when the community came together to raise funds—I do not remember what the final figure was, but it was tens of thousands of dollars—that will be sent back there to help them, as we saw with $5,000 from the Greek community. It is that moral courage to let people know that you are not alone at a time like this. There are people around the world who are happy to stand up and support you in any way they can.

I particularly say that since, in Australia, we have nearly a million people who would claim that their heritage is of Italian descent. Indeed, some 700,000—or thereabouts—Italians have come to this country over the years. Of course, a lot of them are no longer still with us and have passed on. Italian migration largely stopped in 1970, but the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those migrants are still here and still have connections with those regions and the people there. They visit them when they go on holidays back to Italy, and so they are familiar with the country and the connections that they have made.

It is wonderful to see that the Italians who have come to Australia have not forgotten their heritage and have been prepared to stand up at a time of need and support their country in any way they can. Congratulations and well done to all those who have supported this cause, and in particular to the Marche Club for organising the fundraiser in Adelaide. Once again, I thank the member for Hindmarsh for bringing the matter to the attention of the House.

Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his contribution. The time allocated for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order for the next day of sitting.