Andrew Charlton (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Wednesday morning an earthquake struck Nepal, killing at least six people and destroying several homes. Nepal's seismological centre put it at a terrifying magnitude of 6.6. The victims include a 40-year-old woman, a 50-year-old man, three teenage girls and a boy just eight years old. I offer my deepest condolences to the bereaved families in this terrible tragedy.

The quake struck in the early hours of Wednesday, at a time when families were asleep and at home. The quake also struck at a time when Nepal is still rebuilding after two devastating earthquakes killed around 9,000 people in 2015. It destroyed entire towns, ancient temples and over 800,000 homes, and it caused massive economic damage.

The number of Nepalese born Australians has grown 25-fold since 2006, with over 122,000 living in Australia today. In my electorate of Parramatta, Nepalese Australians represent the third-largest group of overseas born residents. Nepalese Australians are a strong and thriving community, and much of this success is thanks to the support of local community leaders, including Goba Katuwal, Ramesh Pandey, Alex Karki, Binod Shresta and Barat Nepal. My thoughts are with the Nepalese community today.