Steve Fielding (Victoria, Family First Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of Family First, I support this condolence motion. The most precious people in our lives are our families, and Family First extends its deepest condolences to the families of the five Australians killed in the airline crash in Yogyakarta on 7 March. Our thoughts are especially with Liz O’Neill’s husband, Wayne Adams, and his baby daughter, Lucinda; Agent Mark Scott’s wife, Sally, and the couple’s three children, James, Stephanie and Emily; Agent Brice Steele’s wife, Kellie; the parents of Morgan Mellish, Dawn and Peter, and Morgan’s sisters, Caroline and Lucy; and Allison Sudradjat’s husband, Ris, and their children Jamila, Imran, Zaini and Yasmin. There are no ties that bind as strongly as family ties and it is these people—the husbands, wives, children, parents and siblings—who grieve the most and whom we think of today.

Senators are regular air travellers. Some of us hop on and off planes the way many people hop on and off a train or a bus. It is part of the job. But I am sure that I and other senators since the tragedy have sat on a plane thinking of our own families and our loved ones and the remote possibility that we may not see them again. After all, despite the increased risk of flying in Indonesia, I have no doubt that everyone who boarded that plane fully expected to make it safely to Yogyakarta. Even though there is the possibility of an accident, it is always a terrible shock when it happens.

These five Australians were serving their country when they died. Whether in the Australian Federal Police, in the government’s foreign agencies or as a journalist, they were all making an important contribution to our country’s work in that part of the world. They all loved their jobs and considered their work a calling.

We also should not forget the many Indonesians and people from other countries who lost their lives. Importantly, we send our best wishes to Cynthia Banham, one of our press gallery journalists here, who was terribly injured in the crash and is lucky to survive. Cynthia is facing a very difficult struggle of a long recovery period somewhere over a year, and she needs our prayers and support.