Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Farrell. I certainly can tell you. Bushfires have a devastating effect on communities around the country, and nobody understands that better than the people of Canberra—both permanent residents and those of us who spend a large part of our working lives here. The firestorm that engulfed the city on 18 January 2003 claimed four lives. Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident. The Eyre Peninsula bushfires of 2005 left nine people dead. The Ash Wednesday fires of 1983 killed 75 people in Victoria and in South Australia. The Hobart bushfires of 1967 resulted in 62 deaths.