Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—This nation is rising magnificently to respond to its citizens who have been through such terror, destruction, loss and now grief. No doubt, with that will come some anger and great distress for quite some time to come. I thank the government for the statement and for keeping us informed. I agree with the Leader of the Government in the Senate that all parliamentarians have been doing what they can, both directly and through support of the government, to get help to the victims of this still unfolding and horrible tragedy. For many of us, that includes staying at a distance while the government goes in on the ground and does its work. I say, as a human being as much as a parliamentarian—and I am sure you will agree with me—that our spirit wants to take us to the people in this tragedy, fold them in our arms, share with them what we have, lift their spirits and tell them, as the Prime Minister did yesterday, ‘We’ll be with you, brick by brick, as you build your lives again.’ We hope that that comes swiftly.