Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Whenever I say I am the son of an immigrant and people ask where my father came from, I say he came from New Zealand and they say that does not count. That is basically the attitude that many people have about New Zealand—New Zealanders believe that we are an extension of them, while we believe they are an extension of us, but either way they are virtually the same place. Be that as it may, it was devastating to hear of the earthquake in Christchurch. On 4 September last year it had experienced another earthquake, so the city was not really prepared for what was about to happen. It is like seeing something tear through a major regional city in Australia—164 people died in this earthquake, and if we transpose that into one major regional city in Australia we would know what an incredible and indelible effect that would have. Amongst those 164 fatalities there were two Australians.

This event will have a huge effect on the economy of New Zealand. Australia does have a role to play because we are all in this corner of the world together. We have always worked together. My grandfather was an Anzac from New Zealand, and when my father came from New Zealand there were no immigration laws between the two countries—you just made your own arrangements. This is the sort of connection that brings our two countries together, and by reason of that we have a real task to make sure, as with Japan, that we shoulder the burden with New Zealanders, who we know full well would help us shoulder the burden if the roles were reversed.

Our thoughts and prayers go to the people of New Zealand. This event will cost New Zealand around $11 billion, and that will be devastating for the New Zealand economy. They are looking at around a 1½ per cent hit to their GDP as a result of this earthquake in their second most populous city.

The National Party is the party of government in New Zealand, and the National Party here has strong connections with New Zealand. It was Doug Anthony who built our closer economic relations arrangements back in 1979. We hope to be a good friend for New Zealand over the long term while they rebuild. We know the pain that they are feeling and we will make sure we give what we can in solace and support over the long term. Our thoughts and prayers obviously go to those who have lost family members. The pictures were so graphic—I remember seeing pictures of Timaru, where boulders had ripped straight through houses. These are the sorts of things that shake a person’s faith in where they live. Christchurch had always been thought of as a town beyond the areas affected by earthquakes, and seismic and volcanic activity was far more prevalent in the North Island. So the earthquake was a shock to the people of Christchurch. The people of Christchurch and the people of New Zealand know that the people of Australia will put aside our parochialism just for a moment as we do everything in our power to subdue them in sport but to support them in this time of need.