Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

May I say, before I start: thank you, Senator Sinodinos, for that wonderful speech. I hope it gives hope to a number of cancer patients.

On a different topic, a little over a week ago I visited Huonville with the Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, and the member for Franklin, Julie Collins. We visited the fire evacuation centre in Huonville and spoke to evacuees and the volunteers preparing food for them. I know that my colleague Senator Brown has also visited the centre. It's really important in a crisis such as this that political leaders visit to get an appreciation of the scale of the disaster and how locals are affected, to show solidarity and to give people comfort that they are focused on the crisis and ready to provide whatever support they can. As such, I appreciate that the Prime Minister also has visited Huonville. Can I say, though, that getting the timing right is an issue for politicians. We don't want to go down there looking like we're disaster tourists, but I think we got the timing right.

Some of Tasmania's fires are still burning as I speak, although recent rain has helped firefighters to get them under control and we're hoping to see an end to them soon. However, the Tasmania Fire Service has warned Tasmanians not to get complacent, even though the threat has diminished. There are still over 20 active fires in Tasmania. So far, the fires have burnt more than 200,000 hectares, or around three per cent of the state's total landmass. Considering the scale of the disaster, I'm amazed, but also incredibly grateful, that no lives have been lost, and property damage has been surprisingly small for a fire event on this scale. This may be considered a lucky outcome, but there has been a lot more than luck at play. This outcome is owed in a significant degree to our emergency services personnel—police, fire and State Emergency Service—who have worked hard to contain fires, to protect properties and to ensure that people under threat have been moved to safety. There have been close to 500 personnel fighting the fires, including 175 firefighters from interstate and New Zealand.

On our visit to Huonville, Bill, Julie and I met with the pilots of some of the firefighting aircraft that have been dropping water on the fire front. Air support is a powerful weapon in modern firefighting and we certainly appreciate the contribution of these pilots and their aircraft. We also saw an army of volunteers who had been working day in, day out to provide vital support and relief at the evacuation centre. I thank these volunteers for their extraordinary contribution. What has been an incredibly stressful time for hundreds of Tasmanians has been made easier because of the efforts of hundreds of others who have given their time freely to help. Thank you to all the volunteers for your service in helping to keep your fellow Tasmanians safe, fed and sheltered. It's a comfort to all Tasmanians to know that, when they are affected by disasters such as this, there are people ready and willing to lend a hand.

There's one volunteer I want to give a special thanks to. This volunteer's name is Lachlan. I met with Lachlan and his mother in Huonville. Lachlan was due to start school just a couple of days after we met him, but he had been evacuated from his home some days before. Every day that he was at that evacuation centre with his mum, Lachlan helped prepare meals for the fireys while his dad was actually out fighting the fires. The most incredible part of this story is that Lachlan is six years old, and he'd been over there working—not just sitting around but actually working—helping his mum to organise the food for the fireys. I think that's an extraordinary contribution from rather an extraordinary young man who is no doubt going through a difficult time but was still prepared to lend a hand.

We're also incredibly grateful for the efforts of our local firefighters and for the assistance we've been receiving from interstate and overseas. I extend my thanks in particular to the volunteers from the Tasmania Fire Service and the SES—and, can I say, to their employers, for releasing them to allow them to go and fight the fires. While they served side by side with professionals, these volunteers are highly trained and highly competent, and they give up their time without any financial reward to enter what is a potentially dangerous situation so that they can help their fellow Tasmanians.

If it wasn't for the amazing efforts of the professional and voluntary personnel, the toll from these fires, in lives and in property, could have been so much worse. But saying the toll could have been worse is not to dismiss the enormous financial, emotional and psychological impact we know this disaster has had on a number of people. Yes, only seven houses have been lost; but the loss of even one home can be devastating for the residents. And while only a few houses have been destroyed, many more have received minor fire damage, or water damage from sprinkler systems.

Hundreds of people have also been displaced for weeks. They've been on high alert and have had to deal with the uncertainty of not knowing when they can go home or whether they will have homes to return to. Being advised to leave your home, having the road close behind you and having to live in an evacuation centre for a couple of weeks must be incredibly stressful. And, while the stress that residents are going through right now is an immediate concern, we can't lose sight of the longer-term impacts that the fires will have. These fires are going to cause substantial damage to Tasmania's economy, particularly in affected communities. A number of businesses south of Huonville have been inaccessible to tourists for many weeks now, and towns such as Geeveston, Dover and Southport will likely struggle to get visitors for some time.

Among the 200,000 hectares burnt are vast tracts of Tasmanian wilderness, including the Mount Field National Park. This is affecting the park's visitor centre and a number of bushwalking attractions. The Tahune Airwalk, one of the major tourist attractions in the Huon Valley, has suffered fire damage and is likely to be closed for a substantial amount of time. Geeveston is heavily reliant on tourism, and the airwalk receives 150,000 visitors a year, which provide flow-on benefits to many other local businesses. And, sadly, some important historic Tasmanian heritage has been lost in the fire, including Churchill's Hut. A sprinkler system was installed around the hut, which was built in the 1920s by trapper Elias Churchill, but it was unable to save the historic property from the fire. And just in case you're wondering what was so significant about Churchill's Hut, Churchill caught the last thylacine to be held in captivity in 1933, before it was transported to Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart.

It will take time for communities to recover economically and psychologically. The Huon Valley fires are in the electorate of Franklin, where my office is, and I know the member for Franklin, Julie Collins, has been in regular contact with the mayor, Bec Enders, and has paid several visits to the area. And the mayor, Bec Enders, has done an amazing job down there. She's a newly elected mayor; she herself was evacuated from her home during the fires but kept on going, making sure that the residents in the area were well looked after. And of course Julie and I would be happy to help anyone who's been affected by the fires and has questions about what help and support is available.

A natural disaster has been declared in the local government areas of the Huon Valley, the Derwent Valley, the Central Highlands and West Coast, where Senator Urquhart is based. There are a number of state and federal financial assistance programs for which people affected may be eligible, including the temporary living expenses grant, the replacement of household items grant, the recovery and restoration grant and the disaster recovery allowance. I know Julie Collins, as the member for Franklin, will be focusing on helping those from her electorate, but for people affected in other areas I know the member for Lyons, Brian Mitchell, and the member for Braddon, Justine Keay, and Senator Urquhart will be happy to help in any way they can. For residents in Geeveston and surrounding areas, the Tasmania Fire Service is holding a community meeting to provide an update on the Riveaux Road bushfire. This meeting will be held from 7 pm on Thursday, 14 February—that's tomorrow—at the Geeveston Community Hall.

It's worth remembering also that the anniversary of the deadly Black Tuesday fires of 1967 was on 7 February—only a few days ago. As well as being the 52nd anniversary of Black Tuesday, it was also the 10th anniversary of Victoria's Black Saturday bushfires, in which thousands of homes were destroyed and 173 people lost their lives. The anniversaries of both Black Saturday and Black Tuesday are a timely reminder of how devastating bushfires can potentially be.

I was invited by the Snug volunteer fire brigade to attend a memorial service for the Black Saturday anniversary on 7 February and to lay a floral tribute, and I really appreciate Snug Fire Brigade's invitation as well as their extraordinary contribution to this season's firefighting efforts. Memories of the Black Tuesday fires of 1967 have been seared into the minds of many of Snug's older residents. Of the 64 people who died in the Black Tuesday fires, 11 were from the township of Snug. That township was virtually destroyed, losing around two-thirds of its buildings.

Australians are no strangers to natural disasters and the threat they pose to people and property. But, as destructive and tragic as these natural disasters are, they also bring out the best in us. The way we come together during natural disasters is a perfect demonstration of the community spirit that is typical of Australians. We have a strong culture of banding together and lending a hand whenever people face a crisis or are in need. It is exactly that kind of community spirit that Bill Shorten, Julie Collins and I saw in Huonville.