Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Labor Party, I join Senator Cormann in expressing our condolences to those who have lost loved ones in these bushfires. I pay tribute to the emergency personnel, to the volunteers and to all those who have shown such courage in their efforts to protect our fellow Australians. I join Senator Cormann in urging all in affected areas to listen to warnings and to stay safe. As Mr Albanese made clear, both publicly and in his telephone call to the Prime Minister, Labor stands ready to work with the government and affected communities in any way we can assist.

As at a short time ago, up to 60 fires were burning in New South Wales and in excess of 45 in Queensland. An unfathomable 970,000 hectares have been burnt in New South Wales and a further 11,000 in central Queensland alone. Tragically, three of our fellow Australians have died. Many have been injured, including firefighters. Behind these numbers are our fellow Australians—Australians facing the most extreme, traumatic circumstances, Australians facing the loss of homes and, worse still, Australians facing the loss of loved ones. Again, I pause to express our sympathies to those whose loved ones have lost their lives and to wish a speedy and full recovery to all who have been injured.

In New South Wales 150 homes have been destroyed and in Queensland over a dozen. Most horrifyingly, it appears that the worst is yet to come, with deteriorating weather conditions predicted tomorrow. Western Australia and South Australia are also facing serious threats. It is a national tragedy and a national emergency. Right now, today, there are families grieving, communities in danger and courageous Australians fighting these fires. We're with them and ready to support them in any way we can in this crisis.

But I will say this: it is the responsible thing to do, when we are through this current crisis, to focus on what we have to do to keep Australians safe. When I was climate minister, scientists were already warning of longer and more intense fire seasons. Regrettably, these warnings have been proved correct. Individual weather events can't be directly linked, but trends can, and we need a plan to keep Australians safe by dealing with the risk of more extreme weather events.

But today we focus on the immediate crisis and those dealing with it: the rallying of emergency personnel and volunteers; people coming together to support one another; and the images we see on our televisions, the stories we hear on our radios and what we see on social media. At a time of trouble in the world what we have seen is in many ways the best of Australia: the way in which we can come together. So I say to all those who are impacted by and facing the threat of this crisis—to all of those confronting it—and I know I speak for all of us in this place: we stand with you.