Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

'It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly.' These are the words of the late American president Teddy Roosevelt in his capacity as a servant to the people of the United States, and they bring us to a stark reality. Many of us can never know what it is like in the arena of firestorms, which have been a relentless presence in many Australian summers. These people faced walls of flames soaring hundreds of metres high, which threatened to engulf the firefighters, neighbours, children, property, much-loved farm animals, our treasured native bush and human communities. Only the people in the arena can know. Only they know the desperation to protect their property, community and kin while others choose to be the critics from the comfort of the stands.

I can only imagine the enormity of feelings these people must have been through: the overwhelming fear and terror; the confusion and fog from unrelenting tiredness; the depth of grief and gnawing of profound loss of life and property; the elation of success on one day and the anguish from losing the fight on another; the tears of others and the tears welling up within; the exasperation of defeat from hot days and changeable dry winds; the gratitude and love from those unknown, met for the first time and never seen again; and, each morning, the sense of hopelessness and despair for many on how to rebuild. The human spirit that built your families and communities will build them again. Please pause to appreciate the huge reserves of courage, strength and tenacity. We are in awe of humanity's mettle. These wretched fires, as with many catastrophes, show us the depth and breadth of humanity, some of which we marvel at and some of which leaves us in despair.

As I stand in our national parliament today as a servant to the people of Queensland and Australia, I applaud our men, women and children across many communities who are in that arena, one of Mother Nature's most extraordinary events—an unrelenting and horrific firestorm. It is these people that we honour today. Your exhaustion, sadness and perhaps anger now must be compelling and overwhelming. My heartfelt condolences go to the families who have lost their loved ones. The heartbreak must seem all-consuming. To all these people, there are no words adequate enough to convey my deepest sympathy to you and your communities, yet I know that what we do now as a nation will matter the most in showing you our genuine support, our solidarity, our care and our dedication to helping you rebuild your lives. We know that we cannot rebuild upon condolences alone; we must also find that which we can honour—indeed celebrate. We have countless tales of courage, bravery and tenacity to celebrate.

To the men and women of these communities: what you have spent decades building has been destroyed in a few minutes by a fire you may never forget. I can never know how it felt to face the walls of fire that reached—according to one friend in the Snowy—a harrowing 500 metres above the ground. Your survival shows you would have reached deep into reservoirs of true courage, grit and determination. It is the extraordinary nature of the human spirit that soars to heights greater than any fire wall that shows us what we are truly capable of when the situation demands it. You honour our humanity. You inspire and uplift us all. Like the radiant heat that is so intense it ignites cars 300 metres from the flames, the human spirit is invisible. Yet, like the radiant heat, the human spirit can be felt and it carries with it enormous energy. The human spirit cannot be quantified. It is imbued, it is resilient, it connects, it encourages, it overcomes, it restores, it re-energises.

The Australian bush breeds and trains firefighters like nowhere else in the world. As a nation, we rightly have faith, respect and pride in our firefighting brigades. The iconic Australian eucalyptus trees that find their way into our poems and stories as simple gum trees, with their frequent shedding of oily leaves and long streamers of bark acting as conduits for fire upwards, are masters of creating the fast-spreading crown fires in the upper storey. This year, as in years past, many people have witnessed the roar through our forests. If that weren't enough, the flammable oil combined with the tinderbox of litter can turn a small ground fire into a terrifying firestorm of exploding gums in just a few minutes. Many have shared with us firsthand accounts of this happening. This is the nature of the beast that our valiant Australian firefighters face when they front up every day. We come to sit at our desks while they face infernos, defend properties and protect life, and in some cases go home to find their own property reduced to ashes. These selfless acts keep us indebted to our firefighters. They also share in the deep pain and loss when colleagues do not make it back.

I honour the work of our Defence Force personnel, who have been eager to complement the work of emergency services in all communities. You are a treasured resource of our nation and we all rest easier knowing of your dedication and loyalty to our country's wellbeing. To our international colleagues who have come thousands of kilometres to face these infernos with us: thank you. My deepest condolences go to your families, who have lost loved ones fighting alongside our own. I pay tribute to the many children who have witnessed not only a firestorm but how a community can galvanise in the face of tragedy. These children have their own tales of loss, survival and bravery. They have been most vulnerable to the feelings of fear and psychological trauma. They need to feel safe again. Let us remember always that it is our children's stories that are carried forwards for future generations of Australians to listen to as a poignant reminder of the nature of this land we all love so much. During this harrowing summer, there have been many examples of extraordinary generosity, including businesses that have given freely to their communities; donations of money, accommodation and household essentials; and our wonderful wildlife rescuers.

As we start our own rebuilding, so is the bush regenerating. Right now the seeds of our gum trees, having been roused by the fire, will be nurtured by the ashes, rise like a phoenix and out-compete all else. Fresh, tender shoots are already emerging, and we will have our eucalyptus forests back, because this is Australia. The loss of wildlife has been devastating, and, as they have done many times over millennia, our fauna and unique ecosystems will regenerate alongside the rejuvenating bushland, because this is Australia, and it has a long history of natural weather extremes and devastating bushfires.

We owe it to the Australian people to chart a steady but swift course for recovery. We must recognise that our landowners, our farmers and our Indigenous communities have the most knowledge of our country and its weather. These people are the best custodians, the best and genuine environmentalists, and the best ones to listen to. We must listen to them because the fires will return again and again and again, as they have done for millennia, and yet again, and it will be their loved ones and their livelihoods on the line, not ours. It is only the magnitude of the fires that will vary. It will be up to the fortitude of politicians to stand in the face of the critics and to champion policies based on enduring knowledge, physical measurements, physical evidence, commonsense and local experience.

I acknowledge that there is an enormous weight of responsibility upon the shoulders of our leaders, from the Prime Minister through to the local mayors and councillors. Those who walk among the ashes are people who many politicians will never meet from communities they will never visit, and these people are relying on us to support their optimism and their will to wake up tomorrow, hoping they have the resources to rebuild. They can rightly demand visionary leadership that leaves them feeling emboldened, shows them compassion, nurtures unity and gives timely and practical support.

As the stories of peril and devastation slowly fade to make way for the next media story, I ask that we from all levels of government, who are the key decision-makers for rebuilding, ensure that these valiant men, women and children do not fade from our hearts and minds and be sure that we are reminded of them. Ironically, fire rages on the outskirts of Canberra as we come together here today to pay our respects. We as a nation will thrive only when we bring all those people, businesses and communities with us, and there will be time for examination and analysis later.

For all of us in parliament, the gravity of the decision-making for now and later is immense. Let no-one waste the time of these people who have fought in the arena, who are in pain and who need our support. They have not the energy nor the patience nor the personal reserves left to cope with bureaucratic nonsense. The Australian people need their servants to be unified and to be of genuine service. They want us to be fair dinkum and to give them a fair go. To all in the arena: we give our condolences, respect, support and thanks.