Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

In my lifetime I have lived through a lot of Australian summers, and every summer we've experienced bushfires and—more often than not—cyclones, storms and floods. We live in a vast, volatile country that certainly experiences the full force of nature at times. And so it is with sadness that today I rise to speak in support of the condolence motion relating to the bushfires that have become such a key focus and a dominant part of our lives over recent months in so many parts of our vast country. Communities across Australia have been threatened by intense fire conditions. Towns and swathes of property and bushland have been destroyed, and lives and livelihoods have been lost.

The immense scale of this summer's bushfires has been extreme and something I hope we don't see again. I'm very sad to note that 33 people have lost their lives in these bushfires, including nine brave firefighters and aerial tanker crew members who have given the ultimate sacrifice in their service to us. I extend my condolences to the families and friends of each of these 33 people and to the communities who have been affected by these fires. Over 3,000 homes have been confirmed lost and more than 11 million hectares have been burnt across the country.

This bushfire season has been devastating for so many, but it has also shown that Australians will always look out for each other—working together to help their neighbours, their communities and fellow Australians during such times. It is this attitude around unswerving support that I want to focus on today. Areas across Tasmania's north, the Midlands, east coast and southern region have experienced fire activity over several months, including one last week in the Tamar Valley, just down the river from my electorate office. As at the end of last week, Tasmania Fire Service had responded to 1,117 vegetation fires in this season alone. This has resulted in over 36,000 hectares burnt throughout the state.

The number of people involved in fighting those fires is large, too. Approximately 1,700 employees and volunteers from Tasmania Fire Service and the State Emergency Service, along with 248 Parks and Wildlife Service personnel, 116 Sustainable Timber Tasmania personnel and 127 Sustainable Timber Tasmania firefighting contractors and machinery operators have been deployed so far during the 2019-20 Tasmania firefighting campaign. The vast majority of these people undertook multiple rotations. Many thousands of hours have been devoted to such deployments within my state, and it doesn't stop there. Since 16 September 2019, 525 Tasmanian firefighters have been deployed to help battle fires in mainland Australia. This figure of 525 comprises 51 Tasmania Fire Service career firefighters, 398 TFS volunteers, 61 from Parks and Wildlife Service, and a further 15 from Sustainable Timber Tasmania.

Our Tasmanian firefighters joined mainland crews to fight fires and supported operational staff in New South Wales, Queensland and here in the ACT. They were deployed to Coffs Harbour, Tamworth, Kempsey, Sydney, Port Macquarie, Queanbeyan, Shoalhaven, Moruya, Cooma, Tumut, Rockhampton, Brisbane and Boonah as well as the state operation centres in New South Wales and Queensland. Their roles spanned tree felling, investigation, liaison, public information, logistics, leadership and incident command as well as firefighting. I am so proud of the efforts of our Tasmanian firefighters, associated agencies and the Tasmanian members of the Australian Defence Force who have all deployed to fire grounds and operations statewide. I'm extremely grateful for all the assistance rendered by interstate and international personnel—all of whom worked tirelessly to keep our Australian communities safe. Thanks to each and every one of you.

Closer to home, my staff members and their families have personally contributed to this vast firefighting effort. As a volunteer for Tasmania SES, my office manager and policy adviser, Jorden Gunton, spent time last month providing operational and logistical support for the bushfires in the Fingal Valley in Tasmania's Midlands. Jorden's mother, Sergeant Sharon Gunton, an Army reservist with Tasmania's own 12/40th Battalion, Royal Tasmanian Regiment, was deployed to Kangaroo Island, South Australia, to provide vital logistical support as part of the Australian Defence Force's Operation Bushfire Assist. Tasmanian-born Adrian Jones, who is the brother of my diary manager, Jacqui Martin, is the Air Service Australia superintendent and the fire manager for Canberra Airport. In this capacity, Adrian has been overseeing firefighting activity for fires across the ACT and New South Wales, including the fires that led to the airport's closure on 23 January. These experiences and many others across the country give us a unique insight into the firefighting situation and help us understand the implications of the decisions we make on the ground and here, in our nation's capital, whether we are protecting our own homes or making policy decisions around personnel deployment.

Beyond fighting the fires and volunteering support within affected communities, Australians have continued to show their generosity in donating food, shelter and money to charities that are helping those impacted. Across Australia, appeals have raised incredible amounts of money, supported in most part by everyday Australians wanting to make a difference.

Locally in Launceston, a cocktail event organised by the Rotary Club of Tamar Sunrise and supported by the greater business community raised in excess of $72,000 for Rotary's National Bushfires Appeal; Launceston's Australian Italian Club's bushfire relief fundraiser resulted in a $5,000 donation to BlazeAid; and many other individuals, community organisations and businesses around the state have held their own fundraising events for the cause. Generosity in the face of adversity is a proud Australian tradition. These bushfires have left scars that run deep across our landscape and our hearts, but again it has shown us what we are really capable of as a nation.