Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to congratulate Senator Lambie on this proposed Select Committee on Australia's Disaster Resilience. The importance of making sure our country and communities are resilient is critical to the successful future of our country, and it's happening right now. We know that the disasters we face within this country, the natural hazards, are becoming more and more regular. As climate change hits us, it hits communities and hits real people. It hits the country and those within the country.

In supporting Senator Lambie's proposal for the Select Committee on Australia's Disaster Resilience, it reminds me of a very important point raised with me by some wonderful activists, community people, in the Cobargo area—like Zena Armstrong, who I met at Cobargo in the Bega Valley. In capturing some of the language Senator Lambie was using before, these are the first responders—the people taking a great deal of pressure day in and day out, making sure the community is not only responding but recovering. When others leave to go to the next emergency, the next response, they're still organising the resilience within their community. They're still organising the human recovery, from the humanitarian disaster, which happens after these events.

Zena is a fantastic local activist in Cobargo and the Bega Valley who rose up after the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires—and I'm sure she'd be embarrassed but I am very pleased to talk about her because she is such an activist and has been so involved in the community since then, and been very public about it. There are so many people like Zena who have been so active as well. I want to concentrate on Zena because she embodies a lot of that strength that's now permeating throughout not only Cobargo but also so many other disaster areas that have turned into humanitarian disasters around the country.

As a result of her being involved in 2019-2020 and being on the receiving end in her local community of the Black Summer bushfires, her town is now well underway to recovery. However, Zena told me that it helps to have a good stock of social capital before the disaster hits. I asked her what her view of social capital is, and Zena said: 'A community's capacity to face immense hazards and overcome disasters, however adverse the circumstances are.' She went on further to say, 'This is a capacity derived from community cohesion and an ability to adapt to quickly changing circumstances.'

When disaster strikes, who responds first? Who is it that you call for support? Who is it that you check in on? Often times, it's those in your very own community who'll be the first to support with immediate recovery. They will lend a helping hand and be able to talk about the events over a cup of tea once in a while—and for months and years onward. As we know, in mental health there is really a two- to five-year response when these natural hazards that turn into humanitarian disasters hit.

She went on say, 'Ongoing building these connections in relationships in advance sets a strong foundation for building social capital.' That was her description. To my mind, she couldn't have captured more beautifully the necessity of how we, as governments and as a community, approach the ongoing disasters that are occurring across our country not only as we speak but increasingly in the coming months and years.

When I visited the Hawkesbury, what stood out to me was the incredible sense of community spirit and camaraderie. There was an understanding of the local risks, which was exemplified by a story from Susan Templeman. Susan, who actually is a member of the Labor party, is a very active member of parliament and very active in her community, but I could also include in this those I've met in the Lismore area in the National Party, along with wonderful people, including the state member up there from the Labor Party.

The reason I'm talking about different political parties is that what binds us together is that sense of making sure we make a difference, which goes beyond politics. It's not just a question of areas where there's a degree of consensus, such as in national security or in defence. It goes beyond that. This is an issue that should also have that same sense across all political parties, whether it be the Independents or any other political party. We need to make sure that we get it right and that we build community resilience and understanding. Part of building that is also saying: 'There isn't a lack of desire to fix it straightaway. What are the steps we're taking as we learn together from each experience?' That is what makes resilience and capacity in the future so much more powerful.

Susan Templeman shared with me a story about a mum who was contemplating selling after the recent floods. And, Senator Lambie, I'm going to capture your spirit in this, because I think the speech that you gave was very powerful. I think Susan captured part of that in the story that she gave me. She said that, as she was talking to that mum who was contemplating selling after the recent floods, her 10-year-old son said, 'No, Mum, we can't sell, because, even if we do, we'll have to come back and help, because the next people will get flooded too.' And that says what I'd like to think, and what I'm confident, so many of us not only in this place but also right across the country believe.

That's why we need to be building back better and that's why we actually need to have build capacity within our communities. One of the things that has particularly struck me is that, whilst these natural hazards of floods, bushfires and violet storms are becoming more frequent and more severe, the humanitarian disaster is being met—I wouldn't describe it as being in a haphazard way, but it needs to be met in an even more consistent way, and that should be the desire of everybody here.

I'm not going to suggest that there are simple solutions, but there certainly are solutions. There certainly are answers, and an important part of the inquiry of this select committee will go to another aspect: the important answers to the challenges right across our communities. Again, I won't point the finger at any political party from the past or the present. I try to avoid that because this is a lesson for us about what we are going to do today, tomorrow and the day after that. I have only been involved directly in this space for 12 weeks now. There are a lot of experts out there. The experts are people like Xena. Susan relayed that story and many others to me from people across those communities.

But these aren't natural disasters. A disaster is by no means inevitably a natural disaster. When a disaster hits, when a flood hits, that doesn't mean it is a natural disaster. It can be a humanitarian disaster if we don't prepare our resilience for what is occurring. If we don't prepare our best selves to work out how to respond when those events hit our communities, whether it be flood, fire or cyclone, then we have to make sure, for the next round, the next occasion, that we do. I'm talking beyond the politics. I will hold out Queensland's response to disasters as a good example that we can all learn from right across the country. The unfortunate consequence for North Queenslanders from the consistent disasters they face is that they are battle-weary but battle-hardened. This is the message I was getting from Senator Lambie. We can be battle hardened as a community if we pull together and make sure that we find those answers, and this inquiry would be an important step in finding them.

The commitment to recovery and preparedness by all of us here and certainly by the government is critical when we are dealing with future fires. Look at Cobargo, with the Bega Aboriginal Land Council and the importance of cultural practices. There is low-hanging fruit, but we have to all come together and say, 'Let's make sure that our programs are heading towards an outcome that will make us battle-hardened,' because the battles are going to come more and more often, with more and more communities affected. We have to be able to listen to communities and strengthen our coordination and disaster prevention projects to ensure we are ready for what is to come.

By preparing for natural hazards, we can also protect lives and livelihoods and lessen damage. The Disaster Ready Fund is part of that program, but we're talking about something in addition to that, the real community response and capacity. When the Disaster Ready Fund is made available, there needs to be a real understanding of how that money is utilised to build up capacity, to make sure that we are not just putting in another bridge to be washed out 12 months later because it is the same.

The government are building back better so that communities can be connected, so that businesses can be connected. These are critical parts of the transformation we are doing across the government but are also something, I'm pleased to say, that are shared by many across the political spectrum and across communities that would describe themselves as anything but political but that are very outspoken in making sure that their communities are even stronger. We need to make sure that we have the capacity, for example, for Disaster Relief Australia. Again, I don't want to conclude these as the answers in toto because they are not.

As a parliament, as a government, as the opposition, as the crossbenches, as other political parties here, this is about finding the answers to make sure that we can build a more resilient community right across the board. But I will give a shout out to Disaster Relief Australia because a lot of us here share a lot of confidence in the great work that they do. Previous governments have supported Disaster Relief Australia, but I am proud to say that this government has also budgeted a grant of $38.3 million over four years, which will support and build the skilled volunteer workforce by more than 5,000 to help communities during a disaster. But I am saying more than that, which is why this select committee is so important to all of us in the critical areas, as has been pointed out in the select committee's terms of reference.

I am confident that I share with everyone on the committee that we have a great deal of confidence in the Defence Force personnel who in recent weeks have been doing such wonderful work across the east coast of Australia. Our service personnel do a critical job supporting communities in the immediate recovery period. Across disaster affected areas, in communities from Lismore to Cobargo to Windsor, I've heard firsthand the appreciation and support for the Australian Defence Force now, although it's so many years later. It's like it was yesterday. We all remember the scenes during the Black Summer bushfires when over 1,000 resident and holidaymakers were stranded in the East Gippsland town of Mallacoota. This town was devastated by bushfires and was cut off by an out-of-control bushfire. People started leaving the area by sea because roads in and out of town were blocked for weeks. Families were under stress.

There is a need for that capacity and that ability right across our communities not only to build on the fantastic work that's been done by defence personnel but also to look at what capacity and resilience we can build across the community. One thing that struck me as well was that, during the Black Summer bushfires, the ADF provided assistance across the period from 6 September 2019 to the 26 March 2020. This operation was known as Operation Bushfire Assist. Assistance included logistics, bases for firefighting aircraft, catering, recovery efforts, engineering assistance, evacuation operations, search and rescue and surveillance. These areas are going to be critically important in the future, but we also need to make sure that we are not just relying on the wonderful, powerful work the ADF has done. We need to build on those strengths and the strengths in our community to make sure that our capacity in these times of humanitarian disasters in this country are met.