Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I wish to pay tribute to the many fine Australians who helped to fight Tasmania’s east coast bushfires in early December last year and indeed to all those involved in the recovery process. This is a stunning story of community spirit, bravery and generosity, as much as it is a story of utter terror and calamity. Fires struck Tasmania’s east coast in the Scamander and St Marys region in the week beginning Monday, 11 December. Both areas rely heavily on tourism and domestic holiday-makers, mainly in the summer months. You can imagine the devastating effect the fires had on the area. A heavy pall of smoke remained in the area for some weeks after the fires struck and continued to discourage visitors and holiday-makers. More than 20 homes were destroyed and 40 structures have gone. An estimated 30,000 hectares of private land and Crown land were burnt. Livestock were lost. Farmers were devastated. Luckily, there were no fire related deaths among residents or visitors.

As soon as the disaster unfolded, I went down to the area to meet with the local mayor, Robert Legge, his council and the local community. I attended three community meetings at St Helens and St Marys. We heard very tense, gut-wrenching stories. The Tasmania Fire Service, Tasmania Police and the emergency services presented the facts and addressed the concerns in a professional way. Prime Minister John Howard also visited the region within a very short time, as well as the bushfire areas in Victoria. Immediately upon his arrival, in a joint announcement with Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon, he said that more than $800,000 in additional funding would be made available to help families, businesses and primary producers. This included $700,000 for a community recovery fund, to be established with equal contributions from the state and the Commonwealth. Both governments have agreed to contribute $50,000 to the bushfire relief appeal set up by the Red Cross.

Tonight I want to pay tribute to the Break O’Day Council—to Mayor Robert Legge for his leadership and courage under intense pressure; Deputy Mayor Margaret Osborne; the councillors; the council’s general manager, Brian Inches; and all the staff. They were outstanding in their efforts, which went beyond the call of duty. I want to thank them for their leadership during this crisis.

I also want to acknowledge the thousands of volunteers, particularly the firefighters. In Tasmania we have over 5,000 firefighters, 90 per cent of whom are actually volunteers. In this part of Tasmania, the bulk of the firefighters were in fact volunteers. I want to put on the record our grateful thanks as a nation for their work and service, not only in Tasmania but around our country. I also want to thank the state emergency service personnel, the relief agencies, utility company Transend and its linesmen, who worked around the clock to restore the power, and the townspeople. Many power poles burnt and lines were brought down.

The St Helens town hall was made a recovery centre and in less than 24 hours was overflowing with donated clothing and other household material. The Tidal Waters Resort at St Helens, formerly Doherty’s East Coast Resort, opened its doors to victims and provided free meals and up to 30 resort rooms free of charge over several days. I want to thank them for their generosity, especially the manager at the time, Denver Solomonsz, for his kindness and humanity; the former owner, Michael Doherty; and the current owner, Brian Ragout, for his compassion and care. The resort kept its dining and administration facilities open around the clock. The staff returned to provide food and service to not only the victims but also the firefighters. Thank you to all those involved and to other businesses like the Tidal Waters Resort for their support.

Together with the Prime Minister, I met three of the families who had lost everything in those first few days at the St Helens recovery centre. They were devastated and numb with shock. You will never get used to looking into the eyes of someone who has endured and survived a terrifying catastrophe such as a bushfire only to find out later that they have lost their house and possessions as well. I am reminded of the importance of waking up every day and being thankful and having a thankful heart for the things that we do have. The Prime Minister’s empathy with the families concerned, in those private moments away from the glare of TV cameras and microphones, was magnificent.

I also want to congratulate Fran Bradley, who lost her art gallery and home to the fires, for establishing the Break O’Day Bushfire Affected Residents Committee. I have been in touch with Fran and in fact this week spoke to her on the phone to discuss with her the problem of appeal and emergency funds not reaching the bushfire victims soon enough. I have offered to assist.

Now that the fires have passed for the time being, the region is still suffering, naturally, from the aftermath. Tourism visitor numbers are down. Sadly, some of this downturn can be attributed to media reports which gave the impression, at least on the mainland, that the entire east coast was ravaged, and indeed that St Helens was burnt out. This was entirely wrong. The east coast will recover from this terrible crisis that seemed to come from nowhere, but I urge Australians and indeed Tasmanians to remember Tasmania’s east coast—a beautiful place complete with the cream of Australian beaches that are never crowded. It is in fact the home of the commended tourism attraction, the Bay of Fires—a wonderful attraction indeed—and it has some other tremendous assets.

Prior to Christmas I convened a meeting of east coast business and local government representatives in St Helens to encourage Tasmanians to stick with the east coast community and to be a tourist visitor to the region over the summer. I just want to say thank you to the mayor, Robert Legge, and to those who attended that meeting and supported its efforts, especially to St Helens Chamber of Commerce President Geoff Butler; to Northern Tasmanian Development and particularly Andrew Eastick for his support; to the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for their support, backing it with a $5,000 donation for the campaign for Tasmanians to visit Tasmania’s east coast; and to the state Labor MP, Heather Butler, who attended the meeting together with Ben Quinn, the federal Liberal candidate for the area, who has expressed his concern to me and to the local community in that way. The campaign is underway with the support of Southern Cross Television and the newspaper in northern Tasmania, the Examiner. I want to put on the record my thanks to them on behalf of the local community for supporting the campaign to return to the east coast. The Howard government is committed to the region and will continue to be so.

I want to put on the record what the Prime Minister said in an interview in Tasmania with ABC radio’s Tim Cox during his visit to St Helens in early December, which I think touches on not only the volunteering spirit of our local community but the concerns of the east coast people. He said:

It never ceases to amaze me that over the years as Prime Minister I have visited a lot of these places and they’re all a bit different but there’s one thing that’s in common and that is the indomitable spirit of people and also the willingness of their fellow Australians to risk life and limb, as is so often the case, to save their properties, and that is just terrific, and it’s something we ought to be very proud of. People have come from all around Australia on occasions to help, and I know if help is needed all around, both in Tasmania and in other places, then that will happen.

I also want to thank Rene Hidding, the local Liberal member, for the support he has given the area. He has visited regularly since the fires. I have met with Rene down there and discussed the concerns with him. Will Hodgman, together with the entire state opposition team, went specifically to St Helens for a meeting to show their concern and to get feedback from the local community on the things that they could do. It has been a pleasure talking to and meeting with Will Hodgman about the importance of supporting that local community. Indeed, tomorrow I will have the opportunity to head to Orford and Triabunna for the sinking of the ship Troy D, which has been supported with funding through the Australian government’s Regional Partnerships program. That will provide further tourism support for the east coast.

In conclusion, the east coast fires showed once again that the community spirit existing in regional areas—and to a large extent, in this case, manifested through the invaluable contributions of volunteers on the east coast—is alive and well. Finally, to the volunteers during the crisis: thank you again for your service and for your help. You have demonstrated great leadership and we appreciate your service.