Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the House for the opportunity to speak. Over the last few days I have met survivors, firefighters and volunteers in many towns in Victoria—Whittlesea, Yea, Alexandra, Wallan and Traralgon, just to name a few—and I have heard their extraordinary stories of escape and survival and their tragic stories of loss. On Sunday I spoke to a woman who was still waiting to hear the fate of her family, and unfortunately it is the case that many, many people are still waiting—and it is an agonising wait. There are so many accounts of modest heroes: neighbours, friends, firefighters and strangers who risked their lives to save the lives of others. In Marysville, the Prime Minister and I saw the seared and twisted wreckage of homes, churches and all the shops—the whole main street gone.

These people, our fellow Australians, have suffered inexpressible shock and trauma, and healing will take a long time. But even in these early days, despite their terrible loss, they have extraordinary hope for the future. Whether it is the people in Kinglake, Marysville, Wandong, Flowerdale, Churchill or any of the other communities, they are not about to give up. Overnight, some of them have become citizens of tent cities, each night going to sleep under the canvas, but they are already planning and thinking about how they can go back and start again. They want to get back to their towns and back to their farms to get on with the job of sorting through the wreckage and salvaging what they can. Already I have spoken to farmers out in their paddocks, assessing their losses but getting down to work.

Those whose homes are still standing are taking in those who have no home. In Alexandra one family had 18 people in their home. They are sharing their stories of escape and survival. They are regathering and regrouping. They know, and we know, that their losses are enormous. But one thing is for sure: they have not lost their sense of community—bound together by incredible courage and sacrifice and, most of all, an incomparable generosity of spirit. It is that same generosity of spirit and determination which at a national level is driving everybody’s response. While we do remain a nation in shock, we are also a nation mobilised to help. We are ready and willing to tackle the huge task ahead, to help people rebuild the bricks and mortar of their lives, and to accommodate their indestructible spirit of community.

Overwhelmingly, that spirit of community, the notion of belonging and of reaching out, will never be destroyed—not even by the fiercest flames. It is alive and well in each of the relief centres that I visited, where the Red Cross and the Salvation Army are working alongside government agencies, banks, insurance companies and the most extraordinary number of volunteers. The last few days have reminded us that Australians, being who we are, are not the sort of people who stand by and do nothing. And over and over, everywhere I have been this week, it is there for us all to see. People were arriving in Wallan the other day with literally carloads of clothing, baby food, toiletries and the little things that one woman knows another woman might need. People are not only rolling up their sleeves to make sure that the survivors have those practical things but also extending a hand of human kindness. People are holding others’ hands and sitting with them in these terrible times. It is true that we still have to be vigilant and aware of the continuing threat of the fires. But, while that happens, work on reconstruction and recovery has begun.

The Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority has now been established to begin this task, and I will be working closely with the Victorian government, offering the full support of this government. I have already had discussions with the head of the authority, Major General Cantwell, someone who is well equipped to take up the challenge of recovery and reconstruction—a soldier for 35 years with front-line experience in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait. He will be working closely with the Victoria Police Chief Commissioner, Christine Nixon. His first task is to assess the immediate action required: for those whose homes are still standing, this means restoring essential services like electricity and water, and this is an urgent task; where homes and properties have been lost, this means making sure that people have somewhere to live. Then the authority will move to the permanent rebuilding, cutting through the bureaucracy and getting the job done—as the Prime Minister said, rebuilding, ‘… brick by brick, school by school, community hall by community hall,’ restoring the infrastructure which brings communities together. So many of the sporting fields, churches and community centres have been destroyed. These are the things that need to be replaced urgently so that people can come together to meet and connect. We will be doing this, of course, across government but also, and probably much more importantly, connecting with the experience and capacity of our emergency and relief services, the community and volunteer organisations, until the job is done.

The public display of sorrow and sympathy of the last few days has made it obvious that, just as governments stand ready to do everything that we can to rebuild the lives of people and communities, so do the people of Australia. With so many deaths, so many of our people hurt and suffering, Australians everywhere want to extend the hand of human kindness. Financially, everybody’s contribution has been just overwhelming. But many other people want to do practical things. Many of them have been doing practical things: preparing meals and, of course, fighting the fires. There are so many other things that will need to be done into the future, and I do want to encourage anyone who is listening to register with the Victorian Bushfire Volunteer Hotline, and to remember that right now what the volunteer organisations are saying to us is that money is the best form of help but that in a little while they will certainly need the practical help from volunteers so that we, together, can really help people, as they harness their sorrow and grief, to put all of our energy into practical and useful purposes.

It is true that the lives of the fire survivors have changed forever. But they are resilient—very resilient—people. Many of them have told me that they will not be beaten by this tragedy—that they are ready to take on the huge challenge of rebuilding and starting over. But they are realists as well. They understand that rebuilding will take months—years, in some cases. It is going to be a very long-term investment. And they did ask me, on more than one occasion, whether the Australian government would be with them, supporting them all the way. And I was able to say to them that we will be there with them for the long haul, and that they will have our support and, I am sure, the support of the Australian people for as long as it takes.

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