Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Kingsford Smith for proposing this motion. I thank the member for Dawson who seconded it to give it its bipartisan character. I thank him for acknowledging the devastation caused by Cyclone Pam on the people of Vanuatu, Tuvalu and Kiribati and for acknowledging the enormous destructive force of Cyclone Pam and its loss of life, as well as the damage to 90 per cent of Port Vila and 45 per cent of Tuvalu's population and the destruction of its outer islands.

The motion recognises the enormous effort that will be required and the huge task our friends in the Pacific face. It is appropriate to acknowledge the international effort that is being provided. But the motion also goes on to call on the Australian government to monitor the situation closely and to work with the governments to provide timely and appropriate assistance as needed. Let me just assure the honourable member that that is exactly what has been happening.

It is important to recognise that this cyclone has been quite devastating. We have seen in Australia cyclones and we know the very significant impact they can have upon communities—the destruction of the means of support, so much housing and the like. This tragedy has cost lives. The number was not, as I understand it, as suggested by the member for Corio. I am told that the official death toll stands at 16 and not 11. Australia has pledged support. It put in place quickly an emergency response. I commend the Foreign Minister, who travelled to Vanuatu on Sunday to see first-hand what was happening. She met with Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister and assured them of our continuing support.

Australia does remain committed to working in partnership with Vanuatu, in coordination with regional and humanitarian partners to meet their needs. As at 23 March, we have committed over $10 million in response beyond the $5 million that the member for Corio mentioned. It included $5 million to assist the efforts of Australian non-government organisations such as Red Cross and the United Nations, including the world health program, as well as UNICEF. They have been providing, particularly, urgent food aid. Also, it provided: $50,000 for emergency sexual and reproductive health services for women in Vanuatu; additional humanitarian supplies for up to 7,500 people, including sanitation and shelter kits; the deployment of a crisis response team to provide consular assistance to Australians; the deployment of an Australian Urban Search and Rescue personnel team; the deployment of Australian Medical Assistance Teams, AUSMAT, as well as the Australian disaster expert to monitor the United Nations disaster assessment and coordination. In addition, the Australian Defence Force has delivered emergency relief supplies, equipment and personnel in support of the ongoing consular and humanitarian response.

We have been assisting Australians. And there were some 1,798 Australians in Vanuatu as at the 23rd, and we have made contact with all of those. We have identified seven Australians in need of assistance. All Australians are believed to be accounted for. The government has assisted people to return to Australia, and this has been particularly important. It is important, also, in the context of Tuvalu that we provided up to A$1 million for humanitarian assistance and that we are working closely with the government of Tuvalu and partners to make available more relief supplies and personnel. I think it is important to recognise that Australia has seen something of the disastrous devastation that has occurred and has, as I have outlined, actively supported the governments that have been so very much affected, along with their people, and provided assistance—as you would expect.

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