Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Hansard source

I did not expect to contribute to this debate, but in the few minutes we have left I am very pleased to do so, because I think it is important that Australia acknowledges that a friend of ours, a very good friend of ours, Vanuatu, has been very severely affected by what is a very significant natural disaster—a category 5 cyclone. Last week I was representing Australia in Japan at the Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, and when the news hit of such a severe disaster hitting Vanuatu it really focused everybody's minds about how important it is that the world work together to reduce the risk that disasters pose.

I sought out the President of Vanuatu, who was representing Vanuatu at the conference, and I had a meeting with him and his ministers. The President, Baldwin Lonsdale, and the whole Vanuatu delegation were very shell-shocked. It was very difficult for them to be in contact with their home country, because communications were down, and the information they were getting about what was going on was relatively patchy. I was able to explain to the president and his ministers what Australia was doing in response to the difficult circumstances. It is a terrible situation that Vanuatu and some of their neighbours are in. I explained that we were sending in RAAF aircraft, C-17s and C-130s, full of supplies. We have deployed Australian Urban Search and Rescue personnel. We deployed and AUSMAT team that provides medical assistance and can set up a hospital very quickly. The foreign minister has spoken very eloquently about how important that hospital has been to the people of Vanuatu. We also diverted HMAS Tobruk, a heavy landing craft, which was actually on its way down from Townsville to a more southerly port, to Vanuatu. I understand it has arrived.

The president was very grateful for the assistance that Australia was providing. It reminded me of what a great friend Australia is when our friends find themselves in need. Others in the international community were certainly contributing to the effort, but I must say that I think the extraordinary heavy-lifting that Australia was doing, in doing everything we can to assist our friend, shows what a big-hearted country this is.

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