House debates

Thursday, 6 February 2020

Condolences

Australian Bushfires

1:23 pm

Photo of Julie CollinsJulie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing and Seniors) Share this | Hansard source

The bushfires that have impacted Australia this spring and summer have not been the normal bushfires. They have been more intense. The bushfire season has been longer. It has affected every state and territory, including my home state of Tasmania. Thankfully, Tasmania was not as hard hit this year as it was last year. Members may remember me standing up in this place early last year, talking about the terrible bushfires that impacted my community in the Huon Valley. That area continues to recover slowly. There are still businesses and families in the Huon Valley who have not yet rebuilt or who have not yet reopened. I say to them, 'The government should also be with you during this difficult time.'

The thing that Tasmanians found very difficult whilst these fires have been on is, of course, the retraumatisation: the memories of previous bushfires, the memories in the Huon Valley from last year, the memories from the 1967 bushfires, and previous memories. It is terrible for those Tasmanians who have been retraumatised.

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