John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek the indulgence of the House to briefly mention three matters. I know that all Australians would have been particularly touched and saddened by the tragic level crossing accident at Kerang in Victoria. As a nation we are used to traffic accidents. They are a daily occurrence, sadly enough, but this was a particularly devastating one. The personal stories of those whose lives were suddenly taken from their loved ones did touch the hearts of a nation and particularly the community surrounding Kerang in Victoria. Our love and our sympathy go out to those left bereaved by this terrible accident. The Commonwealth government has offered all the assistance it can provide in relation to investigations to establish the cause of the accident. Officers of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau are already assisting their Victorian colleagues. As always, the grimmest tasks in terrible accidents fall to the police and the ambulance officers. Those in the community who take it upon themselves on far too regular a basis to attack police and to call them all sorts of things should remember how terrible the job of police is in dragging mangled bodies from cars and, in this case, from a train. To them, to the ambulance officers and to all the other community services I express my personal admiration and thanks and those, I know, of the entire parliament.

Whilst I am in this vein, I know I speak on behalf of the House in paying tribute to the remarkable stoicism and courage of the people of the Hunter region of New South Wales and of the Central Coast. We are all aware of the severe flooding and violent storms that sadly have claimed nine lives—including, in an absolutely heartbreaking accident on the old Pacific Highway, five members of one family in the most brutal and sudden of all accidents with the subsidence of that road. I had the opportunity yesterday of visiting the Hunter region in company with my colleague the member for Paterson. I met the member for Hunter, the Mayor of Newcastle, Mr John Tate, and the Mayor of Maitland, Mr Peter Blackmore. Again I can only say how tremendously impressed I was, as I know everybody has been, with the work of the SES, the police, the ambulance services and the other local civic officials. Teams of SES people had come from all over Australia, including some teams from Victoria and one from Broken Hill. Once again, the great Australian spirit of cooperation in adversity to get things done and achieve a common purpose was very much in evidence.

I know that part of New South Wales extremely well. They are great people—the people of the Hunter and the people of the Central Coast of New South Wales—and I pay tribute to their stoicism, their matter-of-fact way of dealing with adversity, and the calm way in which they accepted the requests of the authorities. Mercifully, the damage to property and the loss of life was less than was feared at one stage, and that is a great tribute to the calmness of the people and the wonderful advice that they had received from the SES.

This has been an occasion when all levels of government have worked together very closely. I spoke to the New South Wales Premier at length on Saturday and offered him any additional assistance of which New South Wales might stand in need over the disaster relief arrangements that are in operation. I also announced, as is the case in all like circumstances, additional Commonwealth assistance where serious injury is sustained or a residence is rendered uninhabitable or unliveable for a period of 48 hours. This has been a great example of cooperation in adversity and I pay tribute to those involved.

There is one other matter I want to mention. Perhaps the Acting Leader of the Opposition might respond to the first two issues and then I could address the other.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On indulgence, I too seek to make a contribution on behalf of the Labor Party and most particularly on behalf of Kevin Rudd, who today is attending the state funeral of Tom Burns, a Labor legend. I would like to extend the Labor Party’s condolences for the terrible tragedies which have affected the communities of Kerang in the north-west of Victoria, of Newcastle and of the Central Coast of New South Wales.

As a Victorian, I was struck particularly hard by the news that on 7 June 2007 tragedy had struck the community of Kerang when a truck collided with a V/Line train making its regular journey from Swan Hill through the Murray Valley to Melbourne. It is, of course, the worst rail disaster in Victoria in over 50 years. Nearby farmers, locals and passers-by did what they could at the time to help those in the crash, assisting the truck driver from his cabin and helping those who stumbled out of the rubble in a daze to see a shocking sight of twisted metal and a ripped-open carriage. Then came the personal stories of those who had lost loved ones, those who had been injured and those who had survived just out of sheer luck—who were meant to be on that train but, for whatever reason, did not make the train that day. Every death hits hard and many in Victoria and beyond are mourning.

Our hearts have been especially touched in all of this tragedy by the story of the McMonnies family, who must deal with the loss of their father, Geoff, a long-time local of Robinvale, and a daughter, 17-year-old Rose; whilst the youngest of four, Sharice, 15, was seriously injured in the crash and admitted to the Royal Children’s Hospital. It is stories like those that bring this tragedy home. I know that every member of this parliament would be mourning the loss of life in the Kerang rail disaster.

Our hearts have also been touched by the havoc wreaked on the people and the communities of Newcastle, the Hunter, the New South Wales Central Coast and even parts of Sydney in recent days. On the weekend I had the opportunity to speak to my colleagues Sharon Grierson, the member for Newcastle, Jill Hall, the member for Shortland, and Joel Fitzgibbon, the member for Hunter. Indeed, Sharon Grierson is not with us in parliament today; she is back home in her electorate assisting locals. When I spoke to her on the weekend, she told me of personally rescuing her elderly parents, who were sitting on their kitchen table in a house that had waist-high water. I am sure that Sharon’s story is just one of tens of thousands that could be told of what has gone on with this tragedy.

Businesses have been ruined and homes have been trashed. Tragically, no fewer than 10 lives have been lost. I join with the Prime Minister in particularly mentioning the loss of life of Roslyn Bragg, her children Jasmine and Madison, her nephew Travis and her partner, Adam Holt, who did what we do every day—they got into a car and strapped themselves in—only to have that car literally swallowed up by the road. On behalf of the opposition, I offer our thoughts and our prayers for the families of those who have lost their lives and many who have had their homes and businesses destroyed.

If there is one bright light in all of this tragedy, it is the work of the emergency services personnel—the SES, volunteers and others who have put themselves out to help community members around them. That is true in Kerang and it is true in New South Wales. I associate myself with the Prime Minister’s remarks about the special role played by our police when disaster strikes. Both my mother and father served as police officers and the words of the Prime Minister do ring true. We owe a special debt of gratitude to the police, who so often have to look after all of us in these sorts of difficult circumstances. The work of each—the police, the emergency services personnel and the volunteers—make us all very proud. The uplifting spirit and tenacity of the Australian people are always apparent in moments of great disaster and tragedy. Once again, it is inspiring to see Australians working together as mates to pull each other through.