John Forrest (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am grateful for the opportunity, before the House adjourns, to respond to the remarks by the Prime Minister and the acting Leader of the Opposition with regard to the terrible tragedy of the train crash near Kerang in my electorate. I know that my constituents will be greatly encouraged by the condolences that have come from the chamber.

It has been a terrible week for Swan Hill and Kerang. Upon hearing the news on the radio of the terrible accident, there were emotions of uncertainty for those who knew they had loved ones on the train and those who were not sure whether friends were involved. The editor of the Swan Hill newspaper summed it up in an editorial, which I would like to read into the public record, because it speaks for me as to how I felt. I travelled across that intersection less than half an hour before the accident, oblivious to the accident that was about to happen. The editor of the Swan Hill Guardian newspaper, Steve Strevens, captured the grief of the community when he wrote:

WE have all changed.

Whether we realise it or not, Swan Hill and its people will never be the same again.

The tragedy of the V/Line crash will stay with us forever.

While the crash occurred just north of Kerang, the train started its journey in Swan Hill; it was ‘our’ train.

With some exceptions, those who happily boarded the red coaches in Curlewis Street had a connection to Swan Hill.

While some were on their way from Mildura, or on holidays, the others were ours.

Perhaps not directly, but ours nonetheless.

Otherwise they would not have been here.

We know them or their relatives or their friends.

Or someone that is connected to them, no matter how tenuous or slim that connection may be.

We might have played with their children; we may have drunk alongside them or yelled at a football match together.

We may have seen them or the people they know in the supermarkets or walking down the street.

We may never have known them; but we know them.

It is almost as if we are a huge pool into which a rock has been thrown.

The ripples will reach far and wide.

While our rural city is large, in these times it is so very small.

We are a heart which supports the towns around us.

The roads we travel, metaphoric or otherwise, connect us with each other; they make us who and what we are.

We have overcome some enormous difficulties over the years and now we face our greatest challenge.

We will need to give unqualified support to all those who need it, whoever they may be.

We need to take care of our loved ones.

We need to take care of each other—in our homes, in our schools, in our lives and on our roads.

As we have seen, life can change dramatically, irrevocably, in an instant.

Shakespeare wrote that ‘grief makes one hour ten’ and while that is so very true in these dark hours, the grief will eventually pass.

Those who have been injured will hopefully recover.

Families who have lost loved ones will continue to mourn.

As a city and as a region, we will also recover.

We must. We will.

It is a very sobering experience to be part of the community at this time. The community has been very strong in the support that it has given to so many families, not all of whom are associated with the district. Their names are mostly published. There is still one identified victim of the accident, a Korean visitor to the region, who has not been publicly named. They were all grandparents or grandchildren. It is a tragedy. It makes the point of how precious life really is. I am moved by the words of one of the SES rescuers, who said on local television, ‘We need to go home and hug our kids.’ The community will take some time to recover. Sometimes I wonder. Last year, my region endured the terrible road accident which saw six beautiful young Australians tragically lose their lives up at Mildura near Cardross. And here we are again trying to address the terrible grief of parents who have had their families wiped out and grandparents who will not have the opportunity to enjoy their grandchildren. Many of the families and close friends of the victims are known to me personally and are very dear to me. (Time expired)