Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on indulgence: members of the House will be aware of the catastrophic earthquake that occurred in Haiti on 12 January—an earthquake of a magnitude of 7.0, striking the most highly populated part of that nation. Australia is a long way from Haiti, but Australians have nevertheless been moved by the images that we have seen of this terrible tragedy. It is a tragedy on a scale that simply defies our comprehension. It reminds us in its human dimension of the tsunami much closer to home. The number of people affected is beyond imagining. An estimated 170,000 men, women and children are now confirmed to have lost their lives. A quarter of a million people are injured, waiting for medical help. Up to one million people are left without a home or any belongings. The nation’s infrastructure has suffered colossal damage, including to hospitals, roads, schools, water supplies and electricity and communications networks.

For any country, this earthquake would have been a terrible tragedy, but in Haiti it is particularly traumatic. Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Indeed, the disaster is made all the more tragic by the fact that Haiti’s future had in recent times begun to look brighter. Relative stability had been restored to Port-au-Prince after years of extreme gang violence. Foreign investment was on the rise, and new economic opportunities were emerging. Then this quake hit. On behalf of the parliament and the Australian government, I extend our deepest condolences to the people of Haiti and to the families and friends of the victims of the quake. Among the confirmed dead is an Australian-British dual national who worked with the United Nations, Frederick Alan Wooldridge. We convey our deepest sympathy to Mr Wooldridge’s family and to his friends.

In this time of crisis for the people of Haiti the international community has responded quickly and generously. As of yesterday, the United Nations Financial Tracking Service reported that almost US$1.25 billion had been contributed or committed, and a further US$781 million had been pledged. Australians have, in the great Australian tradition of compassion for those near and far, donated $13.5 million already through such charities as World Vision, Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders. The Australian government has also committed $15 million to these humanitarian efforts. This comprises $10 million in emergency assistance and $5 million in longer term help. Of this funding, $2.5 million will be provided to Australian non-government organisations who are working with vulnerable populations, including women and children. The Australian funding will also include assistance to help children recover from the devastation wrought by this earthquake, including many who have become orphans. There will also be support for projects to provide children affected by the earthquake with ongoing schooling and safe locations. I also announced on 24 January that the government has approved the deployment of a small team of Defence air traffic controllers to assist America’s efforts to bring supplies into Haiti as quickly as possible.

We know that the recovery and healing process in Haiti will take years. It will require ongoing support from the international community, and the Australian government stands, as always, ready to assist in these efforts. To conclude these remarks about Haiti, the principal supporter of Haiti in its time of need is of course the government of the United States of America, and we appreciate America’s continued global role in tragedies of this order of magnitude and remember America’s heavy lift effort early in the days of the tsunami. Bearing that in mind—I am sure with all members of this place—we place on record our welcome and anticipation of the visit of the President of the United States, Barack Obama, and his family to Australia during the month of March.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

on indulgence—I join the opposition to the Prime Minister’s remarks of sympathy and support for the people of Haiti. What can we say about tragedy on this scale but to bow our heads in sorrow? Tragedy on this scale can do nothing but unite all of us in grief. We believe that there are 100,000 dead—maybe many, many more. This is sorrow almost beyond the scale of ordinary comprehension, but it is good that Australia has been able to do its bit to help. I acknowledge the remarks of the Prime Minister about the American effort in its own backyard, and I am sure that the people of the world, let alone the people of Haiti, are grateful for the great efforts that the Americans are going to in this respect.

It was a famous Labor man, 60-odd years ago, who spoke of a light on the hill—not to make someone Prime Minister or premier, not just to put an extra sixpence in people’s pockets, but to work for the betterment of mankind not just here but wherever we can lend a helping hand. In saying that, in one of the memorable passages of Australian politics, Ben Chifley did not just speak for the Labor Party; he spoke for Australia. Australians like to lend a helping hand wherever we can, and I take quiet pride in the strong and long arm of Australia that, even in the Western Hemisphere, makes it possible for us to do what we can to help the people of Haiti. We grieve for the dead; we feel for the living. We are resolved to do what we can to ensure that they will not be abandoned, and we admire the human resilience that they have shown, which reminds us of the great capacity of human beings to bear up even to unimaginable strain.