Dick Adams (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. What consular support is being provided to Australians affected by the earthquake in Christchurch?

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

I thank the member for Lyons for his question. The 24-hour consular crisis centre of the Department of Foreign Affairs commenced operation at one o’clock yesterday afternoon, two hours after the earthquake hit. To update the figures that the Prime Minister gave the House just before, as at 12.45 today we have had just under 7,000 calls, we have registered just under 2,400 cases, we have confirmed that 937 Australians are safe and we are seeking to confirm the safety of a further 1,352. We have also—through the Deputy Head of Mission, who was in Christchurch at the time of the earthquake with two embassy staff—established an Australian crisis centre at the Copthorne Hotel Commodore, which is located on the road between the central business district and the airport. The Deputy Head Of Mission there has said that in the course of this morning we have had dozens of Australians call in. They have been provided with all forms of assistance in terms of travel advice, a cup of tea and a shoulder to cry on in some cases. They have been through a really ugly time.

Our temporary crisis centre in Christchurch has had a meeting with 50 local hotel and tourism operators in order to make sure that their Australian customers know of arrangements being made for return flights back to Australia or elsewhere domestically within New Zealand. The temporary crisis centre has also made arrangements for local radio announcements to this effect.

As far as the Australian casualties are concerned, I would add to what the Prime Minister said before in two respects. The first is that we have concerns for an additional three Australians who are known to have been in the downtown area at the time of the earthquake and who, as of today, have not yet been located. The second is that we have been advised of a woman who made telephone contact with the media in Melbourne, and she did so from a building which had collapsed. We have, of course, sought to immediately contact her on that telephone number—but without success. We have therefore immediately provided to the search and rescue authorities the details as described of the building in which she was located. That search is ongoing.

Further, I inform the House about flight arrangements back to Australia. The Prime Minister has addressed this matter in terms of commercial flights back to Australia through Qantas. We are also making the opportunity available for flights through to other domestic locations in New Zealand as well as Auckland. We are supplementing consular staff at Auckland Airport in order to assist people there for onward flights back to Australia. The use of RAAF flights is as the Prime Minister mentioned before. I spoke to our high commissioner in New Zealand just before question time. He is currently at Christchurch Airport assisting in what is a fairly chaotic situation—there are thousands of people there. He and Australian consular staff are at the airport and assisting with the mechanical arrangements of getting people onto commercial or RAAF flights.

I also spoke to Foreign Minister McCully before question time. He made the point, as I think the Attorney-General did in his remarks to the House just before, that the government of New Zealand really appreciates what has been done here. The capacity which the Attorney-General has organised through his state colleagues is being deployed immediately. It is really needed on the ground, and these efforts have been deeply appreciated by our Kiwi cousins. Furthermore, he has reiterated the appreciation for all the expressions of solidarity and support that they have received not just from across the Tasman but also from elsewhere. We and the department will of course keep the House and the country updated on further consular developments.