Anthony Byrne (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In light of the visit this week by the Rt Hon. John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand, I wish to make some comments on Australia's close relationship with our neighbour New Zealand. My electorate has a special connection with New Zealand given that according to statistics provided by the City of Casey there are approximately 5,000 residents of the local population who were born in New Zealand and who are now living in my electorate of Holt.

New Zealand residents in the electorate of Holt have enriched our local community and have definitely brought their rich culture to the fore. The New Zealand residents in my local community have also brought with them, somewhat disconcertingly, their passion for rugby to suburbs like Hampton Park, Doveton, Cranbourne and Narre Warren, as many residents are now diehard Melbourne Storm fans, which again concerns me, and are also looking forward to following the Rugby World Cup that starts on 9 September this year in New Zealand. I understand that even our local Mayor of the City of Casey, Councillor Shar Balmes, has New Zealand heritage. In recent times the thoughts of this community and the local community generally have been with New Zealand as our close neighbour across the Tasman has experienced a profound series of tragedies in recent months. The first was when an explosion ripped through the Pike River mine in November last year. Obviously, Australia was quick to respond and offer assistance by sending our specialists, experts and machinery to assist with the recovery effort. Unfortunately, as we know, 29 brave individuals died as a result of this tragedy, including two Australians, and our thoughts are with them and their friends and family. Following this tragedy the city of Christchurch, which had already experienced a 7.1-magnitude earthquake in September 2010, suffered a more severe 6.3-magnitude earthquake closer to the surface on 22 February 2011. This earthquake caused widespread damage across Christchurch, particularly in the central city and eastern suburbs, with damage exacerbated by buildings and infrastructure already weakened by the 4 September earthquake and its aftershocks.

Significant liquefaction affected the eastern suburbs of the city, producing around 200,000 tonnes of silt. In total, 181 people were killed in the earthquake, making the earthquake the second-deadliest natural disaster recorded in New Zealand. Following the earthquake 300 members of the Australian police, as the New Zealand Prime Minister and our Australian Prime Minister have said, arrived in Christchurch to a spontaneous standing ovation—emphasising the ties between our two countries. The damage is of the order of NZ$15-16 billion, making it New Zealand's costliest natural disaster. Given the loss of life and the profound suffering experienced by those in Christchurch and New Zealand and particularly given the number of people in my electorate who have New Zealand heritage and background, it has been a very difficult time for them but I reassure them that our thoughts are with them at this very difficult time and I note there have been some aftershocks subsequently and even recently. These people make a significant contribution to the life in our multicultural community and they are a significant part and a good part of that community. (Time expired)