Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My speech tonight on the adjournment is all about giving thanks. I would like to offer my thanks, on behalf of the community and on my own behalf, to the individuals and groups that help us out and give of their time to serve the community. All Western Australians would be very well aware of the tremendous storms and heavy rainfall we've experienced across recent months. It is of course winter, but it has felt like a period of particularly nasty weather. With these storms have come damage to homes, businesses and properties all across Kwinana and Rockingham, in my electorate. No matter how well forewarned we may be about an imminent storm, damage is always inevitable.

Fortunately, local residents can count on the local Rockingham-Kwinana State Emergency Service volunteers to come to their aid when these wild winds rip off roofs and cause trees to fall on houses. Indeed, in one of the recent severe weather events my own home in Shoalwater flooded, as the rain was so heavy and intense it overwhelmed the gutters that we had clearly failed to clean out as well as we should have. Fortunately, we only needed a lot of towels to soak up the mess, but it is reassuring to know that the wonderful SES volunteers stand by ready to assist in severe weather.

Over recent weeks the Rockingham-Kwinana SES has helped many hundreds of local residents deal with the damage to their homes caused by these storms. It is dangerous work, it is uncomfortable work and in this weather it is of course very, very wet work. This work is all carried out by the volunteers in our community. The local SES crew help out wherever they are needed. Right now some members of the unit are in Meekatharra helping to search, in what has now been a five-day search, for a missing 83-year-old gold prospector. These local volunteers from across Kwinana and Rockingham have driven for nine hours to join this search. I thank them for their commitment and wish them the best in their efforts to locate the missing gentleman. The local SES also posts severe weather warnings on their Facebook page, and I urge residents to follow the page to get these timely updates. If you need assistance after a storm, call 132500.

I'd like to thank all the health and administration workers at the Kwinana COVID vaccination clinic who are working all day to inoculate the community from this deadly virus that has now shut down most of the country and thrown the national capital into a seven-day lockdown. Earlier this week the queues of people waiting to get vaccinated snaked around the large building, and there was a two-hour wait to get the lifesaving jab. Still people waited patiently, and I thank each and every one of them who was able to stay for doing the right thing by the community and getting the jab.

I urge everyone to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as you're able. Get vaccinated for the sake of your family, particularly your older mums, dads, nans and pops. If you don't get vaccinated, you endanger the health of those you love. Think of the ones you love when you make your choice about the COVID vaccination. Personally, I cannot wait to get my second COVID vaccination next week at the Kwinana clinic and I will wait in that line for as long as it takes.

And I'd like to thank our local elected representatives who are retiring and not contesting the next local government elections in WA. The work carried out by the local government in the cities of Kwinana and Rockingham is enormous. It is the local government that works most closely with residents across our suburbs, and I thank all local government workers and councillors. In particular, I thank Wendy Cooper, who's retiring as a councillor for the City of Kwinana after 10 years of dedicated and committed service. I also thank Joy Stewart, who will retire from the City of Rockingham after serving as a local councillor for 14 years, and Barry Sammels, who has been mayor of the City of Rockingham for 18 years and has served on the council for 24 years. He is also retiring after this extraordinary time of service. Mayor Sammels has been a great servant of a wonderful city and deserves the thanks of the whole community for all his efforts after so many years. Thanks also to Barry's wife, Karen, who is at nearly every event the mayor attends. It has been a brilliant team effort by Barry and Karen in the service of Rockingham. I hope you enjoy more spare time together.

Some will be aware that my mum, Diana Morris, was recently in a car accident in Shoalwater from which she is now recovering. I would like to thank all the healthcare workers who have helped mum and us during this time. I thank the paramedics of St John Ambulance, who attended the scene and who were calm, efficient and altogether wonderful. I thank those at the Fiona Stanley Hospital who cared for mum during her week-long stay, and those at the clinic who check on her each week after the accident. I'd like to particularly thank the angels of the Silver Chain service that visit our house every day—in particular Marjorie, who looks after my mum's wounds and helps her to recover. You truly are wonderful, and I thank you very much.