Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today with a heavy heart to honour two beautiful children from our community, Katherine and Harry. Katherine was five years old. Her baby brother was 14 months old. They were taken from us far too soon after the devastating accident in Cabramatta last Wednesday afternoon. This statement is, above all, to honour them: two precious children, deeply loved by their parents, Sok Ram and Vundy Tha. That very day, Katherine had received an award at kindergarten. Harry was still a baby, with his whole life ahead of him. In one unthinkable moment, Sok and Vundy lost both of their children. Our whole community has felt the weight of that heartbreak.

Sok came to Australia from Cambodia in 2018 to build a better life. Vundy, also born in Cambodia, arrived in 2003. Like so many families in Fowler, they worked hard and sacrificed quietly, pouring everything they had into their children. They are exactly the kind of family that makes our community strong: humble, hardworking and full of love.

Fowler is one of the most multicultural places in Australia. We come from many countries. We speak many languages. We hold different faiths and different traditions, but, last Wednesday, none of that mattered. Strangers did not stand back. They ran forward. Motorists stopped their cars. Members of the public worked together to lift the vehicle. Others performed CPR. People did everything humanly possible to save Katherine and Harry. That is what being Australian truly means. We come from every corner of the world, but, in a moment of need, we stand together as one.

In the days that followed, the community wrapped its arms around Sok and Vundy. People came forward with help, donations and prayers, not because they were asked but because they could not bear to let a grieving family stand alone. A tragedy like this leaves more than one heart broken. There are others touched by that day who will carry it quietly for the rest of their lives. They are in my thoughts, too. I place on record my deepest thanks to every person who rushed to help—every first responder, every neighbour and everyone who has surrounded this family with love.

To Sok and Vundy: we remember Katherine and Harry in this parliament. Our community mourns with you, stands with you and will carry you in the days and years ahead. May Katherine and Harry be remembered always. May their memory live on in the hearts of their family and in the way Cabramatta and Fowler came together as one that day.