Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the Senate for the opportunity to speak on the condolence motion today. Since the last time the Senate met, fires have ravaged, devastated and destroyed large parts of our ancient continent. Amongst the horror of this summer, affecting hundreds of thousands of Australians, 33 Australians have lost their lives, and today we remember them all. We pay our respects to them, and we send our love to their families in their time of grief. Three thousand homes have been destroyed and millions of hectares of our beautiful bush lost to fires. Wildlife has been devastated. It's almost impossible to comprehend the extent of the loss and the ongoing impact of these fires on regional communities, on regional economies and on our ecology.

To all of those who have helped keep communities safe: we thank you. Your bravery and dedication to protecting your fellow Australians has been humbling to witness. Your work is a very powerful act of love and commitment to your families and your communities. In you, we have seen the best of Australia, and we are in awe of your efforts.

In my own home town, this summer has been like no other. Whilst we haven't necessarily endured the crisis that those over the border have, we have felt it. We have breathed it. These places are all part of our region. They are part of the fabric of Canberra life. We know and love these beautiful places. We spend a lot of time in them, and we have witnessed in horror as the fires threaten and destroy homes, lives and habitats without mercy. Since early December, we've been blanketed in smoke from fires to our north, south and west. The summers of children playing outside, of barbecues and of the normal relaxing and recovering from a busy year all seem distant and impossible in the summer of 2019-20. Buying your child a mask to wear if they leave the house is a very confronting act, and checking the air quality apps just to see whether you can go outside becomes an hourly task.

For the past two weeks, the Orroral Valley fire has menaced our local community—unfortunately, accidentally started by a Defence helicopter but spread due to the tinder-dry bush from protracted drought. This fire has already burnt more than 50 per cent of Namadgi National Park, a figure which simply doesn't capture the magnitude of the loss of this amazing national park and all the animals that live there. We are heartbroken at the loss of this. Burnt out in the devastating fires of 2003, Namadgi was just returning to its full glory when this fire struck. The people of Tharwa and south Tuggeranong have waited, and are still waiting, as this fire continues to threaten all around it. The Clear Range fire, which devastated Bumbalong on the weekend and threatened Bredbo, and the Calabash fire, which threatened Tinderry and Michelago—both fires which originated from fire behaviour from the Orroral Valley fire—continue to burn. We know that it's not over. There are weeks yet of danger ahead for us—anxious, tiring, stressful weeks.

To the many Canberrans who have reached out to me throughout this time, I thank you. Your contributions help me to be a better representative, and I have heard you. Canberrans have told me that they are frustrated with politics and want to see greater leadership and more effort put into reaching bipartisan agreement when it's clearly in the national interest. They want to see more action on climate change. They are angry at what they see as government inaction. They have ideas about support for volunteers and managing the land, and they want to see the Labor Party stay strong on climate change and not abandon ambitious climate policies. People have spoken to me on the street, in the supermarket and out and about and they have contacted me via email, desperate to let me know that this is not business as usual which will be resolved with a business-as-usual response.

I know we will all have more to say about this once the immediate crisis is over and so, for today, tomorrow, and until these fires are put out, let me acknowledge, in relation to the fires near me, the professional response from the ACT government and the ACT Emergency Services Agency in terms of the fires directly affecting my community. As the minister responsible for recovery after the fires of 2003, I can see just how much has changed since that time. With the lessons learnt from those fires, where we lost four Canberrans and 500 homes on 18 January, we have been preparing for this time for the last 17 years, and it shows. The preparedness, the resourcing, the communication and the advice to communities have been impressive, and we have felt safe with the leadership of Andrew Barr, ACT ESA Commissioner Whelan and ACT Rural Fire Service Chief Officer Joe Murphy. We thank them for their efforts.

To all of the ACT and New South Wales emergency service workers and recovery staff who've been working so hard to keep people safe; protect property, livestock and wildlife; and look after and care for those who have lost or are displaced due to the fires: we are more grateful than you could know. To the coastal communities and the beautiful Snowy Monaro: Canberrans will be right by your side as you rebuild and welcome people back to your piece of paradise.

So, as we gather to pay our respects today, let us commit to remembering what happened this summer and to doing everything within our power as senators in this place to stop this happening again. Let us remember the loss of life. Let us remember the loss of property, livestock, national parks and native animals. Let us remember the mass evacuations. Let us remember the air pollution. Let us remember the anxiety, the stress and the anger felt by those affected and by those who could only stand by and watch. Let us join today and promise that, when the fires are put out, the air pollution dissipates, the crisp blue skies return and the rain comes, we will not forget the summer of 2019-20, and let us commit to doing whatever we can in the short, medium and long term to make sure we protect our country and communities from the very real and present effects of a changing climate.