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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 8 Hansard (27 August) . . Page.. 2537 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

The initial hours were obviously frustrating for all concerned, as the search for survivors was hampered because of a very real concern that the ground was highly unstable. Further slippage could have been caused simply by small movements on the scene.

During the early hours of the morning, preparations were made across the ACT and New South Wales for what could be, and hopefully would be, a massive recovery operation. The ACT's disaster plan was activated and recovery services were placed on stand-by. Indeed, a contingent of medical staff from the Canberra Hospital was sent to Thredbo, with paramedics from the ACT Ambulance Service. As dawn broke, the stark reality of what we were facing became apparent to everyone. A massive rescue mission needed to be mounted with absolute care to guard against any further slippage.

I wrote to the New South Wales Premier, Mr Carr, on that Thursday morning and offered whatever assistance the ACT could provide in the rescue and recovery operation. I can say, with pride, that some 197 Canberrans from all areas of the ACT Government actively participated in Thredbo in the rescue operation. They were from the AFP's search and rescue team, the Fire Brigade's firefighters trained in urban search and rescue, paramedics from the ACT Ambulance Service, volunteers from the ACT Emergency Service, surveyors from the Land Information Office, officers from ACTEW who assisted with optical fibre camera technology, doctors and nurses from the Canberra Hospital, and engineering staff from Totalcare and the Canberra Institute of Technology. In addition, countless others worked to support those teams of rescuers. Based here in Canberra, many from the Emergency Services Bureau, the Australian Federal Police, the Canberra Hospital and other agencies provided logistical assistance, shuttled equipment and stores between Canberra and Thredbo and backed up the significant rescue effort.

I am sure many of us watched the miracle of Stuart Diver's rescue and felt hope for the many other victims of this tragedy and their loved ones. Sadly, though, there was to be only one survivor, miraculous as that was in itself. The search and rescue operation involved some 2,600 people from around Australia, and for every one of those I am sure there were many more behind them who made it all possible. Today, I hope that we can all pay tribute to those people and remember for a moment the 18 people who died as a result of this tragedy.

Mr Speaker, I say with some pride that the ACT's contribution to this rescue operation was significant and the level of preparedness very high. On several occasions since becoming Minister, I have attended urban search and rescue training sessions undertaken by the ACT Fire Brigade. Clearly, the level of skills built up by those professionals, as well as the many other service personnel who attended, is something we never hope to have to use, but in Thredbo the investment paid for itself many times over. I am very proud of the individuals who travelled to Thredbo, many of whom worked day and night in below freezing conditions to give everyone a chance, no matter what the odds, thereby restoring so much faith in the Australian spirit. Their efforts are worthy of special mention in this place today.

But it is important to recognise that, to so many of these people, they were just doing the job that they had been trained to do. Our community comes into contact on a regular basis with many police, firefighters, paramedics, volunteers and health professionals,

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