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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 1 Hansard (30 January) . . Page.. 4 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

Mr Speaker, it is no secret that Canberra has its critics, and they definitely came out of the woodwork in the aftermath of the bushfires. Segments of the national media joined in, quick to find someone to blame without stopping to find out what had actually happened and barely making a passing reference to the people who had lost their homes and even their lives. I hope all those critics of Canberra-those who look from afar and criticise the home we love and who claim that it doesn't have a soul-take note of the incredible community spirit we have seen in the days since the fires.

Canberra is not merely a collection of houses and national monuments; it is a living, breathing community with unlimited capacity to give, care and pull together. Immediately after the fires descended on Canberra, an absolute flood of donations began-in the form of money, as well as food, clothing, toiletries and just about everything one could think of.

People quickly and overwhelmingly answered the appeals for help. People, as well as a great many local businesses, were amazingly generous-so generous, in fact, that more clothes, food and other goods were donated than could actually be used. Many people, businesses, sporting clubs and other organisations-as well as governments-around Australia also expressed their generosity by donating to the Canberra bushfire recovery appeal and offering whatever other assistance they thought we could utilise.

Since the appeal was launched on 20 January, more than $21/2 million has been donated. This is a remarkable amount of money in such a short time, and I urge all Canberrans and all Australians to donate whatever they can to the appeal to help us reach the target of $10 million.

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Bishop George Browning and Michelle Thorne for their great work in co-ordinating the appeal and getting it going. Their efforts will be invaluable over the coming months as we undertake the daunting task of recovery and reconstruction. The generosity that Canberrans have shown over the last two weeks has been absolutely remarkable; it makes me utterly proud to be a Canberran.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the many thousands of Canberrans who gave their time to help out, working behind the scenes to ensure the firefighters and the victims of the fires had, and continue to have, the support they need.

I am aware that community networks have sprung up all over Canberra and that clubs, neighbourhoods, multicultural groups and all manner of organisations are working to look after their own. And, of course, we shouldn't forget the bravery and selflessness that ordinary Canberrans showed, even as the fires swept through their neighbourhoods. A great number of extraordinarily brave rescues were conducted at the height of the blaze.

Special thanks and praise go to the volunteer and professional firefighters who stood between our homes and the wall of fire. The bravery of these men and women, some of whom continued to fight the fires even after learning that their own homes had been destroyed, was absolutely tremendous.

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