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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 05 Hansard (Thursday, 13 May 2004) . . Page.. 1813 ..

I am not quite sure how satisfactory this limited brief process has been in giving us a detailed analysis of exactly what happened in the lead-up to and dealing with the fires; but, as I said, we have the coronial process to look at that and get a more detailed understanding and the new legislation, the new leadership and the reorganisation of the very structures that have taken place as a consequence of the McLeod inquiry would, at this stage, appear to be a step in the right direction. We await the results of the coronial inquest.

The thing that is most important to me is to understand what happened, why there was so little warning, why systems failed in so serious a way, and what has been done to prevent such happenings again. Decisions about any punishment and retribution also must be made in the context of full information.

My heart goes out to the many people of Canberra who suffered and are suffering so much. Like most people in Canberra, I have personal friends who lost their homes and have seen the trauma. I believe every one of us feels deeply the pain the fires brought to the ACT. This week I received a message from Richard Arthur of the Phoenix Association in which he made some points rather well. He has given me permission to quote the following from his message:

The Association believes that, irrespective of the outcome of the debate—

that is, the debate today—

it is vital that the Assembly sends a message of moral support to those who are still trying to make sense of their devastated lives.

Ever since the fires 12 months ago, the people in the affected communities have wanted to know why they were not warned that the fires were coming. Each time they get together, the conversation sooner or later turns to that question, and it comes back frequently in private moments.

Whether it was a grandmother’s photograph, or a first baby’s bootee, people are mourning the loss of their most precious, and irreplaceable, objects. They will feel that loss for the rest of their lives. As they do, they will recall how just a few hours warning would have given them the chance to gather those special things together and get them to a safe place. Some will think that they might even have had the chance to organise friends and relatives to be present to help save their house.

Others, who might have thought they were lucky that they did save their house, are now trying to come to terms with the drastic changes around them.

As they think “What if…?”, they will again wonder why they were not warned. Not to know the answer will make them feel hurt and frustrated. To think that there is someone who knows the answer, but will not disclose it, will deepen the hurt, and turn that frustration into anger.

Understanding why something dreadful has happened to them gives a person the best chance of accepting their fate and getting on with their lives.

It is not right that people who have already been hurt so much should have to deal with these additional, unnecessary, emotions for the rest of their lives.

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