Page 804 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 1 April 2008
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remembered a people whose very culture, ancestry and tradition were downtrodden, ridiculed and almost lost. But because of the human dignity that is in us all, and particularly the strength and courage of the surviving Ukrainian people, the Ukraine did not perish. It is an independent state today.
Events like this should make us pause and feel so lucky that we live in a country like Australia—a country that, for generations, has enjoyed political freedom and a country that has never suffered the effect of civil war or the effect of a lunatic like Stalin who imposed his murderous will on the people.
The Victorian parliament has passed a motion condemning the Holodomor and honouring the survivors. The commonwealth Senate has done the same. I think it would be appropriate for this Assembly to consider, at an appropriate time, a similar motion honouring the victims of the Holodomor and especially the survivors. We should do all we can to pledge never to allow events like this to happen again—certainly not in our lifetime. It was a horrendous event. It is something we should never, ever forget.
Mr Don Bell
Canberra citizen of the year award
Professor Peter Cullen
DR FOSKEY (Molonglo) (6.20): I wish to endorse the comments made by Mr Stanhope, Mrs Burke, Ms Porter and Mr Stefaniak about the passing of Don Bell and also to express my sincere condolences to his wife, Ruth, and to his family. I especially acknowledge that, as a community, we have suffered a loss. Don might have been very proud and happy to have contributed to a much more positive atmosphere in terms of Indigenous rights and politics nationally and, I believe, locally.
I also want to endorse Mr Mulcahy’s concerns about the apparent exclusivity of some events that are run by the government. It reminded me of the time a couple of years ago when I mentioned in an adjournment debate an event that I had heard about because of my links with the community. I attended it because I thought it would be of interest to me. Similarly, I found that it was attended only by government people and my attendance was not expected or necessarily welcomed. Comments were made publicly about the lack of attendance by the Liberal opposition. Of course, as it turned out, they had not been invited. I think that adds extra insult to what I believe is an injury.
Finally, I would like to express my deep regret that, as a community and as people living in the Murray-Darling Basin, we have lost Professor Peter Cullen. I want to acknowledge his enormous contribution to the environment, natural resource policy, freshwater ecology and the management of our water resources, particularly within the basin.
Professor Peter Cullen played a significant role in the development of sustainable water policy in Australia and his analysis will be sorely missed. He was particularly skilled at bridging the gap between science and the policy and practice of water management. He had a flair for using language that made complex issues accessible
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