Page 917 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 24 February 2009
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MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra) (5.36): This is an important motion and I thank the minister for emergency services for bringing it forward. It is appropriate that it should be done on the day, as the Chief Minister has just reminded us, when one of our own firefighters was buried after his untimely and tragic death in the heart of the fires in Victoria.
One of the things that many people said to me after the tragic fires of 2003 in the ACT was what a wonderful thing it was that it showed that Canberra was a city with heart. There were the activities of fundraising and, when the fires broke out and emergency accommodation had to be provided to people at schools around Canberra on the night of the fire or following the fire, we got to the stage where radio broadcasts were put out saying: “Please don’t bring anything else. Do not bring any more food. We have enough sandwiches et cetera.” That showed just how much heart the people of Canberra have.
That has been repeated in the response to the tragic bushfires in Victoria. The Chief Minister gave a lengthy list of activities undertaken spontaneously by the community that show that the people of Canberra are prepared to dig deep in support of their fellow Australians who are suffering, because we remember what it was like. We remember what it was like for us in Canberra, for our neighbours and friends, and we know to some small extent what these people are going through.
In the last little while I have attended a range of arts functions. The Free Rain Theatre Company collected money. When we were at the CSO prom concert at Government House there was a large collection again. When I was at Free Rain, I was approached by the Canberra Repertory Society, who told me that they were going to donate all of their takings for their preview night and asked me to do all that I could to help publicise that event so that they could get a full house for their preview night.
The other night some members—Ms Porter, Mr Coe and Mr Doszpot; did I see you there as well, Mr Doszpot?—attended the CAT awards, where the Salvation Army was collecting for the bushfire. Over the weekend, I had an opportunity to attend a number of community functions where there was fundraising. I think the Chief Minister spoke of the sausage sizzles at both the Charnwood shops on Saturday and at the Melba shops. Actually, it was not a sausage sizzle at the Melba shops; it was an egg and bacon roll sizzle, with bacon from the excellent Melba butcher. I understand that Rotary also did a collection at Jamison on behalf of the Balfour family on Saturday morning, as well as donating some of the proceeds of their normal Jamo trash and treasure. They are just some of the examples of the outpouring of support from people in the community who can do no more than donate.
But on top of that there are the extraordinary lengths that have been gone to by members of our volunteer service and also our paid emergency services people who have gone on multiple occasions to Victoria to help in the fire-fighting effort. Mr Smyth spoke at length and eloquently about that.
The work of Canberrans is going on. I draw members’ attention to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Benefit Concert, which Mr Stanhope alluded to. I want to pay tribute
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