Page 20 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 11 February 2020
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The Alexander Maconochie Centre, our prison, prepared meals to be delivered to those working on the fires. This is a fantastic thing for our prisoners to be able to be engaged in. Despite the fact that they are incarcerated, they can be of benefit and do something good for the community. This was an excellent initiative and we should do more of it.
As January went on, the fires were close to home. We became more worried about our families and properties here. Thankfully, our dedicated firefighting personnel and some favourable wind conditions have meant that we have not seen the widespread devastation of homes that we did in 2003. It is not by accident that Tharwa is okay and that Canberra is okay; it is because of the hard work of so many.
I say thank you to the dedicated volunteer and career firefighters, all our emergency services workers. I acknowledge Joe Murphy, who is in the chamber, and Georgeina Whelan and other members of the hierarchy at the ESA headquarters. I thank them for their service.
We also thank the more than 6,000 Australian Defence Force personnel who have given up so much of their precious time with their families this summer to help.
Thank you to the volunteers from all around the world who have come to fight our fires, shoulder to shoulder with us. Because of their skills, contributions and tireless dedication, Australians and Canberrans were safer.
Namadgi National Park will need time and care. I am pleased to hear the Chief Minister mention that this work will be done.
I express my deepest sympathies to the families who have lost loved ones, suffered injury or lost their properties. These fires have been truly devastating, and the toll that they have taken is high. The community will be forever grateful to those who have perished fighting fires. To lose your life while protecting others is a tragedy, but it is also a great honour and you do us proud. I cannot imagine how these families are feeling. My heart goes out to them. It is because of their efforts that so many more Australians were not injured or killed.
Perhaps we need to start our year again. I saw on Facebook the suggestion that maybe Canberra Day would be a good day to start again. We need to look forward in 2020 and think of all the great things that will happen, the great resilience that has been shown and the great generosity from Canberrans. I think we should call for a new start of the year on Canberra Day.
MS LE COUTEUR (Murrumbidgee) (11.09): Like all of us, I have been shocked by the fires. There were fires up north last year, where I used to live, and there were fires in the rainforest, which simply should not burn. I was shocked, just from living here and travelling a bit in the region. It is really great for Canberra to lead the world, but preferably not in air pollution.
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