Page 60 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 11 February 2020
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Canberra Pet Rescue even had to evacuate their warehouse, and then their headquarters, on two separate occasions due to the threat of fires, but their enthusiasm has not been impeded.
Madam Assistant Speaker, if bushfires and hazardous smoke were not enough, Canberra has also been battered by a severe hailstorm that has damaged homes and buildings, written off cars, destroyed years of scientific research, killed wildlife and covered the streets in a foliage-like carpet. Many suburbs in my electorate of Ginninderra were among the worst hit. The repercussions of the January hailstorm, and now the eventual much-needed rain, will continue over many months.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the individuals and agencies that have worked hard to both protect and clean up our city and help those affected, more recently by the storm and rain. Many of those people were also on hand during the fires and smoke. All of this work has been relentless, and we are full of admiration for their dedication, for turning up time and time again.
To the Canberra community, we acknowledge that this was the lost summer. Instead of the usual rest and contemplation, it was filled with frustration, anxiety and reliving painful memories. It was okay to not feel okay, and it still is. Nothing will ease the experience and memories of the past few months, but we are in control of our future and how we respond. In the months to come, we can be kinder and more patient. We can support the businesses and the activities around us. We can reflect and prepare some more. And we can remind ourselves how special this city is to us and find new ways to celebrate it and our incredible community.
From drought to fire, dust, hail and, finally, rain, it truly has been an unprecedented summer. What is not unprecedented is how hard our community is prepared to work to protect what and who we love. We are all indebted for that service. We celebrate it, and we will not forget it.
MS BERRY (Ginninderra—Deputy Chief Minister, Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development, Minister for Housing and Suburban Development, Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Minister for Sport and Recreation and Minister for Women) (3.23): I realise that this has not been the year that we had been hoping for in Canberra, but all of us can be proud of the work that has been done within our community, with people stepping up and giving a hand to people who have needed it most.
I particularly want to acknowledge the work of our school communities and the Education Directorate in responding to the events of this summer in making sure that our schools were ready to accept new and returning students and teaching staff. Schools were ready well before the challenges of term 1 started, and have been prepared to support student and family wellbeing needs. The Education Directorate is continuing to work closely with the ACT Emergency Services Agency as well as the ACT Rural Fire Service to make sure that we keep an eye on conditions and respond where appropriate. We know that this summer and these weather events are not over yet, and they are something that we will have to continue to monitor and manage well into the future as we deal with the effects of climate change in our community.
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