Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) Link to this
I seek the leave of the House to move a non-controversial motion, with debate, to express its sorrow at the devastating bushfires raging in the Australian state of Victoria.
Mr SPEAKERI move , That this House express its deepest sympathy and condolences to the people of Victoria, Australia, who have suffered such devastation and tragic loss of life in the bushfires that have raged across the state in recent days, and that it commend the men and women who are working to put out the fires and to assist the many victims of this tragedy.
On behalf of the Government and all New Zealanders, I would like to offer my sincere sympathy to the people of Victoria, Australia, as they battle some of the most horrific bushfires in their nation’s history. Over the past days, as we have seen the devastation unfolding on our television screens, the enormity of what is happening has burned into our consciousness. At times like this the closeness and importance of the relationship between our two countries comes to the forefront. The outpouring of support from New Zealanders has been genuine and heartfelt. Throughout our relatively short history, the Anzac partnership has remained strong. Whether on the sporting field, in business, or in the theatre of war, we are partners. We are competitive, certainly, but at heart we are always friends. At times like this, we realise just how special that bond with Australia is.
On behalf of the New Zealand people, the Government has offered 100 firefighters to assist the Australians who are already battling the blaze, and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has accepted. Since January 2003 there has been a formal agreement in place to facilitate this process, because in the world of firefighting there are no borders between New Zealand and Australia. Our firefighters have always been there for Australia’s firefighters, just as I am sure that they would be there for us if, unthinkably, we suffered such a great tragedy. Our Government has also pledged $500,000 to a Red Cross Society fund that will go directly to help those injured or left homeless by the bushfires, and that New Zealanders are already supporting in their thousands by telephone and bank donations. The Red Cross Society will take no administration fee.
The suggestion that some of these fires have been deliberately lit defies belief and magnifies the tragedy of the situation. If words can convey our message to Australia, we say this: in the times of greatest need New Zealanders look across the Tasman for support and we immediately find it—our relationship is like no other—and at this time we stand shoulder to shoulder with Australians to battle the blaze that will be marked forever in the history of their great nation. Kia kaha.
Hon PHIL GOFF (Leader of the Opposition) Link to this
As the leader of the Labour Party, I wish to join with, I believe, all other members of this House and, indeed, all New Zealanders in expressing our condolences to the families of some 173 people who are now confirmed as dead in the fires in Victoria, Australia. This is a huge human tragedy, and I think that as New Zealanders all of our hearts go out to those who have lost loved ones and to the many others who have lost their homes and their personal possessions. I think something in excess of 700 homes have been destroyed in the fires. We can talk about the statistics, but the photographs on the front page of the Dominion Post this morning show the human tragedy behind those statistics.
New Zealand and Australia have a renowned competitiveness on the sports field—it is no holds barred, no prisoners taken—but I think this is a time to remind ourselves that our family and our personal links with Australia and Australians are closer than those with any other country in the world. As New Zealanders we have enormous sympathy for those whose lives have been devastated by the fires. We want to help, and I believe that the offer of our firefighters is a good first step. They went there in 1986, and they performed their role in a way that made New Zealanders proud. Our firefighters want to be there alongside their Australian mates to help them out. I support the district health boards that have offered places in the burns units, and I certainly support the Government’s initiative, and the initiative of individual New Zealanders, in making financial assistance available to those who have suffered losses.
The fires are still burning. I support the resolution before the House and any assistance that we are called upon to give, or can offer to give, as good neighbours to our friends in Australia.
Dr RUSSEL NORMAN (Co-Leader—Green) Link to this
The Green Party of Aotearoa / New Zealand sends its sympathy and condolences to those who have lost loved ones in the tragic bushfires in Australia. We also support the offer made by the Prime Minister to send firefighters to assist. We respectfully note the debate that is under way in Australia as to the role of climate change in these tragic fires. The Green Party stands in support of the Government motion and of the Government’s actions.
Hon RODNEY HIDE (Leader—ACT) Link to this
On behalf of the ACT Party, I rise to support the motion. I join Parliament and all New Zealanders in offering our heartfelt sympathy and condolences to our brothers and sisters in Australia. What we are witnessing on our television screens and in our newspapers is hell on Earth. It is hard to imagine a graver and more serious tragedy being unleashed on our neighbours and friends. The ACT Party supports the initiative of the Government, and it supports New Zealanders from one end of this great country to the other in their pledge of support. It is terrifying to think that it appears that this hell on Earth is the work of arsonists. We can only hope that that evil is brought to book with the full force of the law, and that the arsonists get their just desserts. Thank you.
Hon TARIANA TURIA (Co-Leader—Māori Party) Link to this
The Māori Party joins with the House in expressing our deepest sympathies to the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, and the families and communities throughout Australia that have suffered the catastrophe of the wild fires that have ravaged Victoria. A crisis of such proportion for our neighbours is a crisis that all New Zealanders will connect to. We make that connection knowing full well that so many of our w’ānau have loved ones living in Melbourne—children and mokopuna who may well have been placed at great risk of tragic loss of lives and homes as the merciless fire has raged on. We can only express our profound and heartfelt grief for all those families who are for ever scarred by this bushfire disaster. We support the role that this Government and this country will play in supporting Australia.
Hon JIM ANDERTON (Leader—Progressive) Link to this
The Progressive Party joins parliamentary colleagues and all New Zealanders in the thoughts already expressed and in sending our sympathies to our brothers and sisters in Victoria as they deal with this blaze and the destruction it has caused. Melbourne has experienced one of the biggest, most destructive fires in recent history anywhere in the world. The destruction is not over yet, nor is the loss. When we look at the pictures of crumpled houses reduced to ashes we can only imagine the trauma suffered. When we look at scenes of exhaustion and the traumatised faces of firefighters and families we are compelled to share their grief. We send our best wishes as we imagine the rebuilding of homes and lives and communities that lie ahead. One thing we New Zealanders know about our brothers and sisters across the Tasman is that they are people of enormous courage. Victorian families will need all that Aussie dauntlessness now, and in the months ahead.
I am proud that New Zealanders are doing their bit to pitch in and we support the Prime Minister’s resolutions on this matter. I remember the heroic New Zealand firefighters who fought alongside some fantastically brave Australians in the 2006 bushfires. Some of them are going back yet again. For Australia the toll caused by the inferno is as shocking as the 9/11 tragedy in America—if one compares the size of the populations. It is all the more bitter irony that the fire is blazing while floods drench north Queensland. Many homes have been lost, many lives have been lost, many lives have been shattered, and many families have lost everything. So I say to Australia and Australians that we in New Zealand wish them well in the face of this crisis with the assurance that we stand with them in any way we possibly can.
Hon PETER DUNNE (Leader—United Future) Link to this
On behalf of United Future I support the resolution that has been moved this afternoon by the Prime Minister, and endorse the comments that others have made in this debate. Australia is enduring its worst peacetime tragedy with these fires. The loss of so many innocent lives and the destruction of property, livelihoods, experiences, and communities are things that will not be put to rest once the fires are extinguished. Life will take a very long time to return to normal for affected communities and families, and for that country as a whole.
It is great that New Zealanders are showing their support and their encouragement for their Australian kith and kin at this time. I think that the enormity of what has happened is difficult to comprehend, but simple images convey a stark story—the cars on the edge of the road where the fire overtook the victims, the houses that look like crumpled messes, and the people standing shell-shocked amongst those ruins shaking their heads and saying they have lost everything from children to material possessions. Those images are beyond our ability to comprehend. They suggest the enormity of what has taken place, and the need for people all around Australia and this country to come together to support the Australian people in their moment of crisis.
I support the motion and I encourage New Zealanders to be as generous with their resources as they are with their sentiments at the moment to help Australia address this awful tragedy.