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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-02-17 Daily Xml
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VICTORIAN BUSHFIRES

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:03): I move:

That this house expresses its sadness at the tragic bushfires that devastated Victoria on 7 February 2009; extends its deepest sympathies to the families and friends of those who died or who are still missing; sends its condolences to all those affected by the fires; and commends the selfless and heroic efforts of all emergency services personnel and others who have responded to the crisis. This house pledges its moral and practical support to everyone involved in the rescue and recovery effort, and to the rebuilding of lives and communities. As a mark of respect to the memory of those who perished, the sitting of the house will be suspended until the ringing of the bells.

It is 10 days since the worst natural disaster that Australia has endured destroyed entire communities and devastated countless lives, and our nation remains in shock at the scale and scope of this tragedy. We are also mindful of the fact that the federal government has announced that next Sunday will be a national day of mourning for the bushfire victims (and I think that is very appropriate) and that, indeed, there will be a national service at the Rod Laver Arena on Sunday morning to commemorate this terrible tragedy. I think that is an important part of the healing process.

With South Australia enduring searing heat in the week leading up to the Victorian fires, we have an acute understanding of the deadly weather conditions that conspired to create the firestorm, but the speed and ferocity of the blazes that engulfed those quiet rural towns remains beyond comprehension. The death toll currently stands at 189, with many more people still missing or badly injured. More than 1,800 homes have been razed and 7,000 people are homeless.

These are numbing statistics, but they cannot begin to convey the suffering and loss that this disaster has inflicted. There are people who for years to come will reach for photos and heirlooms that are not there, who will look out windows for landscapes, beloved in childhood, which are blackened wreckage now, and who will mourn dead horses, pet dogs, cultivated gardens, the schoolhouses and corner stores that once were the fabric of their life and the hinterland of their very being. People must now go on without them.

Of course, there is much worse. There are those who have lost their fathers, sisters, cousins, schoolyard playmates, grandmothers and best friends. For them, like those who outlived the Bali bombing, no words of comfort are sufficient. They will relive this dreadful day down to the last day that they will see, wishing the warning had come or the wind had changed or their family plans had been otherwise that weekend.

Today we mourn the unfulfilled dreams and honour the memory of all those who perished and we extend our deepest sympathy to the family and friends they have left behind. The task of recovering and rebuilding will be slow and painful, and for too many the scars will never heal. Here in South Australia we had similar weather conditions, but we were spared the horror we have witnessed in Churchill, Marysville, Kinglake and Flowerdale.

Those days of extreme fire risk forever stir memories of our own worst bushfire disaster: the 1983 Ash Wednesday blazes that claimed 28 South Australians in the Adelaide Hills and in our state's South-East. The enduring memory of those who faced the fury of Ash Wednesday, like those who survived the Victorian infernos, remains the deafening noise as the fiery orange thunderhead approached. The sound of birds and insects, and even the distant hum of traffic, was drowned out and replaced by an unearthly roar. The sky became virtually invisible, hidden by the suffocating fog of embers, ash and dust. Those who have not witnessed the horror of such an apocalyptic firestorm find these images difficult to imagine; those who have find them impossible to forget.

The morning after the Ash Wednesday bushfires, I visited the area around Greenhill Road with the then premier of our state, John Bannon. What struck me most was the eerie silence left in the fire's wake. It was as if no living creature had survived its fury. The landscape was littered with burned out cars, twisted iron and still smouldering remnants of family homes.

Here in South Australia, where we recall with chilling clarity the destruction wrought by Ash Wednesday and the Eyre Peninsula fires in 2005, the response to the Victorian catastrophe has been heartfelt and immediate. I telephoned Victorian premier John Brumby on the Sunday morning after the firestorms and offered his government and the people of Victoria whatever assistance we could provide. This is, after all, a national tragedy and Victoria, along with other states, has lent its support and worked with us during our time of need—most recently in the horrific Kangaroo Island bushfires of 2007.

On behalf of the people of South Australia, the state government pledged $1 million to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal administered by the Red Cross. Donations of money, blood, household items, food and clothing have also poured in from our business and sporting communities, charity organisations, church groups, families and individuals. On the weekend, the Leader of the Opposition and I heard that the Lebanese Maronite community was collecting through its churches; that the Greek Orthodox archdiocese was collecting through its churches—and from those who dug deep even though they could not afford to. Schools across our state are raising funds to help Victorian children who have lost everything.

I am pleased that our CFS fire chief, Euan Ferguson, is with us in the house today, because more than 160 South Australian CFS, MFS and SES officers have been deployed in Victoria, as well as 40 St John Ambulance volunteers, a team of specialist forest firefighters and a range of forensic experts. We sent our Erikson air crane and 19 firefighting vehicles. Currently, more than 100 South Australian firefighters and field command personnel are on the ground, with another team leaving from Adelaide today to relieve our weary heroes. I acknowledge the heroic and selfless actions of all the emergency services personnel, both staff and volunteers who have put their own lives at risk to help save others.

Can I say that, when the fire chiefs and I met with the returning CFS and MFS volunteers the other day, they were exhausted but really pleased to have helped. They saw things that no-one should see, but all of them to whom I spoke talked about the camaraderie that existed and also how they wanted to continue to help. In particular, I acknowledge those who lost their own homes to the fires as they fought to save the lives and livelihoods of their neighbours. These are acts not merely of bravery and dedication but of humanity, compassion and exemplary citizenship. As I said before, there is a camaraderie amongst firefighters and emergency services personnel and they unite to fight the common enemy during times of crisis.

Last week, I also spoke with Victoria's Deputy Premier, Rob Hulls. There have been direct discussions between ministers in our respective states about the lessons that emerged from our devastating Eyre Peninsula fires of 2005 in the recovery efforts, in particular the significance of appointing a special minister. In the case of the Eyre Peninsula fires, the Minister for Transport (in his capacity as the then minister for emergency services) was based in the affected area and invested with the powers of the entire cabinet, which meant that he could cut through bureaucracy by countermanding any government decision or departmental regulation. The role of the duty minister was rotated with other ministers, including the minister for agriculture taking on the important task and also, I think, the Minister for Education.

While we grieve for our collective loss, we must also learn that, with severe drought conditions continuing and more hot weather forecast, South Australia remains at risk of a similar bushfire tragedy. Our changing weather patterns mean that fire seasons are becoming longer, that there will be more frequent days of extreme fire danger and total fire bans. We as a community (governments, oppositions, parliaments, businesses, local councils and citizens of communities) must be vigilant, and we must be prepared. People in bushfire-prone areas must ensure that they have a written bushfire action plan and know exactly what to do in the event of a fire. Anyone who believes that a catastrophic bushfire cannot happen here is seriously mistaken.

In order to reduce the risk, the state government has introduced a number of measures. Following the Premier's Bushfire Summit that followed the tragic Canberra fires of 2003, the government conducted a major review throughout the state to identify and rate the areas at risk of bushfires. It was a massive undertaking and, among other initiatives, it led to a change in our planning laws and regulations whereby the Country Fire Service was granted the right to veto proposed developments in higher fire risk areas.

The next round of major planning reforms, currently contained in a draft ministers' code, outlines measures to make South Australia the first jurisdiction in Australia—and probably the world—to take into account the effects of climate change when decisions are made on development in areas deemed to be at risk of bushfires. There will be more said about that over the next day or so.

In addition, our Operation Nomad bushfire initiative, which specifically targets potential arsonists and known pyromaniacs, is playing an important role in tackling the fire threat. I am pressing to have a briefing on the details and impact of Operation Nomad included on the agenda of the next Council of Australian Governments meeting in March. I have written to the Prime Minister asking that South Australia be allowed—and we will invite our Police Commissioner or his representative to come along—to brief other premiers, federal officials and territory ministers on how Operation Nomad works.

Operation Nomad was recognised as best practice in the 2004 COAG report on bushfire mitigation in Australia, but I understand that we remain the only state that operates such a comprehensive system that is specifically designed to prevent arsonists from plying their deadly trade. On the hellish day of the Victorian fires, when South Australia was also experiencing weather conditions that posed the worst possible bushfire risk, 120 officers were deployed on Operation Nomad across our state.

Police visited and revisited 40 declared persons of interest in their homes to let them know that they were under surveillance; under watch; on notice. An automatic numberplate recognition system is also utilised in areas that are considered a high fire risk. Under this initiative, the vehicle numberplates of persons of interest are uploaded, and police are immediately alerted if those persons' vehicles pass police cameras located in bushfire-prone areas.

Since the start of this summer's fire danger season, 35 people have been arrested or reported by police for offences related to bushfires including the most serious offence of deliberately lighting a bushfire which carries a gaol term of up to 20 years. Another 40 have been issued with on-the-spot fines for negligence.

I urge everyone to remain alert, particularly on days of extreme fire hazard. All our fire and emergency services say how helpful it is to have Operation Nomad, thereby being proactive rather than reactive in trying to prevent fires from being lit. A few years ago, about 50 per cent of the bushfires in the Adelaide Hills were deliberately lit and we can keep reducing that. It still does not eliminate every one, and that is why we need the public to be our eyes and ears and to report anything and anyone suspicious.

South Australia is incredibly fortunate not to have suffered a similar bushfire tragedy so far this summer given the recent extreme heat and our tinder-dry landscape, but the danger remains real and it remains high. The Minister for Emergency Services and the Minister for Environment and Conservation will later update the house on important initiatives in their portfolio areas to help protect our communities in bushfire-prone areas.

In particular, the government, the Native Vegetation Council and the CFS have developed a Code of Practice for the Management of Native Vegetation to Reduce the Impact of Bushfire. The code will facilitate and streamline the arrangements for clearing vegetation for bushfire protection.

The minister will provide further details to the house. The Minister for Urban Development and Planning will outline today, in the Legislative Council, measures included in the draft minister's code: Undertaking Development in Bushfire Protection Areas. The code, which will be given legal force soon, will enshrine prescriptive bushfire control requirements throughout the state. Importantly, it will provide for uniform building and development standards across 39 local councils that now contain bushfire protection areas within their boundaries.

Tragedies such as Ash Wednesday, the Bali bombing, the Japanese air attack on Darwin, the sinking of the HMAS Sydney, and even going back to the ANZAC campaign at Gallipoli, all help to define us as a nation. As a nation we have been so often defined by how we have dealt with tragedies, including, of course, the Gallipoli landings, which have helped tell the Australian story, and shape the Australian story of mateship—standing by your mate in a fight.

Our identity is forged in the way that we as individuals and Australians deal with calamity and heartbreak of such magnitude. A time of national tragedy is a time to reach out, not to lash out; it is a time to heal rather than a time to blame.

By speaking to and passing this motion today, the house extends its sincere condolences to everyone affected by the Victorian bushfires. The date of 7 February 2009 now marks one of the saddest chapters of our nation's history, and it will stir sombre memories for generations to come. It has cast a pall over Australia and torn apart families, neighbourhoods and communities.

To all those who suffered a loss of some kind, you remain in our thoughts and prayers. On behalf of the people of South Australia, we pledge our continuing support to help the survivors rebuild their homes, their hopes, and their lives.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite—Leader of the Opposition) (14:22): Last Saturday week began as any other Saturday afternoon in an Australian summer. In hot conditions, volunteer and professional firefighters battled fires that had sprung up in the beautiful wooded countryside that sits between Melbourne and Victoria's Alpine National Park. On Saturday evening, TV news bulletins in South Australia warned that some houses and community facilities were in danger.

By that time, a cool change had already embraced our state and given relief from our prolonged heat wave. As we went to bed that night we did not know that dozens were already dead. On Sunday morning we awoke to discover that more than 40 people had died; then it became 80, then 100, then 150. For the more than 180 deceased—and it is still rising—the 7,000 homeless and the tens of thousands of traumatised Australians this had all come with a fury, speed and intensity not seen in our lifetime.

For our nation the reality of disasters past would be recalled, as we battled to understand what had happened. Cyclone Tracy in 1974, Ash Wednesday in 1983, and Canberra's fires in 2003 were all events in which many South Australians were either involved or had family and friends who were involved. Each disaster brings its own pain, its own stories, and its own legacy.

Cyclone Tracy showed us how a nation can respond when the first-ever deployment of the National Disasters Organisation, under Major-General Alan Stretton, occurred. Ash Wednesday led to significant changes in fire prevention and firefighting in South Australia. Canberra's fires showed us how some of these lessons can so easily be forgotten.

Today, let us reflect on the extent of this latest tragedy and how we can help its victims today, tomorrow and in the future. First, our condolences go to the families and friends of the more than 180 who perished. Many of the dead were children. Many died protecting others. The image of a group of adults' bodies found huddled around a baby, all dead, fires an arrow of compassion and pain into the heart of every mother, every father, every grandparent, every aunt and uncle, and every brother and sister.

Secondly, our best thoughts go to those who are still battling very severe injuries. For many of those people the health battle goes hand in hand with the knowledge that they are among more than 7,000 homeless. Their struggle and their story has only just begun. For the homeless there is the emptiness and the uncertainty that has become their daily routine. Many of those people have lost more than a home; they have lost an entire community. Residents of Marysville returned last weekend to discover the whole town gone.

In Australia we often refer to ourselves as living in the 'lucky country'. We see pictures from war-torn parts of the world and try to imagine the plight of refugees with no family, no town and no city left to call their own. Well, that is the reality we see in Victoria today. Many of these fires' victims have become refugees. They live in a tent or a caravan; their eyes show the deep, emotional impact of an experience that means that their life will never be the same again.

This is where we can all play our part. A massive relief effort to rebuild and reconstruct this part of our precious country is underway. We must note the requests of organisers to channel our contributions through key agencies. As the Red Cross has said, it is too costly to collect and distribute items so it would prefer donations of money that will go straight to victims. It has also been suggested that if you have goods that you wish to donate you might instead sell them and donate the funds to the appeal. This is not to underplay the wonderful effort being put in at Wayville right now by many volunteers, who are sorting belongings and things to be sent over to Victoria—they are doing a wonderful job.

On that point, I also congratulate and thank the South Australian volunteers who have assisted the national cause in these last two weeks. To the CFS members, the ambulance officers, the forensic and other South Australians who went to Victoria and who provided relief to their already exhausted colleagues, people who drove caravans, people who sent bales of hay, people who battled the blazes that still cause concern, I say thank you. To the service groups and welfare organisations who went into action to provide immediate assistance, thank you. To every South Australian who has donated to the various appeals in these difficult and uncertain times, I say thank you.

My Liberal colleague the federal member for McEwen, whose electorate covers the bushfire areas, issued a statement last week that bears repeating, in part, as it sums up the feelings of her community and her thanks for a nation's help. She said:

The confronting extent of devastation in our communities has dealt our people challenges never before faced by us as a region, a state, and a nation. The tragic loss of life in the Black Saturday fires last weekend has left no one person untouched—families, our friends, entire communities are grieving...The devastation of homes and businesses has brought us heartbreak straight from hell. Yet the outpouring of comfort and support for survivors of the firestorm has provided the first rays of hope for new life in each of our affected communities.

The wonderful spirit that was brought to the fore last Saturday and has continued since from our fabulous volunteer firefighters and local residents determined to beat the menace of fire has transcended into the relief and recovery efforts. Our communities and our nation have rallied like never before in providing clothing, food, where possible temporary accommodation and, most importantly, every ounce of assistance that has been within the means of organisations like Red Cross and the Salvation Army…our local councils and community groups and people across Australia who, until a week ago, were to us total strangers. Today they are our friends.

The need for understanding and assistance will last long after the final flames have been doused and the smoke clears from our valleys. In the coming months, and probably years, there is much to be done in rebuilding our communities. We must also be mindful of children, who have experienced horrors totally unexpected for their young years, as they return to schools, sometimes a new school.

And there will be the massive clean-up task that our communities must face, an important step towards rebuilding townships properly planned to maximise the safety of our people and with improved facilities and resources. The utter devastation across our communities will require not only the spirit of the last week but considerable ongoing financial support from all levels of government as we rebuild entire towns.

Thoughts echoed by every member of this house, particularly every country member or member whose constituency includes bushfire-prone zones. Our task is to remember this community well beyond the fading lights of TV news bulletins.

Finally, let us dwell momentarily on the lesson that we can learn from this most recent natural disaster. In a word, it is preparation. Governments must do all they can to be prepared. Communities must be prepared. Residents must be prepared. Another dark day will come and we must all be prepared to respond in the best possible way. Not to remember that lesson will be to ignore the legacy of those whose lives have been lost.

There is another lesson, the most important of all. It is a simple lesson. No matter what problem we face, no matter what disasters have befallen us, in a heartbeat it can all be gone. Cherish and hold loved ones while you can, when you can and wherever you can, for nothing lasts forever. I commend the motion.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Treasurer, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Federal/State Relations) (14:32): I, too, join the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition. I do not intend to speak for long, just to say this: 7 February is a horrible day. It is a day that I remember as a young boy wondering why my mother was in hysterics. I was seven when she got the phone call that her father had died in the Tasmanian bushfires in 1967. Ironically, that was also 7 February 1967, and 62 Tasmanians died and 1,300 homes were destroyed.

When you put Tasmania in 1967 into the context of what we have witnessed in Victoria, with 125 fires raging around Tasmania, there are very similar comparisons. That is not why I speak. What I want to put on the record is that long after this is but a memory there will be the survivors who will have to live with the tragedy of death from fire.

My late mother never got over the loss of her father, and whenever there was a bushfire shown on television mum would go into a depression and a horrible state. It would always be a terrifying moment in our house, even 10, 15, 20 or 25 years later, whenever there was a bushfire shown on television. She was not there, she was in Adelaide, and felt a great loss that she was not there to protect her father.

There are many tragic ways to die, but spare a thought for those who remain, because the scars of a bushfire can last a lifetime for those still living. In many ways I am glad my mum was not around this weekend—she died some years ago—because she probably would not have survived the last week. Her mental state was such that she never recovered from the loss of her father. My thoughts are, obviously, for those who have passed, but just as importantly for those who have survived.

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:35): I join with the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition in expressing my condolences to the families and communities left bereft in Victoria after two weeks of carnage and catastrophe, not unmatched in Australia's history but which is certainly at a level which deserves our consideration and compassion. For those in South Australia who have given their blood, money, counsel, compassion or assistance, I thank them.

I want to remember especially the children. I wish to convey to those families in Victoria who have lost either direct family or people within the community—whether it be from the school community or the general community and towns—that our thoughts are with the children who have lost their lives and with those who have lost friends, family and community mentors, leaving very significant scars for them.

We must remember that children do not decide whether they live in bushland or in any fire-prone area of country Australia; children do not decide whether to stay or leave; children do not decide whether to get into a car or a bus and possibly face either an escape or incineration; children do not decide whether they are allowed to go back and collect a pet or personal property—they are just victims in these situations, and I think it is timely that we remember them.

We must remind ourselves of the annual event of carnage from bushfire in this country. It is true, as the Premier has said, that South Australia has escaped most recently—in the beginning of our bushfire season—but the worst is yet to come. If anyone needs a reminder of this, let them read the story of Colin Thiele's February Dragon, which was published nearly 50 years ago. The story tells us, through the eyes of children, of the ravages and horrors of bushfire in this state. I commend it to all members of the house who have not read it. One can see history repeated year after year after year in the description of what occurs.

The late Colin Thiele tells us about the importance of not discarding cigarette butts and the danger of matches, which he describes as chained-up dragons. I will place on record the statements which are ever true today of bushfires, as follows:

A smudge as big as a mountain was spreading across the sky. It was the colour of dirty sulphur and growing with terrible speed. They knew what that meant. The fire was already in the big scrub, with a wind like a blast furnace behind it. For fifty miles it had endless food to feed on. The country was rough, with no fire-breaks and few good roads. The men knew what was happening. From miles around they came streaming in to give help, long before the special calls went out over the radios and telephones asking for volunteers. It was going to be the bitterest fight for years.

Colin Thiele goes on to describe the carnage after the fire and the desecration of the houses, homes and townships. He also says the following:

Meanwhile the others had made their own tragic discoveries. In a corner of the house paddock there was a great pile of smoking carcasses, more than a hundred of them. They were the dead bodies of sheep. Panic-stricken, crazy with pain and fear, the flock had stampeded into the fences and died there slowly and horribly with their wool on fire. Now they were nothing but bloated and blackened lumps, noisome and horrible, lying heaped together, the stumps of their legs sticking up grotesquely. And the stinking smoke, the stench of death and burnt flesh, rose over everything.

Nothing has changed. I have witnessed this. I know that there are other members of the house who have witnessed this. It is, tragically, the same now in Victoria as it was 50 years ago in the scene described by Colin Thiele. I think there are many important lessons from this that we need not only to learn but also to act on, and that will take place another day.

Secondly, I wish to recognise the volunteer efforts of the members of our Country Fire Service, many of whom have travelled from South Australia to contribute to the efforts in Victoria. I recognise them particularly, as was done last night by the Mount Lofty Fire Tower CFS Brigade, which recognised in its roll of honour in an annual memorial those volunteer CFS members who have made the ultimate sacrifice of death in a fire.

I would like to read those names to the house: Barry O'Loughlin from the Athelstone Brigade, 15 February 1979; Brian Nosworthy from the Callendale Brigade, 16 February 1983; Peter Mathies from the Summertown Brigade, 16 February 1983; Andrew Lemke from the Lucindale Brigade, 16 February 1983; Dean Dennis from the Yeelana Brigade, 16 February 1983; Brian Fox from the Lobethal Brigade, 22 January 1986; Peter Stacy from the Burnside Brigade, 23 March 1990; Robert Jones from the Yahl Brigade, 30 April 1990; Howard Kruse from the Waterloo Brigade, 1 February 1991; Leslie Peek from the Strathalbyn Brigade, 21 August 1993; Peter Aird from the Moorook Brigade, 10 March 1994; Trent Murnane from the Cummins Brigade, 11 January 2005; and Neil Richardson from the Ungarra Brigade, 11 January 2005.

These are the people who were fighting someone else's fire for no compensation other than their commitment to their fellow man to assist them in a time of great need and died in the effort. To all those who have lost someone very important to them in the Victorian fires and for those who have made an outstanding contribution to help save the lives of others I express my condolences for the enormous pain and suffering that you are still to endure, which I hope will diminish in the years ahead.

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT (Lee—Minister for Police, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (14:42): I rise to support the condolence motion moved by the Premier. Nature in its fiercest form and the wrath it unleashes on human life is well documented throughout Australian history. It is for this reason, when the threat of fire storms is at its annual peak, that we do as many before us have done: brace ourselves for the potentially callous and cruel impact generated by untamed forces of nature.

As Australians we are and have always been resilient, but at times like this we can struggle to fathom such extensive physical and emotional loss and the heart-wrenching destruction of communities, property and livestock. On 13 January 1939, Black Friday, our nation mourned. As a result of a long and severe drought, fires swept across large areas of Victoria, causing widespread devastation. Flames leapt from treetop to treetop, with fierce winds sweeping burning embers for kilometres. Over 1,000 homes were burnt and townships were destroyed. Sawmills were reduced to ash and thousands of horses, sheep and cattle perished in the intense heat and flames. Some 71 people lost their lives and an area of almost 2 million hectares was burnt.

On 16 February 1983, Ash Wednesday, we entered another bleak chapter in our history. A staggering 180 bushfires broke out, roaring across South Australia and through parts of Victoria. Some 208,000 hectares were razed in the Adelaide Hills and in the South-East of the state and an additional 21,000 hectares of pine plantations were destroyed. A total of 383 South Australian families lost their homes, and in Victoria infernos wiped out an area twice the size of metropolitan Melbourne. Some 2,000 homes were destroyed. The Ash Wednesday fires claimed the lives of 75 people: 28 in South Australia and 47 in Victoria.

The weekend before last, nature again reared its ugly and terrifying face: 7 February 2009, Black Saturday, was a tragic day, the likes of which this nation has never seen and we pray will never see again. As a nation we have never witnessed such immense human loss and suffering. Black Saturday will officially be the worst natural disaster we have encountered. Sadly, the full magnitude of this horror is not yet known.

The official death toll continues to rise as bodies are discovered in homes, cars and places where people sought refuge as the inferno swept through their town. No news item can truly capture or convey the horror, the grief and the loss that our neighbours have endured and continue to endure.

I am personally filled with pride and admiration for South Australia's willingness to commit to this disaster. We have pulled together to help support people in Victoria in every way possible. Donation buckets are doing the rounds in workplaces, schools and shopping centres, and South Australians are continuing to dig deep. The unwavering courage and commitment of the firefighters, emergency workers and police battling the Victorian bushfires is inspirational.

I also express my gratitude for the efforts of our own emergency services personnel, community members and volunteers who have graciously offered their time and effort to help our fellow Australians in their time of need. More than 160 South Australian CFS, MFS and SES officers have been deployed in Victoria, along with the Ericsson air-crane.

On Sunday 8 February I farewelled a team of firefighters from our fire services who generously offered their assistance and expertise to help in this tragedy. Last Thursday these 50 firefighters from the CFS and MFS returned home exhausted after five full days on the front line. On the same day an interstate liaison team of three and an incident management team of 10 departed.

Mr Leon Bentley, one of four firefighters from the North West Country Fire Service who returned home after helping to control fires around Churchill, said that the impact of this disaster was horrific. Mr Bentley, a Stirling North firefighter, said:

There's nothing but devastation. It's some of the hottest fires I've ever seen and there is nothing left standing—valleys of houses just wiped out—and the ferocity of the flames and the heat, trees just pushed over, and not a thing on the ground. There is nothing left and that's something we've never seen before.

Mr Hitch, a Wilmington firefighter who assisted on the same fire front, said:

I've never seen anything quite that bad. I've been away for a lot of other fires but I've never seen so many houses burnt. I don't think I've seen it burn as hot. There's not even a twig or a leaf on the ground that's not burnt. It's just ash and sticks sticking up in the air of what's left of the trees.

Last Wednesday I saw off an additional 54 firefighters and a field command team of four to replace the first contingent. Over the weekend South Australian fire services continued their support, with the deployment of a third group of 44 CFS and MFS members to Victoria; and today—about 3.30pm I think—another 53 dedicated CFS and MFS members will depart from Adelaide Airport.

Mr Brenton Eden, the CFS Deputy State Coordinator, said that neither CFS nor MFS has expressed any difficulty in sourcing crew to support Victoria, with current CFS volunteer numbers standing at 10,746 statewide. Deputy Chief Officer, Mick Smith, of the MFS said that his firefighters are seeing the tragedy unfolding in Victoria and are eager to help. In fact, in relation to the MFS firefighters, Mr Smith said:

Many of them are lining up to go over to Victoria to help on the ground…[The] Shake the Boot campaign is another effective way that the MFS are helping support their fellow Australians in this shocking time. Helping your mate…That is what it means to be Australian.

We grieve for loved ones lost and we salute the courage of the victims and survivors of Black Saturday—the worst bushfire disaster in our country's history. We say to those who have lost children, family, friends, neighbours and their homes: you are in our thoughts and prayers in this period of overwhelming grief, pain and suffering.

We are thankful and forever indebted to all those who have so generously come forward to assist in this horrific national tragedy. Obviously, I place on record my thanks to all the South Australians who have got behind this tragedy. We wish them well and urge them to stay safe and strong until they return home.

Mr WILLIAMS (MacKillop) (14:49): I rise to support this motion moved by the Premier and seconded by the leader. That 180, maybe 200, maybe more Australians perished 10 days ago is lamentable. It is something that, as the Deputy Premier said of his mother, brings terrible memories to me as someone who experienced not dissimilar circumstances 26 years ago. Eighteen hundred families have lost their homes, 7,000 Australians (I am sure that is a rounded out figure) are today homeless and countless thousands of Australians are suffering. It is incredibly difficult to imagine the sort of anguish that is facing those people. It is incredibly difficult for us from afar to imagine the sort of thoughts that are plaguing those people today and, indeed, as the Deputy Premier said, probably will plague them for the rest of their lives.

The outpouring of sentiment and the help and support is commendable. It is something which will help those people move forward. It will not solve their anguish, it will not take away the memories, it will not bring back their loved ones, but it will help. It is incredibly important that we offer our condolences and our support in any material way we can. A great number of South Australians recognise that and are supporting them.

A great number of Victorians much closer to the scene are putting aside their daily lives to support those who are victims. Unfortunately, in a matter of weeks and maybe months, the vast majority of us will move on, but those thousands of Victorians and other Australians—because I am sure they have relatives and friends right across this nation—will be directly impacted by this for weeks, months and years. They will endeavour to rebuild their lives.

Every time you see in a newspaper or a television news program, current affairs program the effect of the next natural disaster—and it will occur—those memories come rushing back. They flood back and you relive the moments, you relive the anxieties; and I know that, more than 20 years later, you still ask yourself questions, questions to which there are no answers. I add my voice to this motion and that of my constituents, many of whom, as I say, have close experience. I can only wish those survivors—survivors who lost their loved ones, survivors who lost their homes, their livelihoods—all the best for the future.

The Hon. R.J. McEWEN (Mount Gambier—Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development) (14:53): I am humbled to rise after the member for MacKillop and to reflect on the words of the Deputy Premier because both of them have just shared in this house the personal pain they have suffered from fire. There is no fear in a rural community greater than the fear of fire, and there is no full recovery. We might pause today to reflect on the past and to share other stories of the past, but, more importantly, we must steel ourselves to be part of a team for the recovery. This is part of our community that will now have a very difficult journey in recovering. Yes, we can add to that journey from our experiences on Eyre Peninsula. We made many mistakes, we learnt a lot.

We have offered our Victorian colleagues those learnings and that support. Yes, we may be able to ease the pain; yes, we may be able to assist in the recovery, but this is a recovery for the long haul. As part of that recovery, we must now compartmentalise the process. We must now make sure that our spheres of expertise here are matched with the spheres of expertise in Victoria. So, we stand together, team by team, as we focus on the value that we can add.

Our vets are there now. Our rural communities, in a bipartisan way with the support of politicians in this state, have already begun to marry with their colleagues in Victoria. They know, as part of that—and we have to tell them—that we are with them today, we are with them tomorrow and—and this is the challenge—we are with them next year and the year after that. We must be part of the long haul for this recovery. It will not be the same again. We can make a difference; we must make a difference.

Today is the starting point of a long journey. We must say to everybody who can contribute: do not necessarily contribute today; contribute in a timely manner. Do not overwhelm that community today and forget them tomorrow. Work with them, build with them, individual to individual, family to family, business to business, community to community.

Would it not be lovely, in 12 months' or five years' time—having built a bridge now, business to business, family to family, community to community—to be welcomed as part of that recovery. That is our responsibility; that is our challenge.

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (14:56): I was at our property at Meadows on Saturday 7 February, and the wind was gusting from the north about 20 knots. It was a day that was described by some of those in the Kangarilla CFS as 'a prick of a day for a fire'. Fortunately for us, it did not come; it did come for those in Victoria.

I have spoken to a number of people in Victoria about their experiences and the unimaginable horror that they have witnessed. This really was a national tragedy. It is being felt by all Australians and all South Australians. We give our deepest sympathies and condolences to all Victorians who have been affected by this fire.

My constituents in Morphett have spoken to me about the fires, and many of them have been in tears. The trauma is not just in Victoria; the whole country has been traumatised. That this country could have to put up with that again and again is something that we really need to look at. It has happened in the past, and it happened in Victoria on 7 February; let us just hope that it does not happen here again, but it probably will.

The CFS volunteers who have been over to Victoria have been here as well. They have been on standby. They have been wanting to help, and they have been ready to help. The CFA in Victoria have been the front-line heroes, and they really have been working above and beyond. They ask nothing from the communities; they ask just that they can serve their communities.

We in South Australia are doing everything we can to support not just Victorians but Victorian Australians, because that is what we are: we are all Australians. The CFS, the MFS and the SES in our state have all been helpful. In my particular case, I have been involved with the Veterinary Association and also the farriers association both here in South Australia and in Victoria.

I have had the opportunity to facilitate, with the help of a number of people, the passage of thousands of tonnes of hay and horse equipment to Victoria. It has been a pleasure to do that, but as minister McEwen has said, this will be an ongoing project. I would like to thank the minister for his cooperation and that of his department. Premier Brumby's office has been really helpful. There have been no political barriers here; it has been something that has been ongoing.

It makes you proud to be an Australian. It makes you proud to be a member of parliament and to be able to facilitate these sorts of things, but that does not for one moment detract from the enormous terror and the horror that people have witnessed in Victoria. We send our deepest sympathies to all those people. We will not forget them, not today, not tomorrow, not in a month's time or in 12 months' time, because the tragedy will continue. The memories will scar, and we will all need to be part of a continuing recovery. I send my sympathies to those in Victoria.

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton—Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (14:59): I rise to support the condolence motion moved by the Premier, and I offer my condolences, and those of the people within my electorate, to the families and friends of the victims of what is, and remains, a terrible tragedy. It was 26 years ago to this day that I, like the Premier, was up at Greenhill and Yarrabee roads as an 11-day serving recruit firefighter along with my colleagues. I will certainly never forget the devastation that I saw up there. Twenty six years later, it is almost incomprehensible the damage and destruction that we have seen in Victoria—the damage that occurred at Yarrabee Road replicated in hundreds of towns and hamlets across the Victorian countryside.

In a general sense, there are certain patterns that occur after such a fire. These include immediate sorrow and a feeling of helplessness. The sorrow does not go away and, in some instances, as we have heard, it never leaves those people who have experienced it first-hand. This is followed quickly by reflection and great public support such as we are seeing across Australia. I thank those people who are giving support in the sense of immediate relief and recovery. This is then followed quickly by recriminations and the inevitable inquiry, a royal commission in this case.

As the Premier mentioned, now is not the time for any backlash (that is, if there is ever a time for recrimination). Nothing should hold up or deflect from the support that is required to help the families of the victims to rebuild the lives of those who remain, to rebuild their communities, and to reconstruct their towns and their infrastructure.

A lot of debate is occurring already. How did this happen? Who got what right? Who did not get what right? What went wrong? That should be left for the inevitable inquiry. There is no doubt that there will be a focus on procedures (and quite rightly so), a focus on the proximity of homes to vegetation, a focus on the policy of leave or stay, and a focus on building codes. That is appropriate. The Premier is right but we were lucky last Saturday.

There are a lot of preventative measures that, through experience, we have put in place that help mitigate fires, but, as with the member for Morphett, at 9 o'clock on the morning of 7 February I could sense it was going to be a bad day. By 10 o'clock it was 40° and there was a howling wind from the north. The Hills were not visible at that stage and, quite frankly, it was a stinker of a day. It seemed inevitable that something was going to happen in our Hills. I think we were lucky despite very active planning and preventative measures that have been put in place coupled with the heightened awareness of people living in the Hills. Such measures would have had an impact on safety and care, but, nonetheless, we were lucky and Victoria was not.

Looking at footage on TV, absolutely nothing within anyone's powers was going to prevent the spread of that fire or save anything that was in the line of that fire. By necessity, the inquiry will quite rightly come up with recommendations in a variety of areas. As was mentioned earlier, we need not only to learn from what has occurred but to act upon those recommendations.

It is my view that we will never be able to fireproof the rural areas, certainly in South Australia and Victoria. We will never be able to fireproof our peri-urban areas. I do not think that will be the case, but we can, through the measures mentioned by the Premier and by acting upon recommendations, certainly reduce the loss of life through future fires that will inevitably occur.

The member for Reynell has asked me to thank the Reynell Business and Tourism Association, which held a sausage sizzle last Saturday, raising $3,000, and to give special thanks to businesses that donated goods. I think that this house can collectively thank not just the Reynell business and tourism centre, but the many thousands of businesses and individuals around this state and nation that are helping with the relief effort and, as the member for Mount Gambier said, the extended recovery processes that need to be put in place.

I thank all who have donated their time, goods and money. I thank the many thousands of volunteers from South Australia and across this nation who volunteered at the height of the fires, and who continue to donate and volunteer their time. I again offer my condolences to the families and friends of the many hundreds of victims, and, of course, of those who are still missing. It is a tragedy that has impacted upon all Australians.

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen) (15:05): I, too, rise to support this motion, and express my condolences to the victims of the Victorian fires on 7 February. In doing so I note, in following the member for Colton, that I, too, was on Greenhill Road this day 26 years ago cleaning up in the aftermath of Ash Wednesday 2.

The enormity of the loss is almost beyond my comprehension—and I say that as someone who has lived virtually all her life in bushfire areas. I have been lucky. I was in the Adelaide hills for both Ash Wednesday 1 and 2 and I was one of the lucky ones who did not lose anything. However, but for a small wind change on Ash Wednesday 2, when I was at home with a young baby, I may well have lost everything. But I live in the hills, and many people I represent, my constituents, have certainly known the devastation of bushfire.

In Victoria we now have thousands of people who have lost loved ones, family members or friends, hundreds who have lost their homes, their pets and all their possessions. Many will be scarred for life by the burns they received and many more will bear forever the mental scars of the harrowing events they have endured; many may only just be starting to realise and feel the enormity of their loss, and their emotions will be complicated.

Those who lost their home but escaped with their life will understandably be grateful that they are alive and so much better off than those who did not survive—and I have seen many of them on television expressing as much—but we must remember that they too will need to grieve for their loss. To lose all your possessions, especially the sentimental things that simply cannot be replaced, is a tremendous loss in itself, and their recognition of that loss will go on for years.

Just as surely some who survived with their life and home intact will suffer from 'survivor syndrome'; they will feel guilt that they lost nothing when others lost so much. But they did lose something; they were part of a community and now that community is gone. As I said, I cannot begin to imagine the sense of bewilderment, emptiness and heartache which those caught up in these terrible events must feel.

It is also important that we recognise and commend all those volunteers—from both Victoria and South Australia, as well as elsewhere—who stepped up to the mark on behalf of us all to provide the on-the-ground support that is so much needed at the time. First and foremost, of course, are the CFA volunteers in Victoria and the CFS and other volunteers from around the country who put their own lives at risk and sometimes lost their own homes whilst trying to save those of others, but there are also those who work tirelessly in the aftermath providing food, shelter and all the practical assistance necessary.

I do know that those who have been devastated by these events will need our ongoing support for many years to come. In many ways our words of condolence are an inadequate response but, in an important way, just saying that we know and feel for you, that we recognise your pain, is the most important thing we can do. I commend the motion to the house.

Ms SIMMONS (Morialta) (15:08): I will speak for only a short time, but I want to add my sincere condolences to the people of Victoria. I have been fortunate to holiday with my children in the Marysville and Healesville regions, and it was a truly beautiful, natural Australian forest with gums and ferns, stunning houses and pretty townships, where tourism was the main livelihood. Now it is all gone. To the families of those who have lost lives, we pray for you. For those who have lost property, livestock, crops, shops, businesses, homes or livelihoods, we pray for you too. To the CFA, SES, police and other volunteers and workers on the ground, we thank you all for being on the spot so quickly and risking life, limb and mental health to help others at this traumatic time.

Those initial volunteers are now tired beyond our understanding. I know that many South Australian volunteers, both Country Fire Service and SES, have already flown over to relieve their colleagues in this fight for life and country, and I would like to particularly acknowledge volunteers from the Norton Summit CFS (of which I am an honorary member) in my electorate of Morialta, who last week went to Victoria to help.

In the course of business, I was very fortunate to meet an amazing young man called Daniel Phillips who works in Newton and who told me that he was preparing to leave on Friday of last week. He was very keen to tell me about, and for me to acknowledge, his employer, Newtons Building and Landscape Supplies, where he is the purchasing manager, for allowing him to volunteer without even having to think twice about putting his hand up for fear of losing his job.

I think it is timely to remember all those employers and all those who are self-employed who give without thinking twice so that they or their staff can help those in such difficulties. I acknowledge the presence in the house of Mr Euan Ferguson, who has had the onerous job of coordinating the South Australian CFS operation. I ask him to take our thanks back to all his members.

I conclude by endorsing the comments of others, that Australians are truly generous and unselfish people who stand beside their countrymen on so many levels in times of need. Thank you.

Mr GRIFFITHS (Goyder) (15:11): In rising to support the motion, I do not in any way feel qualified to reflect upon the tragedy. All of us here have read the newspapers and seen the television reports and we have tried to understand how it might have impacted on us if we had lived within those circumstances.

The leader, in his contribution, reflected upon the tragedy of the eight adults surrounding a child. I cried when I read that. Emotions build up now when thinking of the instinct of the human species to protect its next generation at any cost. It is truly inspiring and it is something that we should all reflect upon.

Taking up the words of the member for Mount Gambier about the need for South Australia to focus on the future, I was inspired by a letter that I received from a constituent, which I want to put on the record. It is from Joy Woodroofe, and she states:

Recently I emailed [the local newspaper] in Balaklava, my idea of 'Adopting a Town' in Victoria after the devastating and life-crippling bushfires which has ravished their state.

Terry was excited by the concept and gave me front page coverage. I do not presume to have the answers to this horrifying tragedy that has shocked the whole of Australia, and I do not feel in any way capable of tackling this idea on my own.

I understand the concept is huge and will only come together, as we, as community groups, unite as one for the benefit and rebuilding of our fellow Australians who are suffering in a most horrendous way from an unforgiving force of nature.

Their plight at this time is hard for us to comprehend. So many lives lost, so many homeless, so many without businesses, so many in despair, not knowing what lies before them. We have always been removed from this sort of trauma as it normally happens overseas. But this is on our own doorstep. Thankfully, we were spared this time, we may not be so fortunate next time. All of us feel so helpless in knowing how to help—but we all have a need to help.

I have only planted a seed in my suggestion of the Wakefield Regional Council area adopting a town, and in doing so, hope that your group will help me water that seed and watch it grow. As individuals we can do a little—as a community, united by one purpose, we can do so much more.

It is easy for us to donate what we can for the cause, but it is another thing altogether to have an ongoing commitment to love, support, nurture and be there physically to help them rebuild their lives and community. There are many and varied gifts, talents, skills and expertise which you all have to make this happen.

What I am proposing initially is for a representative from all community groups [within the Wakefield Regional Council area, be they] service, church, school, sporting, arts...from each town...to come to an Adopt a Town meeting where we can brainstorm together to come up with a plan of attack.

I realise the crisis has only just finished and the clean up has only just begun. They face a massive task ahead. Before a community like ours can physically be there for them we can do things from a distance. We can start planning, fundraising, pooling our resources, gifts and skills and be ready when they need us.

I know your heart breaks with mine as we try to understand what has happened. As a community who is able to help our fellow Australians, let's unite, put our differences aside, and do what we need to, to get our Victorian neighbours back on their feet and growing as a community again.

There is no doubt that communities all across South Australia have that same emotion and desire to come forward and help our fellow Australians. We must all pray that the tragedy of the Victorian bushfires never befalls our nation again.

Mr BIGNELL (Mawson) (15:15): I, too, rise in support of this motion and to pass on my condolences and the condolences of everyone in the electorate of Mawson to those Victorians who have lost so much—in many cases, they have lost everything. What these people do have in endless supply, though, is the love, generosity and support of a nation. I would just like to highlight—because sometimes the message does not actually get through—how much people here are hurting and feeling for our neighbours across the border.

I want to give some examples of the practical things being done in the seat of Mawson. Well beyond the tens of thousands of dollars that have been given to the Red Cross and other appeals by people in the electorate of Mawson, there are also practical contributions. I saw a gentleman at the Willunga markets on Saturday who had a horse float and a truck that he wanted to fill with books to send over when the dust has settled and people start to rebuild their lives. Think of all the books that we have gathered and put on our shelves over the years. Replacing those books will, in some small way, help put people's lives back together.

Last Friday, at Woodcroft Primary School—the biggest primary school in this state—the students decided to hold a casual day to raise money. The teachers drew a map of Victoria in the courtyard and put crosses where the fires were; $3,500 dollars worth of gold coins went into that map of Victoria. The students want to play a part in rebuilding the schools of Victoria. I think it is a very important for the psychological wellbeing of our children that we actually have things in place. I congratulate and commend the education department of South Australia on working with their counterparts across the border to ensure that that money will go to that.

As an eight year old, I remember when Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin. As an eight year old, you cannot contemplate what people are going through; you cannot really come to grips with that. I grew up in a little country town called Glencoe West, surrounded by a pine forest and, summer after summer, we lived in fear of that night glow as the fires ripped through the pine forest. Our fathers and grandfathers were out there fighting the fire and we children would be home with our mums and grandmothers making sandwiches and flagons of cordial to take to the RSL to feed and water those volunteer firefighters.

I think it is really important that our kids here in South Australia are doing their bit for the kids of Victoria. Once again, I commend everyone in Mawson for their actions, in their own special way, to help those people across the border in Victoria.

I also commend the Prime Minister. As someone who has worked on the Port Lincoln fires, I think it is very important in times like these that our politicians and leaders show that we are there and that we care. I know that there was a very good response to the Premier and to those ministers who spent time in Port Lincoln. People could actually look around in the recovery centre or on farms and see government ministers. I know that Kim Beazley and Jenni Macklin (from a federal Labor point of view) were over there during the first few days after the fires. People could sit around and have a bit of a chat.

I remember the Minister for Transport going up to one gentleman in the recovery centre and asking whether he had applied for his $10,000 cheque. Given that the fire was on the Tuesday, people were banking their $10,000 cheques by the Friday. But, as always in country communities, people are very proud. The Minister for Transport went up to one particular man and asked if he had applied for his $10,000 cheque. The man said, 'I didn't want to accept the charity'—as he called it. Patrick said, 'It's not charity. You've got to put in for it; we want to get you people back on your feet as quickly as we can, because it doesn't do our state any good to have farmers over here not being productive and not rebuilding their lives, their farms and their way of life.'

The gentleman said, 'Well, my dad's over there, and he's not going to put in for the $10,000.' Patrick went over to him, put his arm on his shoulder and said, 'Hey, mate, I hear you're not going to go for the $10,000.' This gentleman said, 'No, I don't believe in putting my hand out for charity.' Patrick said to him, 'Have you been paying your taxes all your life?' The gentleman said, 'Yes, I have.' Patrick said, 'Well, we're just giving a bit back to you.' So, my message to people in Victoria is that governments, the Red Cross and other people have money to give you to help rebuild your lives. Do not be too proud to take that money.

I think we look to other leaders in our community as well. The contribution from our sporting sector here in South Australia has been fantastic. I know that last week the SACA and the Australian Cricket Board gave the money from the one-dayer to the bushfire appeal. This afternoon, Port Adelaide and the Crows are getting together to raise money in a Twenty20 cricket match. Here we have two teams which are at loggerheads week in, week out in the footy season, which go up against Victorian teams week in, week out in the battle for the AFL premiership, coming together to raise money for Victorians. And they do it because they care, like all of us in this country and in this state: we care for those who have lost so much.

When you read the stories in the media you are just numb, but there are always those stories that cut through, as the member for Goyder mentioned. For me, it was the picture and the story last week about Shane Warne with the 12 year old boy who had lost his 15 year old brother, his 10 year old sister and other relatives in the fire. Shane Warne put his arm around him and said, 'We're there for you.' That was the bit that turned my Advertiser wet.

As I mentioned before, I was involved in the Port Lincoln recovery process with a great South Australian by the name of Vince Monterola. The first thing I did on Sunday morning, after waking up to the news that so many had lost so much in Victoria, was to ring Vince. Given that we learnt and implemented a few things in Port Lincoln that could be replicated again across the border, I said to Vince, 'If we're going to get the team back together would you be willing to put up your hand?' and without hesitation he said, 'Of course I would.' I passed that on to the Premier's office, and that offer still stands. We were there for the people of Victoria last week and we are there for them this week, but we also need to be there for them next week, next month, next year and for years to come. The recovery process is a very important part of the healing process.

I know a lot of people who came to Port Lincoln and helped. It is probably the greatest thing we will ever do in our lives, and we hope never to have to live through that again, but to play some small role in getting people back on their feet and getting communities back together is a very important thing to do.

For those who are wondering what they can do, I will give the example of a Western Australian couple who were on their way from Queensland back to Western Australia in the aftermath of the bushfires. They were towing their caravan and had gone through the Eyre Peninsula about six weeks before. They were a retired couple: he was an engineer. They pulled up in Port Lincoln and worked out that there were people out there rebuilding farms and they said, 'We're going to do this as well.' So, they set up camp for several weeks and in the end we made the gentleman the head of the work gang, to run the gangs replacing fences and fence posts and the like. So, there is so much that can be done over the next one, two, three or four years.

I know that the McLaren Vale Grape, Wine and Tourism Association, as it did on the West Coast, is collecting posts, which have been pulled out of the ground (having once held up trellises for the purpose of growing grape vines) and is donating them to the Victorians, just as it donated them to the people of the Eyre Peninsula and the West Coast after their fires.

To the volunteers, the CFS, St John and our full-time fire officers in the MFS, thank you. What you are doing is really appreciated. I know that we very much appreciated having interstate people come here during our fires in 2005, and it is nice to return the compliment. I know that the people of Victoria very much appreciate it. Congratulations also go to the government, in terms of Operation Nomad, which has been discussed in this place, and also the record spending on the CFS. We now pretty much have an air force of firefighting aircraft, which is a great help to those brave men and women who are fighting the fires at ground level.

Just one note of caution (and the member for Colton also touched on it): people experience varying emotions after fires, and communities and the media and everyone goes through the sorrow and then it builds to anger and then, unfortunately, retribution. When we were all flying into Port Lincoln to help people there was only one person flying in to help himself, and that was a lawyer trying to instigate a class action. All it did was divide a community, and those divisions are still there.

One word of warning to those lawyers in Victoria—and not all lawyers are like this: can I just say that there is plenty of time for justice. There will be a royal commission and there will be time. Now is not the time to be going in and upsetting communities. To reiterate, I add my condolences to those of other speakers here today and pass on my best wishes to all Victorians affected by the fire.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (15:25): I wish to speak briefly to support this motion. I offer my sincere condolences to everyone affected by these recent fires. It is hard—in fact, almost impossible—to imagine the horror of 7 February in those towns in Victoria. I extend my condolences to the people who have lost so many friends, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers. The rebuilding will continue, but they will not have those people back.

I have seen a few bushfires in my time, but I remember the big one: Ash Wednesday in 1983. I was working in the Cooper Basin and there was a lot of despair among the men up there who knew that their places were under threat; and some found out their houses had gone, especially around the Greenhill Road area. I was also concerned as a young bloke about what was happening on my own property. Luckily, we came out of it unscathed. Obviously, there were fires in Adelaide and to the south of our property around Coonalpyn. I know that one man survived by lying in a sheep trough. He did get badly burned and I am sure that his injuries contributed to his death in later years. I certainly acknowledge the destruction that happened in the South-East on that day.

I acknowledge the donations of money, goods and fodder that are being made. The Australian spirit is alive and well. I acknowledge all the emergency service personnel and others, not just those people on the ground but also those coordinating the services. They are doing a great job and, on behalf of the people of Hammond, I acknowledge their efforts, especially the efforts of those people from my electorate who have gone to Victoria to assist in the cause.

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:27): On behalf of the constituents of Florey, I support the motion. I endorse the words of the Premier and other speakers here today and add my condolences for those affected in any way by the horrendous events and terrifying loss of life and property, livelihood and livestock, and those injured and traumatised in the Victorian bushfires, which are still raging as we meet here today on Kaurna land. We mourn those who have died in the inferno and send our deepest sympathy to their family and friends and all who are suffering as a result. Words are simply not enough at such a time.

The displacement now faced by so many, refugees from their now destroyed homes and way of life, is on a scale never before seen in Australia. It is truly overwhelming and our hearts and thoughts are with them all. We are grateful, here in the fragile and all too vulnerable safety of our homes, that we have been spared such destruction in the fierce and record-breaking weather and conditions experienced in this state this year.

We salute the mass of people from all walks of life who have rallied to fight the fires: volunteers in the CFA and firefighters from all services, as well as the Army, NGOs and public servants who have rallied to provide support and nurture during the first terrible days and in the weeks that will now follow. Their sacrifice and contribution cannot be overestimated, and we acknowledge and thank them.

We pay tribute, too, to the South Australian men and women, along with those from other states, who have been deployed to the area, and the international teams that are now contributing to provide rest for those who have been on the front line day and night since the beginning of the fire and are also providing support for the difficult task that lies ahead in documenting the devastation.

Australian communities have shown us that unity is strength. As the work begins in Victoria to re-establish some normality ahead of the no doubt long reconstruction period, Australians have rallied to give what they can to assist that process. We thank everyone who has given what they can.

Over the past few days, as I thought about the ramifications of this great tragedy, I began to think about the preventative measures that we must identify in the future and the generosity of others in such dark days, and how this care and concern for our fellow man could be something that is with us always.

Preventative strategies are vital and, as South Australia has had its share of terrible bushfires, we have been faced with the need to identify and implement ways to reduce the impact of extreme weather and its consequences.

We have learnt hard lessons and the state's reaction and mobilisation at the time of the Wangary fires was what I consider to be a remarkable step forward in response management. I also believe the close monitoring of known arsonists has so far saved us from devastation similar to what we have witnessed over the border but which, as we all well know, is but a careless moment away.

In the days before the fire and in response to the large number of deaths in South Australia's extreme weather, Collette Snowden, a communications specialist from the University of South Australia, raised the issue of an early warning system to advise the public about necessary actions in heatwave conditions. She proposed a formal coordinated system to provide a clear plan for action on days of extreme conditions similar to those already in operation in other countries. I would also like to see a plan of action for local government areas so that we are all ready to help or do what we can should calamity befall us. I am sure the royal commission (soon to be underway) will consider such systems and plans.

The generosity factor was summed up by our former premier and now CEO of Anglicare, Dr Lynn Arnold, in an opinion piece in The Advertiser today. Dr Arnold reminds us that, inevitably, the focus on victims will subside, with the challenges they face no longer part of our daily lives. We remember the plight of flood victims up north and recall the words of Dorothea McKellar as she described the vagaries of this great land. Aboriginal people have lived with the land for thousands of years. I hope we can still learn from their ways. As the birds and animals return and the land eventually regenerates, we will be reminded of the softer power of nature.

We think of those whose lives change forever because of cyclones and tsunamis, mine disasters or other workplace accidents, health issues, terrorism and crime, homelessness and those who are now unemployed or who may be one day. They may not have lost or lose everything but they will need to rebuild. Dr Arnold says, 'We can only have true community when we all feel that we can be of help to others.' I would add that we must all feel hope that we can access help from others if we are ever dealt a cruel blow and need a hand to get back on our feet. It is good to have Dr Arnold back home and to have him working to help change things for the better.

Change is what must happen—rebuilding the same sorts of houses in the same places will not be the answer. We have the chance to make changes to dwellings which reflect the need to provide safe havens and keep our homes self-sufficient and our way of life sustainable. The tragic loss and devastation in Victoria may be the catalyst to see the resilience that Australians display at dreadful times emerge even stronger and unite us in our endeavours and resolve to do all we can to help those now suffering so cruelly and each other in the future.

Mr PENGILLY (Finniss) (15:32): I unequivocally rise to support the motion and have been thinking and reflecting for some time on the words which have been put forward in this house today. It occurred to me that it is seldom that you have 1½ hours or two hours of absolute silence while members speak to such a motion. It is some 40 years since I joined the then EFS and nothing touches the heart of anyone so much as a fire. Indeed, I am very thankful that Mr Euan Ferguson is in the gallery today.

I only have to look back to last December 12 months ago, when I had regular discussions with Mr Ferguson and, indeed, the Deputy Premier (who spoke most eloquently today, in my view, and very much from deep within his heart) about the fires on Kangaroo Island in my own electorate which resulted in the loss of one life. However, that pales into insignificance given what has occurred in Victoria just over a week ago. I could not comprehend the next day and the days after that, as I suspect neither could anyone else in this chamber, the growing death toll and the devastation which those fires caused particularly on that Saturday night and which, indeed, are still burning.

As has been put by others, our people are still over there. I make brief reference to my own electorate in saying that, indeed, people from Kangaroo Island are there. On Saturday, a whole truckload of material for Victoria was sent to Adelaide free of charge. As those involved well recall, just over 12 months ago, we had scores of Victorian firefighters and their units come to Kangaroo Island to help us and it is our way of returning their help.

Indeed, across my electorate, it has been no different. Everybody wants to do something. Everybody wants to help those who have lost family and property. On top of that, some of us have been through firestorms or severe fires, and we as humans, as well as livestock, cattle, sheep, native animals and birds, cannot do anything about it. You cannot get away from it, and it is worth remembering that.

You just cannot get away from those situations, and those who perished in the fires or who got so dreadfully burnt would have been well aware of what was coming and could do little about it. Nor could any other creatures, and I do not forget that. In the past, I have pulled thousands of sheep out of fire grounds, buried cattle and all sorts of things, as others have done—it is not peculiar to me.

I turn to what will happen. People will rebuild their lives, and the recovery efforts will take place, as they are taking place in my electorate and in so many other places. When it rains, the dream returns. People's homes will be rebuilt, they will recover and life will go on, but those of us who are here now in Australia will never forget what happened on 7 February 2009, just as now we still recall what happened on 25 April 1915.

These things will be etched forever in Australians' memories; they will never go away. The remarks that have been passed in this chamber today transcend politics. I am sure that no-one would ever try to make political capital out of such events: that is just the way Australians are and will be forever, I hope. That is the Australian idiom.

We will help those who have suffered so much. Those who have been horrendously burnt, if they survive, will never recover. A constituent of mine down on the Western Fleurieu was severely burnt in the early nineties. At the time, I had just become a member of the CFS board, and we were briefed month after month on two fellows who had been burnt in fires.

I now know this fellow very well, and he has never physically recovered. He never will but, mentally, he is as good as he will ever be. Some of those who have been burnt in such a manner in Victoria may be fortunate, but others will not recover. I say that because my own uncle was severely burnt in the 1950s and has never got over it, but has managed to work his life through.

Words are hard to find on this particular issue. Like everybody else, I am stunned. I will do my little bit, as I am sure every member in this place will, and I know everybody in my electorate will do everything possible. You find that you just do not know what to do.

Someone rang me up and said that they have a 24-room facility that could be made available to bring families over from Victoria. That is the sort of magnanimous gesture that people make in an effort to do what is talked about in this condolence motion today. I have probably said enough. We all express ourselves in our own different ways, but it is with a great deal of sorrow that I support this motion.

Mr KENYON (Newland) (15:39): I rise also to support this motion and pass on my condolences to the Victorians. It brings back a few memories for me. I was 11 years old on the day of the Ash Wednesday fire. I remember sitting with my sister in our house while our neighbours hosed down our walls, because dad had gone down to the airport to pick up mum. It was just my sister and I at home, and the firefronts were approaching. I do not remember being so scared for so long since that time. I have been scared for shorter amounts of time, but that is my own fault.

With that in mind I rang my cousins, who live in Kilmore in Victoria, on Sunday morning, and I reached Phil, who was on the back of a fire truck. He was fighting fires at the back of Kilmore East. They were all fine, and that was the end of our conversation. As people have said here today, there is a deep need in all of us to actually do something: to contribute cash, to send clothes, to do something.

My cousins are tree surgeons, and I have worked with them previously in Victoria. I rang Phil a few days later and by that time he was off the truck and they were cutting down trees and building firebreaks. They were exhausted. They had been doing that for three days, literally from dawn until dusk. I offered to go over there and help for a couple of days, but he must have assumed that it was safer for me not to have a chainsaw in my hand.

However, I got to thinking about the fires. We have all talked about the long haul, helping communities and everything else we have done. Here in parliament we are in a unique position—the 47 of us and the 22 in another place. As members of parliament we have a special opportunity to be here for the long haul and to make sure that our contribution ensures, as much as possible, that this does not happen, that things change, and that we learn lessons.

The people who most need to learn these lessons are those who live in fire-prone areas and we as legislators, the people who create the laws that we live by that affect those people, who provide the firefighting equipment. I bet that if we went back and looked at the various royal commissions that have come out of some of the major fires (Ash Wednesday, Canberra, Sydney in 1994, and others) we would probably find recommendations that have been left undone. There are probably recommendations that politicians, members of parliament, ministers and public servants have not implemented, which we agreed at the time were excellent and should be urgently implemented.

As a child on that Ash Wednesday, I remember watching the fire trucks go past. It was pretty crappy equipment they were in: old Bedford vans. Guys just in overalls were hanging onto the back of the vans as they drove past to fight one of the most ferocious fires. One of the lessons we learned from that fire, which came out of the royal commission, was the need to standardise equipment, so that firefighters switching between trucks could all use the same gear. There was an incredible upgrading of equipment after that—better trucks, better hoses. I think we moved to 40 millilitre hoses so that we can get more water on the fire quicker. We have learned all these things, and there are probably things left unlearned, and we need to go back and look at them and make sure we do learn them.

What this means for us is that there will be difficult decisions to make. There will be things that we need to confront and think about that will challenge us to think differently, to make different decisions from those we have made in the past or that we might have made in the event that this had not happened. And only we can make them. We are all here for the next 12 months, maybe some of us will go and there will be some change after that, but while we are here it is our job to make sure that the changes that need to be made are made. That is the best contribution that we can make, and that is the best legacy that we can leave for the victims of the Victorian fires and all the other past fires.

Our role as legislators, as members of parliament, is special. One of the difficulties of our job is that, sometimes, the things we do are not concrete, making it more difficult to focus on them, but we need to do those things. So, I urge everyone in this house to take on that duty, which I know we will—we have done it before—and hold that in the front of our minds over the course of the next 12 months.

Mrs PENFOLD (Flinders) (15:44): I rise to support this condolence motion on the devastating fires in Victoria with a heavy heart. The people in my electorate understand well the anguish of the people who have been affected by these most terrible fires. We grieved for the nine too many lives that were lost in the Wangary fire, and it is hard to comprehend the number of lives lost in these.

My heartfelt sympathy and that of the people in the electorate of Flinders—and, I am sure, of all South Australians—goes out to everyone affected. The stories and the tears will remain always, and it will be a long time before many are able to deal with their losses adequately enough to even speak of them. The loss of lives, of property, of loved possessions, of pets, farm and native animals, of just a familiar environment and the feeling of security this brings, is devastating.

I thank all emergency services personnel, the thousands of others who have helped save lives and property, and all those who are helping now and who will help in the future. The fantastic community response, when people see others in need, is one of the few positives that come out of these awful events. A colleague who had been helping to organise hay sent me an email yesterday to say that no more was needed at present because the response had been overwhelming.

I know that across the country goods are being sent and money is being raised. A hat was passed around the aeroplane as I went home on the Rex flight last Thursday, and a firey came into my office on Friday with a collection boot. Invitations are coming in to attend fundraising events all across Eyre Peninsula, where people are themselves suffering hardship from years of drought and loss of jobs, often caused by the current world economic downturn. However, wherever they can, people are helping those they perceive to be worse off than they are. I commend them for their wonderful community spirit and generosity.

I can say no more that will not be said by others, but I want to put on the record how deeply we feel about this disaster. I end with a request that we do more to protect ourselves and our communities from fire right now and into the future and that we do not forget these people after the initial moment has passed, as for many an often lifetime struggle is only just beginning. I commend the motion.

Mr GOLDSWORTHY (Kavel) (15:47): I join with all members in the house this afternoon to extend my sincerest condolences and deepest sympathies to those Victorian communities that have suffered the ravages of the bushfires of Saturday week. I also want to speak on behalf of my constituents in the Kavel electorate, who have themselves experienced the effects of bushfires over the past decades, and extend condolences and sympathies on their behalf.

We have heard the examples of generosity and support pouring in from all around the nation, and internationally, to those communities in Victoria, the many tens of thousands of examples of support and generosity to assist where possible people and families who have been destroyed through these experiences. I want to share with the house one example of which I was a part just last Sunday, when I attended a service for the installation of a pastor at a church in my electorate. The congregation donated the offering taken at that service to the fire appeal, and it was a very moving experience.

As has been outlined in the house this afternoon, we have witnessed the images on television and in the newspapers, and listened to the reports on the radio, and it has been a stunning and startling reminder of the destructive nature of fire. As other members of the house have also experienced, I have strong memories of the fires that came through in 1983 that were known as the Ash Wednesday fires. They swept through my home district in the Hills, including our own family property.

In closing I would like to express gratitude to the CFS and all the emergency services who have provided enormous support to those devastated communities in Victoria. I, too, join in supporting the motion.

Ms THOMPSON (Reynell) (15:49): When I asked the Minister for Industrial Relations to acknowledge the Reynell Business and Tourism Association, to fulfil a commitment that I had given to them, I did not intend to speak. I want to endorse everything everybody has said, but add something that has not yet been said; that is, to acknowledge the good wishes of our neighbours.

I was particularly touched by the message from Indonesia, where the president indicated that Indonesia and Australia are partners and friends, our troubles are their troubles, and their troubles are ours. The fact that they sent technicians to assist with the horrible task of identifying victims was something that touched me greatly, as did the gift from Papua New Guinea. So, I would like to record those contributions in the house, and extend a little the acknowledgment of the large and small contributions that have been made by people from around the state wanting to go out and do something.

Several members were at the Moonlight Cinema last Friday night when a member of the public came up to a couple of us and said, 'I know they have said to be careful about people rattling buckets, but I noticed that there are MPs here and surely we can trust you. If I get some green bags would you rattle them?' So, several of us rattled our green bags, organised by the member for Adelaide (the Minister for Education), and raised $2,549.50 just from that audience.

I was particularly touched by one young man I approached who said, 'Can you guarantee that all this money will get to the victims?' I said, 'Yes. We will be giving it to the Victorian official appeal.' He said, 'Because I'm unemployed and this truly is my last dollar.' I suggested that there were other people there who had more and could give more, and he said, 'No, it's all I've got and I want to give it.'

So, in recognition of the many people like that young man who have given until it hurts, I would like to say thank you and, again, thank you to Indonesia and our other neighbours who have sent their support and thoughts.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (15:52): On behalf of the constituents of Davenport I wish to pass on my condolences to all those impacted by the Victorian fires, particularly those who have lost family and friends and those who have lost their residences and businesses.

The house would know that my family have been in the Hills for six generations and seen the fires in the thirties, the fifties, the eighties and the most recent fires. Certainly, in the lead-up to this particular fire, a couple of days before, Fiona and I said to our children, 'Make sure you're not in the Hills on Saturday. Just stay out. Regardless of what happens, just stay out', because it was a bad day.

Mr Ferguson will tell all of us that there are ways to predict bad fire days and that Saturday was certainly going to be one, and the days leading up to it were not a lot better. Having lived through the Ash Wednesday experience, I can remember hearing over the radio of the CFS truck I was on that the Eagle on the Hill hotel had gone, and I can remember hearing Jarrett's petrol station at Bridgewater go.

You experience the community that you have grown up in—in my case then, five generations—sort of dissolving around you. So, I can certainly understand and relate to what everyone in Victoria has gone through with these fires. I have been lucky enough not to lose family or, indeed, much property, but certainly I have seen how communities have been impacted.

I think the really important thing is the matter raised by the member for Mawson: the fact that in the Ash Wednesday fire people came from everywhere, all over Australia, to assist, that we are moving this condolence motion and also that assistance has come from all over the world to Victoria to assist, is an important message to the Victorians and the people on the ground. Trying to rebuild from that is a very difficult experience that takes many years. The member for Colton mentioned the various emotions that a community goes through, and having assistance from outside to deal with those emotions is extremely important.

I was lucky enough to be the minister for emergency services and having had a brother and an uncle burnt in a fire was part of the motivation for bringing in the emergency services levy and, indeed, the government radio network. At the time, I argued that I was not going to send out volunteers in an underfunded capacity. In my view, they deserved better than that.

I certainly relate to the member for Colton's expression that we were lucky. I think it is true to say that we are lucky that it did not happen here on this occasion. As the member for Flinders and others have mentioned, it has happened in other electorates in South Australia previously. The Sunday Mail wrote in an article about my electorate that 300 people would go within the hour. I am trying to get hold of that report from the Sunday Mail, because I would like to see it. I accept the fact—and I think my electorate accepts the fact—that we live in one of the worst fire areas in Australia.

I come back to the point that the member for Newland makes. I think that our response to this as a parliament is going to be very important. It is important that we do not knee-jerk, but it is important that we react. I think one of the issues that we have as a community is that this generation is slowly but surely becoming de-skilled in fighting fire, except for those actively involved in the CFS, the MFS or the SES. Those in the community generally are becoming de-skilled about fire, about how to fight it, how to prepare for it and how to think about it.

I have sat down with my sons and daughter time and again to explain to them that you cannot outrun a fire, that you cannot out-drive a fire on a bad day, and that you do not go into a gully. There are certain rules that I have really implanted in them. However, I am not sure that people who have moved into my electorate in the last 10 or 15 years actually understand the beast they are dealing with on the one or two bad days that we will get. I am talking about the Ash Wednesday or Victoria style of day that we just had.

To some degree, we are being de-skilled because of the brilliant work of the CFS and the agencies that put out the fires so quickly. My electorate (areas such as Belair, Blackwood and Eden Hills) actually has not seen a really bad fire for nearly 50 years. So, the corporate memory of what actually happens and what you need to do slowly but surely grows out of the community. That is an issue for us. So, I will ultimately be floating some ideas about that, but that is for another day.

I think one of the questions that we have to ask ourselves is: how well educated is the community now to make a judgment about a fire? How well educated are they to make the judgments we require them to make? That is the concern that I raise in relation to this issue. Again, on behalf of my constituents, I offer my sincere condolences to those involved.

Ms CICCARELLO (Norwood) (15:58): I would also like to add my condolences to all those people in Victoria who lost their lives and their family members. I would also like to put on the record the generosity of members of the Italian community. On Sunday, the Italian radio opened an appeal and, in a short space of time, it raised $10,000. In fact, one community organisation made a donation of $5,000. I was there yesterday afternoon for just an hour and, again, in a short space of time we had collected promises of donations worth $1,200.

Many of those donations came from people in the Campania region (my area) who had been affected by the earthquakes in 1980. Those people remembered the generosity of the Australian community in donating so much to rebuild those communities and felt that it was their duty. Many of those people to whom I spoke yesterday were pensioners ringing in with donations of $100, $200 or $50, and some smaller amounts—whatever they could afford.

As has been said by many members, we have to be mindful not only of the present but we also have to look after these people for many years. Referring again to the Italian earthquake, some of those communities are still suffering after nearly 30 years of trying to rebuild their communities and cope with the grief, because many of them would never have seen their loved ones and had the opportunity to say good-bye to them. Whilst those wounds might modify over the years, they will always be present. On behalf of my electorate of Norwood and the Italian community, I support the motion.

Mr VENNING (Schubert) (16:00): I rise to support this condolence motion so capably put by the Premier and supported by the leader. I express my sympathy and that of my family and also that of the people of Schubert to all those who have suffered great loss—the lives of loved ones, family and friends, property and treasured possessions, pets, animals and livelihoods.

Never before has there been a tragedy as great as this: 7 February 2009 will go down in history as Australia's worst disaster and will be forever remembered as the day the Victorian bushfires took so many lives, homes and communities and decimated thousands of hectares of our beautiful country. We all watched our TV sets in disbelief, in the comfort of our air-conditioned homes, as the horror of this tragic event became apparent: 189 dead; so many injured; possibly up to 80 people still missing; 1,834 homes lost; towns lost—Kinglake, Strathewen and Marysville; over 7,000 people left displaced and with nowhere to go; and about 400,000 hectares of land burnt out, with some fires still burning. As I understand it, they may take weeks to contain.

The enormity of these fires has been felt by everyone, as evidenced by the tone of the speeches here today, largely as a result of the media coverage. This is illustrated by the over $100 million that Australians have donated to the various Victorian bushfire appeals that have been set up, with which we have all been involved. I encourage anyone who has not yet donated to contact the Red Cross by phone or go to its website and pledge a donation.

I also pay tribute to the firefighters, who have shown commitment and courage, the police and other emergency services, along with the countless volunteers. Many have risked their own lives but have nevertheless banded themselves together to help the affected communities through this terror. Sir, you and I cannot imagine what it would be like for these people to come upon those bodies and see it for themselves. They indeed would be scarred for life. I have seen my share of tragedies in life, but I cannot quite get my head around this one and what it would be like.

We have all had personal experiences that have affected us for life, and today we heard from the Deputy Premier and the member for MacKillop. I am very aware of the member for MacKillop's own situation—and he did not give the detail. On the day I felt like ringing him up (and, in fact, I did speak to him) and asking how he was feeling in all of this, because his own family lost loved ones in the South-East some years ago.

I am a country member and have lived with fire all my life. As a five year old, when I was in grade 1 at school (I been at school for about three months), there was a huge fire out of town, which we were all taken out to the school yard to watch. That fire was on our farm. I stood there as a five year old, and all of a sudden the teacher realised that it was our place that was going up and I was whisked away. I have never trusted fire since.

What really stuck in my mind was the support from people and neighbours that is given to families when they lose everything except the house they are living in. It took 24 hours to put that fire out, and there were people there all night cooking in the kitchen. I can remember that as a kid; I will never forget it. There was huge community support, and that is what country towns are all about.

What amazes me (and Mr Euan Ferguson will know this) is that you do not believe that some things will burn, but when you get that sort of heat and wind that is generated by the fire anything will burn. We had a 100-metre gap with nothing growing between where the fire was and the house, and the fire kept reaching the house all the time. We kept on putting out these fires. They seemed to run along the ground and burn anything; they even burnt the paint off steel structures. It was amazing. That is why I have a fetish about fires and why I go around with a slasher and cut everything down. I am accused of being a bit of a wrecker like that.

I note that the member for Stuart (who is not going to speak today) for time immemorial has been in this house pushing for us to do things about maintaining our fire tracks. Maybe now we will just listen a little more. I say as a country person that we have all been affected.

I commend the state government for pledging $1 million to the Victorian fire appeal. I also applaud our Country Fire Service for sending our air-crane helicopter and 75 firefighters to Victoria to help the crews there. This tragedy is bigger than politics and, together as Australians, we must do everything to help those affected by this tragedy to rebuild their communities so they are stronger and safer than before (and we all know people affected) so that the survivors of this disaster can look to the future with some hope.

I acknowledge the generosity of Australians in donating time, effort and money. It has been a real example of Australian mateship and support for our fellow men and women. On 7 February it was 45° here in South Australia and it was a day of high winds; it was a shocking day. I went outside—and this is one thing you do when you have had an experience like I have; you go outside on those days because you have a feeling. You can hardly stand up when you walk into that gale; that blast of hot air. I said to my son, 'Nobody should leave the farm on a day like this.' We were just lucky.

We have heard about Operation Nomad. We must have had something more than luck going for us in that we did not have a serious fire on that day. But we did not. I commend all those involved in the operation; the police and everyone else. Whatever you did, we can say, 'Well, we were lucky.' But maybe it was a bit more than that. It was a shocking day, and this catastrophe could easily have occurred here. We must heed the warning.

I note the presence of Mr Euan Ferguson in the gallery. I ask him to convey our gratitude to all his colleagues in the CFS, the SES and the CFA who are in Victoria helping, and also for all their ongoing support, especially to people in country regions, both now and over many years. In the Barossa we are blessed with fantastic emergency services; they are extremely good.

While we cannot for one second even try to understand what those affected are going through, we can provide them with support and comfort as they start to rebuild their lives. Let us learn from and reflect on what has happened and, hopefully, our collective efforts will go a long way towards preventing a calamity like this from ever happening again.

Today I offer my prayers and heartfelt sympathy to those who have lost loved ones, family, friends, colleagues and pets, and extend my deep gratitude to those working tirelessly to help those so greatly affected. So many people are suffering but, be assured, they do not do it alone. We were lucky. Again, my condolences to all those affected by the Victorian fires. We do not comprehend, but we try to do so. Our care and love goes to those people. May God give them strength and comfort.

The SPEAKER (16:05): I add my personal condolences to all those who have been affected and I thank members for their contributions. I will ensure that a transcript of this afternoon's proceedings be forwarded to the Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly.

Motion carried by members standing in their places in silence.


[Sitting suspended from 16:08 to 16:18]


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