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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-12-02 Daily Xml
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Mawson Electorate

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL (Mawson) (15:42): I wish everyone in the member for Hammond's electorate all the very best following the fires. I guess it is a reminder to everyone in this place and the areas we represent that that threat is very much real and can unfortunately happen at any time.

A lot of people ask me for updates on what is happening on Kangaroo Island following the devastating fires of last summer. It is good to know that, while there is still a lot of work to be done, and there are still a lot of mental health issues on the island, people are seeing progress. Some people are getting stock back on their properties for the first time, which in itself is a huge psychological boost.

I think one of the best things we have had all year—a year when people lost everything in the fires and then were locked down on their farms to do the rebuilding because of COVID-19, which I guess is a symbol for hope and life returning to normal—was a couple of weeks ago with the 61st Parndana Show.

It was actually an opportunity for the community to come together off their farms—there was no footy season at the senior level this year—for a reason that was not a fire meeting or a fundraiser: it was just getting life back to normal in some way. It is a show that has been going for 61 years, and it is one of the few shows anywhere in Australia that was held this year because of the COVID-19 restrictions. Had it been the week following, we would have been locked down as a state, and the people of Kangaroo Island would have missed out.

To Nic Tremaine, President of the Parndana Show, and to all the volunteers who did so much to make sure that it went ahead as close to normal as possible—some people say that some of the changes even improved the show this year—thank you so much for the hours and hours of work that went in. It was just a tremendous effort by so many people.

Last week, over four days, the One and All sail training ship came to Kangaroo Island. With the help of the recovery committee, the Rotary Club and the Red Cross, they took people who had some involvement in the fire or in the recovery phase after the fire—45 people on each cruise—out for a 4½ to five-hour cruise off Kingscote. I read the email inviting me to go and I thought, 'Someone else needs this more than me,' but they said, 'That would be your normal response, but we actually want people from all different levels who played some role to come together.' I have to say it was a really calm experience. We were out there, under sail, and we just talked about it.

I was joined by farmers who had lost everything, firefighters, and BlazeAid volunteers who were not from the island but who came to help these people in their hour of need. I was chatting to one fellow, Mark, who is a postie on Kangaroo Island and he said, 'You know, the last time I saw you was about 2 o'clock or 3 o'clock in the morning on 3 January. You just took my bib off me and said that I had to go home and get some sleep. I had pulled a 16-hour nonstop shift in the control centre.'

He was doing logistics and communications, and I remember taking his bib and saying that. I guess it was just an example. I sort of remember doing it, but I do not remember that it was Mark. We all just chipped in as that fire burned half the island and threatened the other half. It was a really good thing. In particular, I want to thank the skipper, Bill Walsh, who is originally from the western end of Kangaroo Island. Bill is the captain of the One and All sail training ship. I want to thank him, all the crew and the trainees on board because they gave those people who were lucky enough to go out on the One and All a very special moment in their lives, particularly in a very, very tough year.

This Sunday at Parndana, there is an event being organised by Sabrina Davis. Sabrina, her husband, Ben, and their family lost their farm, house and everything else in the fire in January. They are organising a day to raise money for farm firefighting units, which play such a vital role. These units can get into places that fire trucks often cannot. They are equipped with water tanks and firefighting equipment and, thankfully, at least 250 are equipped with two-way radios. This is due to the generosity of people on and off the island who bought two-way radios for the farm firefighting units on Kangaroo Island.

We want to do some more fundraising to get them even better equipped for the coming summer. I want to thank Sabrina Davis, Cheryl May from the Parndana CFS, and everyone who has been involved. I am looking forward to another excellent weekend on the island—one that brings the community together once again.

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