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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-04-03 Daily Xml
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Thai Cave Rescue

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. S.G. Wade:

That this council—

1. Celebrates the successful cave rescue of 12 boys and their football coach trapped in the Tham Luang Cave in Chaing Rai province, Thailand;

2. Mourns the death of Saman Gunan, one of the Thai members of the international rescue team;

3. Acknowledges the key role played by Adelaide-based anaesthetist and MedSTAR doctor, Dr Richard Harris;

4. Acknowledges the contribution of the Australian contingent involved in the Thai-led rescue effort;

5. Acknowledges the leadership and professionalism of the Thai government and the Thai Navy SEALs in effecting the rescue;

6. Acknowledges the involvement and support of the international community, including support divers from the European Union, the United States, and China, and participants from military and civilian organisations in various support roles;

7. Recognises South Australia’s proud tradition of providing emergency assistance in response to catastrophic events, such as AUSMAT team member deployments to the Philippines in 2013 in response to Typhoon Haiyan, to Banda Aceh in 2004 in response to the Boxing Day tsunami, and to Bali following the bombings in 2002 and 2005; and

8. Pays tribute to the courage and dedication of South Australian health professionals in so many diverse contexts.

(Continued from 6 December 2018.)

The Hon. T.T. NGO (17:49): I rise to support the motion moved by the Hon. Stephen Wade. Honourable members will remember those long days last June and early July when the Wild Boars soccer team was trapped in the Tham Luang Cave in Chaing Rai province, northern Thailand. On 23 June 2018, the young soccer players, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach became trapped underground. It was reported that after soccer practice the team was exploring local caves when a storm brought monsoon rains, flooding the cave.

As the world began learning of the 13 young Thais trapped about four kilometres deep inside an intricate cave system, the rescue mission was intensifying. Brave rescuers from around the globe came together to complete the dangerous and complicated mission to rescue the young team and coach.

I expect as we watched, captivated, praying the team would be found and brought to safety, unbeknownst to us Dr Richard Harris, a local Adelaide anaesthetist, and his dive partner, Dr Craig Challen, were preparing to join the multination dive team including British divers and the Thai Navy SEALs. The two Aussie divers were placed in a small Australian medical team sent to assist with the rescue.

Reporters have described Dr Harris's experience and his descriptions of the events. Reading these accounts, it is truly chilling to imagine what the rescuers faced inside the cave: working in the tight, twisting tunnels filling with water from the streaming rains, with the potential fear that the boys would not be found or what condition they might be in after being missing for so long.

Then, there was celebration when all the boys were found alive in the small dark cave, followed by the daunting reality of how to evacuate 13 frightened young people with no diving experience. This may be forgotten when remembering the jubilation we felt when those trapped were brought to safety.

I am sure honourable members join me in recognising and praising the skills and expertise of the Australian contingent involved in the Thai-led rescue. In the case of Dr Harris, it is likely that most of us did not know of his unique experience and skills before this international event thrust him into the spotlight. Much has now been reported and we have learnt of his medical and specialist rescue training and decades of technical cave-diving experience. We can see why Dr Harris was asked to assist this mission and understand why he had such an important role, joining the team to bring the Wild Boars to safety.

As the mission entered the last days and the rains poured, we heard media reports about the vital role played by Dr Harris—or 'Harry', the nickname we soon learned. I understand this local Adelaide doctor played a key role, including assessing the boys' medical condition and advising on their order of rescue. It was reported that Dr Harris was the last to leave the treacherous cave after the soccer team was evacuated. For me, this highlights not only Dr Harris's bravery but also his selflessness.

While Dr Harris's role was widely discussed throughout the ordeal, we did not learn much about Dr Challen's involvement until the rescue was complete. I understand that just prior to the mission, Dr Challen had retired as a veterinarian, selling his successful vet franchise. Further, I understand Dr Challen sold the business he had built in the hope of having more time to focus on his passion for cave diving, the passion that give both him and Dr Harris the unique skill set that ensured the safe return of the Wild Boars. In recognising the contribution Dr Harris and Dr Challen made to this rescue, it is important to note their commendation as the 2019 Australians of the Year. I congratulate Dr Harris and Dr Challen on this befitting honour.

On another issue, I extend thanks to those two heroes of Australia and Thailand for adding their voice to the call to release Hakeem al-Araibi. I understand that the doctors penned a letter to the Thai Prime Minister, calling for Mr al-Araibi's release from the politically motivated charges made against him. It is with gladness that I acknowledge his recent return to Australia, no doubt aided by the words of both doctors.

Returning to the cave rescue, I also acknowledge the leadership and professionalism of the Thai government and the Thai Navy SEALs. While we recognise those committed to saving others, I pause to acknowledge retired Thai Navy SEAL Saman Gunan, and express my sympathy to his family. Mr Gunan, an experienced diver, volunteered to save these young lives and sadly lost his own. Mr Gunan's fate is a reminder of the danger and risk faced by all who assisted in the rescue and those who will continue to come forward to save others.

Finally, I recognise the involvement and support of the international community, including divers from the European Union, the United States and China, and participants from the military and civilian organisations. Without the commitment and contribution of those involved, rescuing the team would not have been possible. While initially there were fears and doubts that the rescue could be attempted to secure the safety of the team, it is a testament to those involved that this miracle rescue disregarded the odds, and the families of the Wild Boars could welcome home their sons.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (17:57): I am pleased to rise today to support this motion to recognise the extraordinary actions of Australian of the Year Dr Richard Harris in rescuing the 12 boys and their coach trapped in the Tham Luang cave in Thailand. On 23 June 2018, a football team of Thai boys went exploring, and over the next two weeks their struggle to survive and the heroic actions of their rescuers would captivate the world.

Dr Richard Harris was one of many people who worked to save the kids and their coach, and he is rightly praised for his central role. Certainly, without his aid the rescue could have gone very differently. At great risk to his own life, he swam through the narrow tunnels that separated their makeshift camp and the lost boys. These tunnels were so narrow that some parts could not be navigated with a scuba tank.

His first role was to assess the health of the boys who had been trapped in the cave for quite some time, and make sure they were ready to be evacuated. He also played a vital role in the process of evacuating their team and their coach. He was responsible for anaesthetising those he was rescuing to help them escape the cave. This was necessary because the narrow tunnel out of the cave would have been highly stressful and dangerous for an experienced cave diver, and would have been impossible for the children to attempt. Thanks to his extraordinary work, all those trapped in the cave were rescued.

Certainly, the role of Dr Richard Harris deserves to be recognised. I am proud to support this motion that further acknowledges Dr Harris, along with Dr Craig Challen, the co-recipient of the Australian of the Year Award. I mention also that Dr Harris and Dr Challen have been friends for many years.

Indeed, as the crisis in Thailand was developing, these two friends were about to embark on a trip to the Nullarbor together. When they received a phone call asking for their expertise, within an hour a decision had been made and Dr Harris and Dr Challen were en route to the airport bound for Thailand. I acknowledge the emergency assistance, leadership and lifesaving intervention provided by Dr Harris and Dr Challen, and I commend the motion.

The Hon. C. BONAROS (17:59): I rise to speak in emphatic support of this motion moved by the Hon. Stephen Wade. As we have heard, the motion pays tribute to the courage and dedication of all South Australian health professionals, with particular reference to the bravery and selflessness of South Australian Dr Richard Harris OAM who, along with dive partner Dr Craig Challen SC OAM, were integral members of the successful cave rescue of 12 young soccer players and their coach in Thailand who captured the world's attention.

Keen to go exploring after soccer practice, the boys (aged 11 to 17) of the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach entered Tham Luang Cave in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand, oblivious to the dangers during the monsoon season. What followed was a high-stakes international mission that very nearly did not succeed. The flickering video footage of the huddle of anxious and hungry boys found by a pair of British divers nine days later is seared into most of our memories. However, the most difficult part was yet to come.

Monsoon rains had raised the water level in the cave system, and the boys were trapped in an air pocket surrounded by rising muddy water over two kilometres from the cave entrance. None of them knew how to dive. Expert British, Australian, American, Chinese and other international divers joined the Thai Navy SEALs, along with hundreds of local volunteers, to mount one of the most risky and complex rescue operations the world has ever seen. There was no alternative. Leaving the boys trapped was not an option as it would have almost certainly left them to a certain and probably slow and lingering death.

Dr Harris and his dive partner, retired vet Dr Craig Challen, were among the last out of the cave 18 days later after overseeing some of the most fraught parts of the delicate rescue mission, including sedating the children to reduce their stress and anxiety over the underwater diving that each of them had to undertake to be rescued. The heroic efforts of Dr Harris and Dr Challen in ensuring the safety of every single boy captured the hearts of the Thai people, as well as all Australians watching the crisis unfold here at home, bringing both doctors worldwide recognition. The two unassuming heroes would much prefer, I am sure, to spend time beneath the earth's surface in the dark and still depths of an underwater cave, which is what they do as a hobby, far away from the glare of the international media spotlight. By their own admission, both men have had to slowly adjust to their newfound fame.

Like other honourable members last year, I was pleased to attend a reception at Government House in honour of Dr Harris and the international rescue. I think other members would agree that he was and is as humble and modest in person as he has appeared in countless media interviews since. As my colleague the Hon. Frank Pangallo said during his speech on the motion on the last day of sitting last year, the successful rescue and the pivotal role played by Dr Harris and Dr Challen is indeed the stuff of legends. It has resulted in the men being named this year's joint Australians of the Year, and I congratulate them both on receiving the richly deserved honour.

Dr Harris and Dr Challen are members of the Wet Mules, a diving group dedicated to exploring some of Australia's deepest and most obscure underwater caves. The pair met during an expedition to a sinkhole in the Kimberley region in Western Australia and quickly became good friends. Their friendship has only strengthened because of their involvement in the Thai cave rescue. I am told the pair hope to inspire others, especially children, about the rewards of outdoor adventuring and how it broadens perspective. I certainly wish them both well in that endeavour.

Further testament to their inspiring humanitarian spirit and potentially newfound political clout was the cave diving heroes' more recent efforts to free Melbourne-based refugee footballer, Hakeem al-Araibi, from a Thai prison, as alluded to by the Hon. Tung Ngo. They wrote a letter to Thailand's Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, who had insisted that he would not stop legal proceedings to extradite Mr al-Araibi to Bahrain where he was facing a 10-year prison term for allegedly vandalising a police station, charges he strenuously denied. While we may never know the impact that letter had on the Prime Minister of Thailand, several days after the existence of the letter was known, Hakeem was released from prison and thankfully returned to Australia—an outstanding outcome.

Before concluding, I also want to recognise the efforts of world-renowned Adelaide plastic surgeon and former Australian of the Year 2016, Dr John Greenwood. I think I have mentioned in this place before that Dr Greenwood flew to Greece in July 2018 to treat burns victims of the Mati forest fires with the skin repair technology developed in Australia. Dr Greenwood is the director of the adult burns unit at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and has been recognised for his world-leading work in burns treatment. In Athens, he assisted surgeons to treat 10 of the most severely burned patients from the Mati forest fires using a biodegradable skin graft substitution known as NovoSorb, which he pioneered with the CSIRO following the Bali bombings in 2002.

Dr Greenwood took 25 sheets of NovoSorb with him to help in the recovery of those burns victims and had to obtain special exemptions for its use as it was not yet approved for use in that part of the world. We know now that NovoSorb is unique because it works better than skin grafts with less risk of infection. It is easier to use and it creates softer and less scarred skin after surgery. It is a stand-out example of brilliant, Australian-led innovation and expertise.

All three of the individuals that I have referred to are stand-out examples of the brilliant work that our medical profession and others have been able to undertake here in Australia, particularly in the context of these overseas missions which have sought to help people in very dire situations. With those words I commend this motion, and I wish them all the very best in their future endeavours.

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (18:07): I would like to thank the Hon. Frank Pangallo, the Hon. Tung Ngo, the Hon. Russell Wortley and the Hon. Connie Bonaros for their contributions. On 23 June 2018, 12 boys and their football coach were successfully rescued from a cave in Thailand. I would like to reiterate my thanks and admiration to everyone involved in the rescue and the courage they demonstrated. In particular, I would like to acknowledge SA Ambulance Service MedSTAR doctor, Dr Richard 'Harry' Harris. Dr Harris played a key role in their rescue effort.

Since I brought this motion to the council, Dr Harris has been awarded the South Australian of the Year and, jointly with his dive partner, Dr Craig Challen, has been awarded the honour of Australian of the Year. Dr Harris continues to deploy his extraordinary skills to care for the people of South Australia through his role with MedSTAR.

On 21 February, it was my privilege to attend MedSTAR's 10th anniversary celebration. At that event, it was my privilege to present Dr Harris with a certificate signed by the Governor, the Premier, the Chief Executive of the SA Ambulance Service and myself. The citation read:

We are proud of you and the contribution you continue to make with SA Ambulance Service MedSTAR. You are an inspiration to all South Australians.

On behalf of the government of South Australia and all South Australians we thank you wholeheartedly for your service at home and, of course, for your efforts in the rescue of the 12 boys stranded in the flooded cave in Chaing Rai Thailand.

Here ends the citation. Thank you, Dr Harris, and I thank honourable members for their contributions. I commend the motion to the council.

Motion carried.

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