Page 18 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 11 February 2020
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Canberran firefighters earlier in the season put on their uniforms and, with full strength, crossed the border and went to help fight fires across our region. This is a whole community supported endeavour. The Rural Fire Service volunteers themselves make this possible by their commitment and dedication. Their families and employers generously share them with us when they head out the door into these tough situations. They do not want a pat on the back, but if my kids grow up to be as good citizens as they are, I will be a very proud mother.
New Year’s Eve this year was the most sombre I have ever known in my lifetime, and I am almost 40, so I have seen a few. As Mr Hanson will tell us, Batemans Bay had it tough, as did so many around the nation as fires took off in so many places. In the days following, as the coast roads were opened, we saw lines of cars coming up through Canberra. I was really pleased to see Dickson College set up as a recovery centre to offer information and support, food, a place to rest and a place to chat for the stream of people heading home from the coast via the Bega and Cooma roads.
One highlight of this time was ACT Policing doing a fantastic job of traffic management on the Monaro Highway, as tired and stressed drivers came through from a very difficult drive up the mountain. I am told it was superb and that traffic flowed really well. That is a testament to the professionalism of our police.
During that time, I was up here in Canberra. The coast fires brought two things out in Canberrans. We endured days and weeks of smoke. As I looked out of my front windows in Duffy, out over Weston Creek and the Woden Valley, I realised how good we usually have it. I had probably never realised quite how good and clean our air is. I thought of places which deal with air pollution every day, and I was really grateful for what we have here in this great country.
I was grateful for the bushfire emergency accommodation Facebook page which spontaneously started under the leadership of Alison Elliot. Many Canberrans helped to house, make comfortable and give cups of tea and chats to people driving up from the coast who had been through a lot.
The smoke went on and on. The kids became more restless from being cooped up. I know many other families who were going through the same thing. Some days the smoke was really oppressive.
The Ginseng Chinese restaurant, in the middle of this, organised a fundraising dinner at a time when their restaurant is usually closed. It raised $20,000 for the Red Cross. I was proud to be there. I was proud to see Sue Cheung, Rockie Cheung, and Tung Cheung and Roland Cheung, the parents, open their restaurant, with all their staff as volunteers, and the Red Cross volunteers. They helped us to both celebrate the generosity of Canberrans and put $20,000 in the bank for the Red Cross to help those who had suffered in the fires. Their suppliers, Fyshwick Farm Fresh and others, donated the food for the meal. As I said, there were dozens of volunteers running the dinner on the night.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video