Page 29 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 11 February 2020
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wrought on country. I also join with colleagues in this place in expressing my heartfelt sympathy for those who have lost loved ones in these terrible fires, as well as to those who have lost their homes and livelihoods. We have seen brave Australians pay the ultimate price for their service to their communities or for seeking to protect their homes and families, and we have seen three Americans, who came halfway round the world to help us, perish in dreadful circumstances.
As bushfires seasons lengthen, both here and in the Northern Hemisphere, there will be a need for even more collaboration to understand the challenges we face, to share resources where we can and to recognise where that will become more difficult as our fire seasons overlap. It is easy to forget in our fast-paced world, but it was only last July that we were seeing shocking pictures of fires in the Arctic Circle. What scientists tell us is not that the Arctic does not usually burn. Fires are a regular occurrence. But they are becoming more frequent, bigger and hotter and this is changing whole ecosystems. Australia’s natural environment also relies on fire to regenerate, but patterns are changing here too. As climate change drives more frequent extreme weather it is not good enough to say, “We’ll talk about that later,” or to pretend it is not a factor.
The physical devastation caused by this summer’s bushfires is enormous. Despite the very welcome rain over the last few days, which has brought its own challenges, the Orroral Valley fire in the Namadgi National Park is not yet declared extinguished. We have seen 80 per cent of the park affected by fire this season. That is huge. Thank you to the parks and conservation team that has worked with the support of the Emergency Services Agency, the Australian Defence Force and traditional custodians to defend and protect the natural, cultural and economic assets in our national park, nature reserves and rural areas. It has been an amazing effort. But in many ways we know your work has just begun.
Also huge for Canberrans have been the impacts on the places we go year in, year out to swim, ski and simply relax with family and friends. The South Coast is Canberra by the sea. I acknowledge Mr Hanson’s experience down there. The Snowy Mountains are our winter playground. So the psychological impact of these fires for our community has been and will continue to be huge as well. Like tens of thousands of Canberrans, I have memories of 18 January 2003 seared into my mind. They are frequently recalled when I see images of other communities devastated by fire or hear the stories of terrifying ordeals and close calls—the sound of the fire approaching like a freight train, the wind roaring, lying on the floor, hoping the building I was in would protect me, stables burning, not knowing whether friends had reached safety before it hit. And then there were the spot fires, the cars and sheds destroyed, the horses dead and injured, the grief. But also there was the community: the way people worked together and came together afterwards to support one another, to share and console and just to talk—and talk and talk—for months. We know that will be the case this time too.
The anxiety Canberrans have experienced as a result of fire and smoke was for many exacerbated by the memories of 2003. This was certainly the case for many in the local equestrian community. People have been on high alert for weeks. But they have
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