Page 62 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 11 February 2020
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The Education Directorate is also providing schools with evidence-based resources to share with families to ensure that they can support each other and their children. In our schools we have health professionals, including the psychologists, available to support both students and teachers, providing a targeted approach to address wellbeing issues. A range of resources is available to assist parents and carers. Factsheets and other resources are available for parents and carers to provide information on how they can help children cope with the media coverage of traumatic events and steps that parents and carers can take to help create a sense of safety for their children.
Madam Assistant Speaker, the Canberra community really did step up during this crisis, providing support for pretty much anything. Mr Coe gave a not exhaustive list—because so many people were volunteering and stepping up—that gave a good insight into the numbers of people in our community that work so hard, including the “G” Spot, through the slabs for heroes work, and Norths, in collecting all those important items to support pretty much everyone with pretty much anything that they needed for as long as they needed.
There is also Water for Wildlife. There are now many more watering stations across the ACT in people’s backyards, more than ever. They are particularly looking after the bees. I have personally noted that there are a very small number of bees this season; they are obviously directly impacted by the weather and the dusty conditions and lack of water.
To the family and friends of the people who lost their lives during this fire—people not known to me personally but some known to many in the ACT and to members of my own family—I give my deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolences to everybody who was connected with the individuals who passed away.
Many of us have been deeply saddened by these events, particularly through the loss of lives—and houses of course—and the loss of animals and the ecology. I will have seared into my memory forever the image of the koala screaming in pain being rescued—sadly, he lost his life—but we know that there were many millions of others that we did not see who were also killed during this incredibly tragic event.
As we hit the recovery stage of this event, it is the time where we take care of each other. We know that we are all tired; not many of us got a break during the summer, and if we did get a break, it was not the kind of summer that we had expected. Now is the time to really step up and help each other out. As Ms Cheyne said, it is the time to be a bit kinder and a bit more patient with each other as we move through this stage of the event.
I know that the Emergency Services Agency, as well as the SES, have this at front of mind through the leadership of Georgeina Whelan. Her work has earned the respect of our community, through her leadership through this crisis. She has had at front of mind the kind of work that will need to continue through the recovery stage so that people are kept informed about where they can get support if they need it and where they can support each other.
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