STATEMENTS
Senator WONG (South Australia—Minister for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (10:07): The devastation we have witnessed in Nepal and Tibet, China has been catastrophic. We have seen the terrifying force of floodwaters tear through towns and villages and homes, roads and bridges swept away. The scale of the destruction is almost beyond comprehension.
Families have lost loved ones. Thousands of people remain missing, and amongst them are 36 Australians. I want to acknowledge how distressing this time is for their loved ones and how much harder this becomes with every day that passes.
Every hour without news is another hour of waiting, of hoping and of fearing. The Australian government is doing all we can to find Australians who remain unaccounted for to support loved ones and to assist in the disaster response. We have deployed almost 50 officers to the region to support search, rescue and recovery efforts.
Officials in Kathmandu, Beijing, New Delhi and Canberra are working around the clock to establish the whereabouts of Australians, meeting directly with family members who have travelled to Nepal desperate for information; seeking answers from local authorities, tour operators, hospitals and other organisations; and pursuing every possible avenue for information.
Dedicated case officers from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Federal Police have been assigned to support the next of kin of those missing, giving families a consistent point of contact in an unimaginably difficult time. In addition to this, two Services Australia social workers arrived in Kathmandu last night and a dedicated family support hub is being set up by our embassy.
From the outset, the Australian government made clear that we stood ready to help Nepal, including on search and rescue efforts, and we continue to offer assistance to China. Specialist Australian drone operators have now travelled to Nepal as part of a 15-person disaster assistance response team drawn from Fire and Rescue NSW and the Queensland Fire Department.
They bring advanced technology capable of rapid mapping, imaging and supporting searches in extraordinarily challenging terrain. AFP disaster victim identification specialists are also deployed to Nepal, and we have provided telecommunication data to Nepali authorities with the hope that this may narrow the last known location of missing Australians. We know that most of the unaccounted for Australians were last known to be in the Gyirong and Syabrubesi areas.
Nepali search and rescue teams are on the ground in both areas, and we are working directly with the authorities to gather any information we can. Australia has committed $11 million in humanitarian assistance, supporting emergency shelter, food, clean water, sanitation, health care and other essential supplies. A Royal Australian Air Force C-17 has delivered almost 24 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Nepal, and Australians have responded with characteristic generosity, donating $4.5 million of their own money to the Emergency Action Alliance.
We have matched the donations from the Australian people with a $5 million contribution from the government to the EAA. Colleagues, we know the grief and anxiety of this disaster reach deeply into our communities. Australia's Nepali community is grieving for family, friends and communities in the region.
Members of Australia's Tibetan community are also experiencing great anguish. For many Hindu Australians, including those with connections to the pilgrimage routes and the sacred places of this region, this disaster has brought deep sorrow. To each of these communities, we extend the sympathy and solidarity of this parliament.
The search, rescue and recovery response continues, and we know the road ahead will be long. Infrastructure must be rebuilt, communities will need shelter, and essential services will need to be restored. Families will need support long after the immediate phase of this emergency response has passed.
We will continue to stand with Nepal through that long road of recovery, ready to provide further search, rescue and recovery assistance where needed. Today, this Senate mourns all those who have lost their lives, and we hold close those still waiting for news. We thank the responders in Nepal, in Tibet, China, and from Australia who continue their work in very difficult circumstances.
On behalf of the Australian government, I express my deepest sympathies to all those affected.