STATEMENTS ON INDULGENCE
Mr WALLACE (Fisher) (18:47): Thirteen days ago, an unimaginable wall of water tore through the Himalayan valleys along the Nepal-China border. A glacier and mountain collapse sent billions of litres of water surging through the region, destroying villages, roads, bridges and entire communities in their path. The latest reports indicate at least 1,398 people have been killed, and more than 5,500 are still missing.
Among those missing are hundreds of foreign nationals, and only a few moments ago we learned that another Australian has been found alive, which is wonderful news. That brings our number of unaccounted for to 35. Those numbers in their entirety are almost impossible to comprehend.
But behind every one of those numbers is a person—a brother, a sister, a mother, a father, a son, a daughter. And the agony that those families must be going through right now is unimaginable. For those of us on the Sunshine Coast, this international tragedy has been brought painfully home to us.
One of those Australians still missing is Fisher local Renee Spry. Renee is a disability support worker, a mother and a much-loved member of our Sunshine Coast community. She travelled to Mount Kailash on a pilgrimage when the disaster struck.
Her family understands that Renee was at an immigration centre near the Nepal-Tibet border only minutes before the catastrophic flood swept through the area. The building was overwhelmed and Renee has not been heard from since. When the news first emerged, our entire Sunshine Coast community hoped and prayed that Renee would be found alive and well.
We continue to hold that hope today, but with every passing day we also recognise the terrible uncertainty Renee's family is being forced to endure. Her family, like all others, wakes each morning waiting for a phone call, waiting for a message, waiting for somebody somewhere to tell them where their loved one is and what's happened to them. I've been deeply moved by the strength of Renee's family and what they've shown throughout this ordeal.
Her daughter Ruby has spoken publicly about her mum and about the sort of person Renee is. Importantly, Ruby has also said that Renee would want Australians to think not just about her mum but about the thousands of Nepalese people whose lives have been devastated. She's encouraged Australians to support humanitarian organisations helping those affected.
We have not forgotten Renee and we will not forget Renee, and we continue to hope and pray for the news that so many Australians and so many people around the world are longing to hear. There are, of course, many other Australian families experiencing that same terrible uncertainty. Some have travelled to Nepal themselves, searching for their loved ones and hoping for answers.
Others remain here in Australia, waiting by their phones and holding on to every piece of information that comes through. For some families, there's still hope that their loved one may be found alive. For others, the heartbreaking reality is beginning to set in that the search may now be about recovery, closure and bringing their loved one home.
These are Australians who should have been returning to their families after the trip of a lifetime. Instead, their loved ones are left waiting, hoping and grieving. As the days pass, we must make sure that those still missing and the families waiting for them do not simply fade from our national attention.
I acknowledge and support the work being undertaken by the Australian government. This is an extraordinarily difficult time for disaster response taking place across remote and badly damaged terrain. Roads and bridges have been destroyed.
Entire communities have been cut off. Search teams are operating in extremely challenging conditions. The government has now deployed almost 50 Australian officers to the region to support search, rescue and recovery efforts; that includes consular and crisis response officers, Australian Federal Police, defence personnel and humanitarian specialists.
Officials in Kathmandu, Beijing, New Delhi and here in Canberra have been working around the clock, dealing directly with families, local authorities, hospitals, tour operators and other organisations in an effort to establish the whereabouts of missing Australians. Australia has also deployed a specialist disaster assistance response team, including drone operators from Fire and Rescue NSW and the fire department in Queensland.
Those teams are providing advanced aerial mapping and imaging to support Nepalese authorities conducting search operations in extremely difficult terrain. That is practical Australian expertise being put to work where it is desperately needed. I thank the Australian government, our diplomats, defence personnel, Australian Federal Police officers, emergency service personnel and everybody else involved in the operation.
On issues like this, Australians speak as one; it doesn't matter what political party we are from. The government has the opposition's full support in doing everything reasonably possible to find Australians who remain missing and to support their families. Australia is also providing significant assistance to the Nepalese people.
The government initially announced $5 million in humanitarian support and has provided a further $3 million, bringing its commitment to $8 million. That support is helping provide food, emergency shelter, clean water, sanitation, medical assistance, hygiene kits, blankets and psychosocial support. Funding is being delivered through organisations including the World Food Program, Australian humanitarian partners and the Emergency Action Alliance.
I strongly support this assistance, because, while naturally our attention is drawn to the Australians still missing, we cannot lose sight of the enormous suffering of the Nepalese people. The member for Fairfax and I joined our respective Nepalese communities on Friday night in the Teej festival. We grieved with them in their moments of loss.
Yesterday, Nepal observed a national day of mourning. Flags flew at half mast. Families gathered in prayer.
Candlelight vigils were held. Traditional mourning ceremonies marked the 13th day since this disaster. There are villages where families have lost everything.
There are workers still feared trapped in tunnels. There are thousands of people missing and thousands more displaced. The scale of that grief is difficult to comprehend from here in Australia.
But Australia has always been a country that helps our friends when disaster strikes, and we should continue to do so. There's no easy ending to a speech like this, because for Renee's family and so many others there's still no ending to their story. They are still waiting.
They are still hoping. They are still searching for answers. For Renee's family on the Sunshine Coast, I want to say again that we are thinking of you.
Our community is standing with you, and we continue to pray that Renee will be found and brought home. For the families of all 35 Australians still unaccounted for, this parliament stands with you as well. And, to the people of Nepal, Australia mourns alongside you.
I commend the Australian personnel on the ground and the government for the assistance it has provided and the resources it continues to deploy, because these families deserve answers. The people of Nepal deserve our help, and the Australians still missing deserve every reasonable effort we can make to bring them home. I hope I don't destroy the Nepalese language by saying: Tapainko yo kshati ma sara sansar tapai sangai shok ma dubeko cha.
The whole world is immersed in grief with you in this loss.