STATEMENTS ON INDULGENCE

Mr NEUMANN (Blair) (16:43): I was deeply saddened by the devastating flood disaster that has impacted communities across Nepal and Tibet, China, causing loss of life, displacement and widespread hardship. I want to acknowledge the uncertainty and the distress that communities continue to endure following this and extend my deepest sympathy to all those who have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods during this difficult time.

I want to acknowledge the courage of emergency responders, our volunteers and community members who have worked tirelessly to support those affected. The number of Australians unaccounted for is now 35, down from 36, with the good news overnight that an Australian citizen who was in Nepal and uncontactable confirmed yesterday that they are safe and well. Our focus remains in establishing the whereabouts and welfare of those unaccounted for and supporting families through this very difficult time.

The hearts of all Australians are with their families and their friends. Any Australians requiring emergency consular assistance, or those concerned about family or friends, can contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre. Our Australian officials are working around the clock to locate unaccounted for Australians and support their loved ones, and for this, we thank them.

We've been liaising with local authorities as well as tour operators, and we thank the Nepali and Chinese authorities for their work on the ground and their assistance. Australia has now deployed 49 extra personnel to Nepal to support the crisis response. This includes drone operators and a 15-person disaster assistance response, as well as an AFP Disaster Victim Identification team as well as those with specialist skills in humanitarian assistance, assessment, logistics, communications and planning.

I'm very proud that the Royal Australian Air Force, based at RAAF Amberley in my electorate, has been involved in this process and response. A plane that flew out of Amberley last week delivered 23.9 tonnes of Australian humanitarian disaster relief to Kathmandu. Australia stands ready to provide additional support and acknowledges the scale of what Nepal faces.

Sadly, we have some experience with floods in Blair, but nothing that compares with this. The extraordinary scale of this disaster, the conditions on the ground and the remoteness of the affected area means that there's an immense challenge for rescue and recovery efforts. To that end, Australian government's committed $11 million to the humanitarian response.

The Australian public has also shown extraordinary generosity, with more than $4 million having been donated to the Emergency Action appeal. I have a significant Nepalese community in my electorate and the wider Ipswich area. Indeed, Ipswich has one of the largest Nepalese communities in Queensland, particularly around the Ripley area, and I've engaged with them on numerous occasions.

I was very pleased to get to know them over the years and attend a number of Nepalese Association of Queensland and Ripley Nepalese community events in recent years, including sporting carnivals. Earlier this year I was delighted to attend the opening of the Ipswich Nepalese Language School at Ripley Central State School, where I presented the Nepalese Association of Queensland members with the certificate of recognition and met some of the students and even more members of the local community.

Just today, I was pleased to inform Sobit Adhikari, the President of the Ripley Nepalese Community Group, that they'd been successful in their volunteer grant to assist with the costs of IT, first aid, safety and hygiene equipment, sport and recreational equipment, training, storage equipment, venue costs and insurance. I was pleased to attend a candlelight vigil in Brisbane on 30 August, together with the Speaker—the member for Oxley—the Treasurer and many other federal and state parliamentarians and community leaders.

There were well over 100 people there that night. This was at the invitation from the Nepalese Association of Queensland. It was an opportunity to express our solidarity and to share our grief and wrap our arms around the people of Nepal and Tibet, who have been so devastated by this disaster which has taken just so many lives.

This is such a heartbreaking time, and it was a very moving ceremony. Clearly, for the Nepalese diaspora here in Australia, particularly in Queensland, their grief is very deeply felt. Following the vigil, I spoke of the tragedy at the Federation of Indian Communities of Queensland's, the FICQ, Multicultural Unity dinner and shared a message that our humanity is what really unites us all.

I want to thank the Nepalese Association of Queensland President, Tikaram Sarma, for organising the vigil and for the incredible work he's doing to support the Nepalese community of Queensland and Australia. Tika has been on the phone with distressed members of the Nepali diaspora and the wider Australian community around the clock since the disaster unfolded.

In an incredible act of graciousness, the Speaker and I have received messages from Tika thanking us and all MPs in attendance for our continued support and solidarity with the Nepalese community in Queensland during this difficult time. He said that the Nepalese community deeply appreciates the Australian government's generous assistance, including specialist rescue personnel and technology.

In return, we as a parliament, across the political divide, want Tika and the Nepalese Association of Queensland and the Nepalese Australian community to know they are not alone. We stand in solidarity with them and the people of Nepal as they face the challenges of recovery and rebuilding. We share in their grief and hope and extend our heartfelt support to all those affected by this tragedy.

We hope and pray that the affected families find strength, comfort and resilience in the days and weeks ahead. May relief efforts continue to reach those most in need as quickly as possible. I want to particularly offer my prayers for those in the local community, particularly in the Ripley area, who have told me that they know of people who are currently missing and have an association with them.

Let us come together as a nation—and, in my home state of Queensland, as a city in Ipswich—at this time to support our Nepalese community and all Australians experiencing loss through this devastating tragedy. Our Nepalese community, at that candlelight vigil, prayed for shanti, for peace. They prayed and chanted.

We hope and pray their spirituality, their material support, their love for each other and their physical bonding will continue to grow and will continue to make sure that they know that we stand with them and that every form of spiritual material and physical support we can give them will be there for the Nepalese community, our brothers and sisters in humanity.