STATEMENTS ON INDULGENCE

Mr BIRRELL (Nicholls) (17:17): I join with the other members of the parliament and many people across the aisle and throughout our communities in sending my condolences and thoughts to the people affected by the Chinese, Tibetan and Nepalese floods. It's a significant tragedy. Over 1300 people have lost their lives, and there are many more missing.

Current news reports indicate there are as many as 30 Australians unaccounted for, and obviously their families must be very concerned. The floods have had a significant effect on a number of communities throughout China, Tibet and Nepal. We all saw the flow of water.

It was harrowing to see the footage and to see how fast that water was moving and the destruction that it left in its wake. Often when we think about that part of the world, the Himalayas, Nepal and Tibet, we think of inspiration. We think of the kindness of the Tibetan people and the grace with which they carry themselves.

We think of Nepal as such a significant and great country. We think of acts of incredible human endeavour such as Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary reaching the summit of Mount Everest. Now, when we think of that part of the world, we will too think about this tragedy and the loss of life that has happened there and the loss of property.

Many of us have experienced natural disasters in Australia. Back in 2022, shortly after I was elected to this place, I experienced floods in my own community. But this was something completely different.

The speed and power of the water and the way that it just washed away buildings and communities and lives in such an instant was truly horrific. In Shepparton, which is in my electorate, there is a significant Nepalese community. They held a candlelight vigil at Victoria Park Lake to mourn the people who have been lost, to pray for those who are missing and to pray for the miracle that people will be found okay.

As the member for Wills just said, many of us around Australia have a Nepalese community or Nepalese communities in our electorates, and, in the way they carry themselves with such grace and humility, they are amazing additions to our communities and to the Australian community as a whole. I know and am very good friends with many Nepalese people and people of Nepalese descent who now make Shepparton or Nicholls their home, including Meena and Hem Kc in Shepparton and Milan in Seymour.

My heart goes out to them. To see what's happened in your own country while being such a long way away must be very difficult experience. I commend the government for the way that it has mobilised the Australian resources and the Australian aid that has gone there.

I hope that they can contribute to the immediate needs of the Nepalese people but also that the effort is a combined global one to assist those communities to rebuild their townships and rebuild their lives. I'll finish my remarks by saying that, along with many other members of parliament, my thoughts go to the people of Nepal and Tibet and China, all who've been affected by this terrible tragedy.

I commend the government on its quick support and pray for the people of Nepal. I hope that many people can be found safe and that that wonderful and beautiful country—a country that we look to for inspiration—can continue to rebuild their lives and their communities.