STATEMENTS ON INDULGENCE
Mr SOON (Banks) (18:11): Just over two weeks ago, we all woke up to the horrifying images and videos of a wall of water and mud, capable of bringing down buildings in an instant, surging through the valley close to the border of Nepal and Tibet, China. The floodwater destroyed towns and villages over a 72-kilometre stretch of land and buried the infrastructure and transport links that kept this part of the world connected.
On behalf of my community in the electorate of Banks, I send deep and sincere condolences to the loved ones of the more than 1,400 people that have passed and the more than 5,000 who are still missing, including the many Nepali Australians who are still waiting for news of family and friends in the region, including 35 Australians still unaccounted for. My electorate of Banks is home to a substantial Nepali Australian community.
The St George area as a whole, which the member for Barton and I represent, is home to nearly 10 per cent of the 130,000 people with Nepali ancestry at the 2021 census, particularly in the suburbs of Penshurst, Hurstville and Rockdale. In my community, Nepali Australians run small businesses, work in our care sectors and contribute to local causes and organisations.
Most importantly, they embody the humble, generous and hardworking spirit that so many Australians have come to associate with Nepal and its people. On 26 August I was able to join a community vigil in Rockdale, as well as many others that followed in Sydney and Hurstville since. The grief has been palpable, and everyone knows someone who has been affected by this tragedy.
Our Nepali Australian community is in pain, but, in their pain, the rest of my community stands with them. The clear theme in the messages I've received from members of my community that I intend to pass on to the Nepali embassy here in Canberra is one of sadness, one of solidarity and one of support for the people of Nepal as well as many stories of people who've experienced the welcoming and generous nature of Nepali people firsthand as visitors in their country.
Australians and Nepalis share a decades-long bond. Nepali Gurkhas arrived in Gallipoli only six days after Australian forces landed, and we have served together in almost every significant conflict since. Today, nearly 40,000 Australians a year travel to Nepal as tourists, and Nepali students contribute nearly $2 billion a year to our economy through the university sector.
In the aftermath of what has occurred, Australia and Nepal again stand side-by-side, with the government doing everything we can to support search, rescue and recovery efforts, with a significant amount of funding committed to the Emergency Action Alliance alongside the generosity of the Australian people, who've reached into their own pockets to contribute $4.5 million.
An Australian Disaster Assistance Response Team have also travelled to Nepal to assist in rescue efforts, using specialist drone technology to support Nepali authorities, along with providing data that may assist in locating some of those that are still unaccounted for. I know that the Minister for Foreign Affairs attended the Embassy of Nepal to give her message of condolence yesterday, and I look forward to doing the same tomorrow morning in my capacity as an MP and the Chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Nepal.
Being Chair of the parliamentary friendship group has given me the opportunity to meet with so many members of the Nepali Australian community. Just a few weeks ago, FeNCAA, one of their national organisations, held their AGM here in Canberra, which I was able to visit with the Prime Minister. It is incredibly saddening to think about how many of the people I've met have been affected by this deeply sad tragedy.
To those Nepali Australians who are feeling the devastation of this incredible tragedy on a deeply personal level, know you have the support of your communities in this incredibly difficult time, and may the strength to persevere in this difficult time be found by all those affected and involved.