Your Excellency, Ministerial and Parliamentary colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, back in the year 2000, the week after the Sydney Olympics there were very serious fires in my electorate. A few days later I was on the beach and I was talking to one of my fellow nipper parents and he was explaining to me that he'd been sitting on his veranda drinking beer while down the end of the street the local fire service had been striving to save his house.
He said he felt so guilty about it that he was determined to go and join the local fire brigade. Well, we both joined together and we've been members of the Davidson Volunteer Rural Fire Brigade ever since. I must say that in almost 15 years of service I've never heard a member of my brigade or any other brigade speak of himself or herself as brave or selfless and yet that is what members of our fire and emergency services are sometimes called upon to be as we face the natural disasters that are common in this wide brown land of drought and flooding rain.
Today, we remember those who have been lost and we particularly honour five brave and selfless men who have recently lost their lives in the line of duty. We honour David Balfour who travelled from his Canberra home to support Victorian fire crews in their time of need. We honour Andrew Harrison, a volunteer fire fighter who valiantly protected the property of his neighbours. We honour Brian Johnston, who would have marked an incredible 50 years of fighting fires this year. We honour Daniel Howard who earned the title of local hero when he battled a fire in Cobar to save life and property and we honour David Black, a skilled pilot who battled dangerous conditions to protect homes and lives on the South Coast of New South Wales.
Their selflessness beckons us all to live bigger lives, lives of duty and service.
To their families and to the families of all who have suffered in the line of duty, I express the gratitude of our nation. We honour them at this national memorial; we honour all who serve our country.
The work of those who serve our country each and every day makes this nation a safer and a better place.
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