EMBARGO:
FOR MEDIA SUNDAY, 20 FEBRUARY 1983
ELECTORATE TALK
The bushfires which have swept through South Australia and
Victoria are the worst Australia has ever known. Over
people have lost their lives and around 2,000 homes have been
burnt to the ground. The fires have destroyed the livelihoods
of many Australian families and I know every Australian joins
with me in extending their deepest sympathy to those
who have lost friends and relations in the fires, and to those
whose homes and possessions have been destroyed.
The thousands of firefighters who have fought the fires with great
determination and bravery deserve our greatest praise, and
thanks without them the devastation would have been
immeasurably worse. The police, the services, and thousands
of voluntary workers have done a wonderful job in backing up
the firefighters and in providing relief from immediate
hardship. They too deserve our thanks. Tens of thousands
of others all around the nation have expressed their concern,
and offered their assistance, through generous contributions
in the form of food, clothing and other supplies, and through
donations to appeals.
The response to the financial appeals has been magnificent,
and the Commonwealth has played a part both by contributions to
those appeals and by providing that donations to the appeals
will be tax deductible. At a time like this a very great
responsibility falls on the Commonwealth Government to do all
it can to ease the suffering, and the financial burdens that
have been created by the fires. The full extent of the financial
assistance that will be needed can only be determined once
the total damage has been assessed. This will take some days
and is likely to run into tens of millions of dollars.
Much of the assistance from the Commonwealth will come under
the Natural Disaster Relief Arrangements. I have offered to
the Premiers of South Australia and Victoria that initial
instalments of Commonwealth assistance of $ 10 million in the
case of Victoria and $ 6 million in the case of South Australia,
be paid under the N. D. R. A. in advance of settling final details.
This will enable the two State Governments to make an immediate
start on providing relief and assistance, without excessive
strain to their budgets. / 2
-2-
But the Commonwealth will provide considerable assistance beyond
these obligations. We have already agreed to extend the assistance
to include concessional loans to home owners, small businesses
and primary producers who have lost their property, as well as
for the re-establishment of facilities such as recreation camps,
assistance with the freight costs of stock and fodder, and up
to $ 1,200 per kilometre for materials for boundary fencing will
also be given.
These measures will all be administered by the States. We will,
of course, continue to review the needs of those affected by
the fires and provide any further assistance that may be necessary.
In particular, we are examining in association with the two
State Governments, and the relevant local Governments, the kinds
of additional measures that are needed to help rebuild or
replace devastated community assets in semi-urban areas.
Some things can never be replaced, no measure of assistance can
even start to compensate the relatives and friends of those who
lost their lives in the fires. No measure of assistance can
replace the treasured personal possessions so many people have
lost. All Governments can do is to ensure that the suffering is
not compounded by intolerable financial burdens on people and
communities.
This terrible tragedy has reminded us all of something very
important about Australia and the Australian people. In many
respects Australia is a harsh land. It is the world's driest
continent, and its climate is often severe. To build a nation
in such a difficult environment has been one of the great
human challenges of the last couple of centuries. Yet Australians
have not only met that challenge with vigour and determination,
they have created one of the world's most successful communities.
Above all, that has been made possible by the tradition of
Australian mateship. That tradition grew out of adversity.
It grew because Australians knew and still know that to
overcome hardship and crises we have to help each other, to
work together. The response, not just by Governments, but by
people all over Australia to the great suffering caused by
the fires in Victoria and South Australia, has shown that
when some Australians are in very real difficulties they can
count on each other to pitch in. That is the meaning of
mateship.