Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Energy and Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to dedicate my statement this morning to what I call ‘kids that care’ in the letter-writing campaign for the Victorian fire victims. When Kate Babbage-Russell, a mum of five from Saville Grove in my electorate, approached me with an idea to get local schools to write letters and draw pictures for the schoolchildren affected by the Victorian Black Saturday fires, I thought it was really a great idea. Her children, like many across Australia, just wanted to be able to do something to help kids like themselves that had been affected. A lot of them did not have much money, but they wanted to do something that would really connect them with and show their care for children affected by the Victorian fires.

It is difficult for the community to cope with a tragedy of the scale that has affected so many lives in Victoria, let alone young children, who may struggle to come to terms with the enormity of the disaster. In response to Kate’s request, five schools in the local area got involved: Gwynne Park Primary School, Good Shepherd Primary School, Dale Christian College, Armadale Primary School and Brookdale Adventist School. I have seen much of the work that the children did and I want to give a few quotes. The first one said:

We send sorrow to you. We may not be in the same state and have lost the same people, but we will support you to the end. No matter what happens, the rest of Australia will support you all the way through the good and the bad, the best and the worst. You are in our prayers.

That was from Sarah Jane McKay from Good Shepherd Primary School. The next:

I am writing to the helpers. Thank you for helping the poor families that have been through suffering. We are thinking about you and what you have been through. There are good people and there are bad people and you guys are the best. Great job!

That was from Mackey, Gwynne Park Primary School. The next:

We pray for you and your family. We pray for your friends and family that have passed away. We pray and hope that you can smile. I pray that your hearts will heal and that you will live in peace. Amen. Charlotte, Good Shepherd Primary School.

I am extremely pleased that this project has been such a success, with hundreds of letters and pictures sent off last week to the children in Victoria. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge all of Kate’s hard work in organising the letter-writing project and to thank the schools for participating in such a worthwhile crusade.

I know that schools not only in my electorate but also from Western Australia and all of Australia have the same sentiments and have been doing much the same in terms of their support for the children. For instance, I attended South Halls Head Primary School last Friday. They, too, did what they could. They had a ‘golden chain’ to raise money for the children of the Victorian bushfires. By putting all their golden coins—their one- and two-dollar coins—in a line, they were able to raise $500 towards helping the children in the Victorian bushfires area. So I want to congratulate all those children from that school and say what a worthwhile project this is.