Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It has been very heartening to see communities across Australia band together to help those devastated by the recent bushfires. Fortunately northern Tasmania has so far had few fire events this summer, although our season is just beginning. This hasn't stopped many members of our community rallying together to raise funds for our interstate friends.

I would like to commend the wonderful actions of Ella Manion and Emily Hogarth from Lulworth, who are 11 and 12 years old. They decided that if life was handing out lemons then making some lemonade may help. Together they set up a homemade lemonade stall and with donated fruit and ice raised over $1,000 for the bushfire appeal. Well done, girls. Every dollar you raised will make a difference.

I would also like to acknowledge Launceston City Council Deputy Mayor Danny Gibson. In true Danny style, in just a few days and while overseas, he managed to pull together an incredible gala event last week, engaging the business, arts and general community along the way. It was a sell-out event and has raised over $72,000 and counting. All funds and donations will be managed through Danny's local Rotary Club of Tamar Sunrise to support the Rotary National Bushfires Appeal.

We know that money can't replace all that has been lost in the fires and that the after-effects of this summer will be felt for many years to come; however, any funds raised goes someway to rebuild lives and give hope to shattered communities. I thank everyone in northern Tasmania who has donated and raised money for those affected by this unprecedented event.

Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I recognise the brave staff of the Walwa Bush Nursing Centre, who showed such extraordinary dedication to their community in the recent fires. On 30 December 2019, fires bore down on the tiny Upper Murray township of Walwa. All telecommunications, radio and electricity were lost, cutting it off from the outside world. As the only place with power, the centre rapidly transformed into a relief centre for those who stayed to protect their farms and defend the town. Many took refuge inside. The fires returned twice more. Nursing staff slept on the floor to be on call 24/7. The centre's generator kept its fridge and freezer going, allowing it to provide over 600 meals to firefighters and the community.

When I met CEO and nurse practitioner Sandi Grieve, she'd been working for 16 days straight, sometimes bandaging up farmers in the back of a ute so they could get straight back to feeding their cattle and fixing fences. Funding for her service stops at the New South Wales border, only five kilometres away. But bushfires and health care for those affected has no border. It's time we answer the calls from Sandi and her community to flexibly fund the services that help people on both sides. The centre exists because of its tough, independent and tight-knit community. In these fires, the centre has returned the favour in care, shelter, compassion and hugs. They weren't equipped for this kind of emergency but, in the spirit of rural Australia, they did whatever it took to serve their community.