Ms LIVERMORE (2:25 PM) —I would like to respond to the words of sympathy and comfort from the Prime Minister and my colleagues for those who are grieving in the wake of last Friday's tragic fire in Childers. The members of the opposition share your sentiments, Prime Minister, and our hearts go out, with those of other Australians, to the families and friends of the young people whose lives were lost so pointlessly and cruelly and to the survivors, who have so much pain to bear and who are so far away from the love and reassurance of their own families.

Last Friday in central Queensland was so beautiful. It was a flawless day of sunshine and blue sky. It was a day that made you feel good to be alive and yet, as the media reports got closer and closer to the full extent of the dreadful truth of what happened in Childers, a dark shadow seemed to come over our state of Queensland, and indeed the whole country. The horror of what happened at the Palace Backpackers Hostel is the stuff of every parent's nightmares. The tragic irony of this terrible disaster is that the 16 young people who are believed to have died in the fire were living out a dream. They had all worked hard. They had been studying, training or working in their home towns, some in Australia and some in other countries. Their trip to Australia was a reward, a carefree look at the world, experiencing new places and new friends before settling down to their lives. Like so many people, they were going through that fantastic experience of travelling around Australia, meeting their fellow backpackers and having a fantastic time seeing everything that our wonderful country has to offer. No doubt it was a very special time in their lives.

While this was happening, their parents were far away and undoubtedly very proud of the hard work and drive their children had shown to reach their goal of travelling overseas. They would have been waiting very excitedly to read each email or letter and to be able to share that information around amongst other family members and friends, telling the stories of what their children were up to across the other side of the world. Of course, the other side of it for the parents is what they are experiencing right now—that is, the constant worry and strain in the backs of their minds, knowing that their children were having the time of their lives but also counting the days until they saw their smiling faces again and had them safe at home. So for the parents who have been through the highs of knowing their children were living a dream in achieving their goal, parents who are experiencing the lows of what they are going through now, our hearts are with you.

I also want to pay tribute to the people of the Childers community. Since the people of Childers woke up to the tragedy that occurred last Friday morning, they have stepped in to be acting families for the survivors of the fire. The people of Childers have been there to help them through the shock and grief as the reality of their loss set in. The people of Childers have also shed the tears and prayed the prayers with the absent families from around Australia and the world who lost their adored children in the fire. I think that, as all Australians have watched events unfold in Childers over the last couple of days, we have felt very proud of what has been shown by that community. We have seen the way in which they have reached out to help the survivors and to grieve and share some of the burden of the loss of those 16 young people. I guess it is our way as a nation of repaying the debts of Interlaken and similar tragedies that have occurred to Australians overseas. It has been a fantastic display of the spirit of our Queensland country towns. You are never judged in those towns; they take you as they find you. But once they take you, you are there for better or for worse, and we have seen that in the last few days.

Congratulations are due on account of the fantastic and unthinkable efforts of the emergency workers. None of us here could even begin to contemplate the horror of what those people are going through, but they are doing it in order to provide closure and comfort for families around Australia and the world.

To the survivors: I hope that you will find the comfort you need. You will all have your own ways of coping with what has happened to you and to the friends whom you lost in the fire. I hope that you will take the rest of your time in Australia to see the good that this country can give you. Also, please remember the families of the mates you lost in the fire. Please keep in touch with them and share what you knew of the love that they had for their families. Please share the memories you can with their families, whether through letters and email or whether you visit them when you return to your home countries.

My sincere sympathy goes to the families and friends of all those people who died in the fire. I do not know the mums, dads and family members of the people who died, but I do know about the capacity of country people in Queensland. To the families and friends I would say: if you maintain your connection with Childers, you will always have love, support and people to share the happy memories of your children. Until you are ready to enter the stage of coming to terms with this terrible loss, I hope that you can find some comfort for your terrible pain.