Senator LUNDY (2:43 PM) —I rise in support of this motion. As the other senator from the ACT, I too am deeply saddened to find myself speaking to this motion of condolence. There has been immense personal loss and emotional torment experienced by many people in the ACT and elsewhere in Australia as the fires continue to ravage this land. The experience felt by many Canberrans on that day is something that they have conveyed to me cannot be described. It has not been experienced before by many of the firefighters or by those who had to face the fire on the day. The magnitude, the heat and the ferocity of the fire that took place was something beyond imagination.

I want to take the time to reinforce that point today because, if you visit the ravaged areas of Canberra, you can see what that fire left, but you cannot get a sense of just what happened and how quickly it happened. Over 600 homes were destroyed and 530 of those, as we know, were in Canberra. Around the country, seven people have died in the fires and four of those were here in Canberra on Saturday, 18 January. Alison Tener, aged 38, of Duffy, was the mother of three boys: Simon, Jason and Adam. Her husband David and her boys said that Mrs Tener gave of herself to help others and that she was the `best mummy' a kid could hope for. She loved her family and spending time together on Sunday picnics, having pizza on Friday nights and those wonderful simple family things that meant so much to her.

Dorothy McGrath, aged 83, of the Stromlo Forestry Settlement, is survived by her daughter, three grandchildren, five sisters and two brothers. Known to her neighbours as Dolly, she was a quiet, elderly woman who loved her dogs and who lost her life fighting to save her home. Mrs McGrath died, overcome by smoke, in the front yard of her home as she tried desperately to hose down her property. All but three homes in the small community in which she lived were lost.

Doug Fraser, aged 61, of Duffy, was the loving father of three, Wendy, Robyn and David; grandfather of Oliver and Emma, who was born just four days before the tragedy; and husband to Anne. He died whilst trying to protect his house in Burrendong Street, Duffy. He had very strong community connections, having given his time as the treasurer of the Weston Creek Wildcats, a local junior AFL club.

Peter Brooke, aged 73, of Duffy, was a retired Sydney businessman who died when his son's Duffy home was consumed by fire. Mr Brooke was a retired engineer and had moved to Canberra with his wife, Beverley, to be closer to his son Gary. Mr Brooke was a very keen gardener and cooking connoisseur who made good use of his home-grown vegetables.

The stories of these people whose lives were lost, and also the stories of many of the survivors, will continue to make the sense of tragedy very real to so many Canberrans. There were those of us who were not part of it, who just saw the smoke and the fires. Like many others, I was travelling home from the coast that day, and I drove into Canberra and saw the extraordinarily red sky. It was almost pitch black because the lights were out in so many suburbs. It was a horrifying day for those people directly affected, and those watching and listening expressed their fear.

I, like my colleague Senator Reid, would like to acknowledge those on the day who took a hands-on approach to what was happening. I refer to the crew at Triple 6. I mention in particular Leanne Scott, who was out on the scene, taking reports, putting them to air and providing very practical advice which, I believe, saved lives on that day. I acknowledge the role subsequently played by the media as they came together in order to provide a conduit for information and get the messages out from the ACT government. The ACT government have done everything possible and everything right in responding to this disaster, and as we now move into a recovery phase. They have channelled information through the media in order to get it to the people in need. I also mention the efforts of the FM stations, Mix 106.3 and FM 104.7, who conducted a radiothon last week because their staff wanted to do something tangible and meaningful. They raised tens of thousands of dollars by calling for donations from around Canberra.

There are many more stories of heroism that I am not able to refer to today. I also acknowledge Mike Castle, Peter Lucas-Smith, John Murray, Ian Bennett, and particularly my colleagues in the ACT Assembly, who have done an incredible job not only in responding to the disaster but in pulling together in what will be an extensive recovery phase.

Finally, I extend thanks on behalf of everyone affected to the emergency service workers—the firies, the ambulance officers, the police. Everybody came together and did the best job that they could in order to save lives. Hopefully, lessons have been learnt and we will now move on and be more prepared if we are confronted with such a tragedy ever again.