FOURTH ANNIVERSARY OF BLACK SATURDAY
February 7, 2013
Mr CHESTER (Gippsland) (13:48): Today marks the fourth anniversary of the tragic Black Saturday bushfires which devastated large parts of Victoria and shocked our nation. As we gather here today, Victorians are experiencing more sweltering conditions and, in fact, there are bushfires burning in my own electorate of Gippsland. The smoke is in the air again around the Aberfeldy bushfire and also around the Mount Hotham area. It is a traumatic time for many of the survivors who have experienced Black Saturday and now are experiencing these conditions on this, the fourth anniversary. I am sure members of all parties join me in expressing their condolences to people affected by the Black Saturday bushfires and to assure them that we will never forget the experience they have been through and also assure them that we will learn the lessons of those tragic fires.
On Black Saturday five fires across Victoria claimed the lives of 173 people. This exceeded the loss of life from any previous bushfires in Australian history, including the Ash Wednesday bushfires in February 1983. The greatest loss from the bushfires were in the Kilmore East area where 119 people died, followed by the Murrindindi area where 40 perished, and my own electorate of Gippsland in the Churchill area where 11 people died. In the Beechworth area another two people died and one person died in Bendigo. In all, 2,133 houses were destroyed during this tragic event. On this day, the fourth anniversary, our thoughts and our prayers are with those who were impacted by the Black Saturday bushfires.