Wednesday, 7 February 2024

 Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (09:44): Today marks the 15th anniversary of the Black Saturday bushfires that ravaged so much of my electorate of Northern Victoria Region. From Kilmore East through to Flowerdale, Humevale, Strathewen, Kinglake, Toolangi and Marysville up through Buxton to Taggerty, further north around Mudgegonga and around Axedale and Bendigo, communities across my electorate of Northern Victoria Region and the wider state were devastated by the impact of the fires. 7 February and the months following are a time that is etched in my memory, a time I will never forget, and I hope that no current or future members of Parliament have to experience the images and memories of loss of life and devastation of whole towns that I will live with forever. One hundred and seventy-three lives were lost on that day, and 414 people were injured in around 400 fires that burnt out of control, destroying families and communities, and most of the devastation and loss of life occurred in northern Victoria. I want to pay my respects to the families and friends of the 173 people who died in the fires. I especially want to make mention of personal friends Allan and Carolyn O’Gorman and their 18-year-old son Stuart, who lost their lives in the fires at Humevale, and I pay my respects to their twins, Patrick and Bronwyn, who were fortunately not home at the time of the fires. I also want to thank all emergency services personnel who assisted on that day, particularly our brave CFA volunteers who fought the fires, and all other volunteers, including SES, Red Cross, St John’s and so many others, who helped on the day and in the months and years after as communities have rebuilt.