Dr MARJORIE O'NEILL (Coogee) (17:46:08): I support the motion moved by the Premier and I thank her for moving it. I acknowledge all the contributions of the previous speakers; each contribution was heartfelt in its own unique and personal way. I acknowledge also the trauma that some of our colleagues in this place have experienced through the bushfires. The bushfire crisis we have witnessed in New South Wales and across the country over the past five months has been unprecedented and devastating. People have lost homes and livelihoods and, most distressingly, people have lost their lives and their loved ones. On behalf of the electorate of Coogee I extend my most heartfelt condolences to the friends, family and communities of the 25 people who have experienced the ultimate loss during this horrific bushfire crisis. Twenty-five precious lives have been lost in New South Wales, including six brave responders who made the ultimate sacrifice. This sacrifice will never be forgotten.

A State memorial for those impacted by the recent bushfires will take place on Sunday 23 February at the Qudos Bank Arena at Sydney Olympic Park. I encourage everyone to attend. Almost 2,500 homes have been destroyed and 5.5 million hectares obliterated and more than one billion animals have been lost. The past few months have been absolutely devastating. Not only is our country hurting but its people are in mourning. Burnt skies and the smell of smoke have become an almost daily reminder to people in electorates like mine, far removed from the fires of the horrors unfolding across our State and across our country. To all those affected by this unprecedented crisis I want you to know that in the Parliament of New South Wales we hear you and we will not stop working to ensure you all receive the support you need from this Parliament.

I join with my colleagues on both sides of the House and with all Australians in paying tribute to the thousands of professional and volunteer firefighters from across the State and the country and from overseas, many of whom have been working since September to contain countless bushfire emergencies. Commissioner Fitzsimmons, thank you. You have and continue to work tirelessly leading the RFS with clarity and empathy. The RFS has been ably supported and assisted by other emergency service workers, including police and paramedics, as well as countless community groups and volunteers who have provided invaluable support to fire‑ravaged communities. These people together have saved countless lives and properties, they have made life easier for those who have lost homes and loved ones and they have cared for those who have been injured or displaced during these fires. We owe these brave volunteers and professionals a huge debt of gratitude.

Long after the media has returned to metropolitan Sydney, long after the smoke has left Sydney skies, there will be hundreds of people in regional and rural towns across the State who are doing the hard work of bushfire disaster recovery. My commitment is to work with all of my colleagues in this Parliament to continue to invest in these communities as they bring themselves back from this unprecedented disaster. I take this opportunity to pay particular tribute to my colleague and friend Hugh McDermott, the member for Prospect. Hugh's account of his experiences as an RFS volunteer firefighter on the morning of 19 December was harrowing. His crew, the Horsley Park 1 Alpha brigade, represents the best that humanity has to offer. I thank Hugh for volunteering to help keep our communities safe and for sharing his experience with us here. His story will stay with me forever.

I also acknowledge the heartfelt and raw emotion shown by the member for Bega, Andrew Constance, who bravely defended his home and who has been standing strong with his community throughout this tragic period. In recent days he has raised some critical points about the lasting and devastating mental health impacts of bushfire disaster, which remain well beyond the time when the fires have passed. I also acknowledge the member for Blue Mountains, Trish Doyle, who told this House about her son who volunteers with Fire and Rescue NSW. I thank Trish for sharing her deeply personal story with us. It shone a light on how people were affected by this crisis and reminded us of the importance of taking appropriate steps to avoid such catastrophes in the future.

In the face of tragedy, we have seen the best of people in our communities. They have shown so much generosity, love and compassion. This tragedy has brought out the best in my community. I am incredibly proud of the electorate of Coogee and of everyone who has banded together to fundraise and help people, many of whom they will never meet. I especially thank the Randwick and Waverley-Woollahra SES units that have worked non‑stop since October last year in support of both their regional SES colleagues and the RFS. Both units have sent strike groups of volunteers to fire-affected areas across the State. Those volunteers have been part of the frontline roster, spending up to five days at a time away from home assisting with the defence of people and properties and with the clean-up. Those units also provided volunteers to staff the phones for the Bush Fire Information Line. I mention Peter Struck and Kim Edwards, the managers of Randwick and Waverley-Woollahra units respectively, who have gone above and beyond during the bushfire crisis, both as individual volunteers and as unit commanders. I thank them both, and I thank all the volunteers in their units for the incredible work they have been doing.

I acknowledge the staff at both Waverley and Randwick local councils, who have been working overtime to provide as much support and assistance as possible. I thank Mayor Paula Masselos and Mayor Danny Said, as well as general managers Ross McLeod and Therese Manns, for offering up their staff and services and contributing everything they could. Both councils have provided extra support staff to council offices in fire‑affected areas. They have also waived fees for function spaces and public spaces used for fundraising activities, and Randwick Council used the Coogee Sparkles event to directly fundraise for the RFS. Waverley Council waived parking fees for the people who sought refuge in the local government area during this disaster.

I also acknowledge Our Big Kitchen, which is a community-run industrial kitchen where meals are prepared for distribution to needy people across Sydney. During the bushfire crisis, Our Big Kitchen organised for extra food to be prepared and distributed to those who volunteered on the front line of the fires and who supported locals in those communities. The food was delivered with handwritten and heartfelt thankyou notes from members of the community. Our Big Kitchen is one of many charities and not-for-profit organisations that have lent a hand during these tough times. To each organisation and to every volunteer I say: Thank you for giving your time, expertise and effort over the past few months to support people who are enduring the toughest of times.

Unfortunately, we know that we are not out of the dark; bushfire season is going to continue for months to come. We also know without a doubt that the nature of bushfires in Australia has changed. Bushfire conditions are clearly more dangerous than they have been in the past and the risk to people and property has increased. I therefore welcome and strongly support the review by Mary O'Kane and David Owens that the New South Wales Government has commissioned. Let now be the time that we make significant and fundamental changes to the way we approach our summer season. We must do our best to prepare our State for the future and to tackle and address the challenges of climate change. If we cannot do these things, we are doomed to see a repeat of the tragic summer we have just witnessed.

Finally, I encourage all those who can to head to the regional communities affected by this crisis. I encourage them to stay at their hotels, eat at their cafes, buy from their shops and help those communities get back to business as usual. I thank the Premier for giving every member of the House an opportunity to offer their condolences to those who were lost in these fires and their thanks to those who served New South Wales at one of our darkest moments. I commend the motion to the House.