Senator Steve Fielding - Leader of Family First
Victorian bushfires
Posted by Senator Steve Fielding on February 09 2009 | 18 Comments
I wish my first blog on our new site was under happier circumstances. However as I sit here listening to the radio and hear the number of lives lost continuing to rise, like many of you, I’m saddened and angry. I’m sad as so many lives have been lost and so many families and communities have been scarred forever by these relentless fires. And I’m also angry that it seems at least one, if not more, of these fires were deliberately lit. How can people do that?
So what can we do? We must help in any way we can, small or large. Please donate clothes, shoes, underwear, food (with no immediate use by date), blankets, toys and especially please give blood.
The toll free number for donations is - 1800 811 700 - or go to http://www.redcross.org.au
Australians are courageous and strong. We’ve never shirked a challenge. Together we can help our communities heal and rebuild. Please tell me what you think the government should be doing to help. I’ll make sure the message gets through.
Hi All
Just to make it clear, I have already declared my condemnation for Mr Nalliah’s opinions earlier in this blog (the post is dated 11th February).
Many of you are coming up with some really valuable ideas about what can be done when rebuilding Victorian communities to avert this sort of disaster again. I think this is a valuable conversation and encourage you to keep thinking of ideas and letting us debate them.
Cheers
Steve
Comment by Senator Steve Fielding on 16 February 2009 at 04:43:36 PM
Come on Steve - condemn Danny Nalliah!
If indeed “Pst” Nalliah did have a proven, tried & true prophecy surely the next thing for him to do would be to lovingly intercede on behalf of Victoria.
But no, he had to publish his message…now why would we think he would do that?
Comment by juliejay14 on 16 February 2009 at 02:12:03 PM
Im with Dave from Albury
“I hope that Family First will publicly distance itself from the comments of former candidate Pastor Danny Nalliah and his assertion that the bushfires in Victoria are retribution for the changes in abortion law. Pastor Nalliah should play no part in public life if he can so callously ignore the suffering of his fellow Australians in order to further his agenda. “
Bunkers sounds like a good idea as a last resort. Why not commission archicentre to come up with some sort of reticulated watering system for the roofs of houses, and for goodness sake let people cut back trees away from their houses.
Comment by imsarge1 on 16 February 2009 at 01:27:00 PM
**FAMILY First leader Steve Fielding wants the first Saturday in February to be set aside nationally as a day to recognise the extraordinary efforts of volunteers in our community.**
Great idea Senator Fielding.
I know there is Thanksgiving Day later in the year, (I think it is official isn’t it?) but it has more of a christian/prayer focus.
This one can be wholly secular and do much to encourage good old fashioned mateship, community values and social capital. These things are always there, but our children need to be reminded how important they are to the health and well being of our society.
Comment by acs on 16 February 2009 at 09:37:01 AM
Are you people for REAL??? READ CAREFULLY THE ORIGINAL STATEMENT BY JOSEPHINE BALUYOT?? How can none of you pretend that you haven’t read it, it turns my stomach, how could any SANE person believe, or take seriously, the rantings of Nalliah? Or his followers, such as Josephine?? Come Judgement Day, I think a lot of so called christians are going to find out the hard way that they were actually playing for the wrong team, any one who backs these two clowns up should consider their standing with The Lord very, very carefully before committing themselves to Eternal Damnation. I pray that this kind of people are not the norm for this Party because if it is, You’ve just lost One voter.
Comment by Dave Pilmore on 15 February 2009 at 01:45:16 PM
To Steve Fielding,
The comments of former candidate Pastor Danny Nalliah and his assertion that the bushfires in Victoria are retribution for the changes in abortion law, even though it is true what he comments, we should not criticise or judge others, as it doesn’t bring about justice but animosity instead. My heart goes out to all the people involved in this bushfire disaster. I pray that I can be an influence to our Leaders in wiping evil and protecting the people of the land. In however we contribute may we start thinking ‘grandly’, speaking ‘grandly’, and planning ‘grandly’.
Let us all work together to stop these Bills being passed in Parliament. With these Bills being passed, innocent births are being terminated, that is just as bad as murder.(Galatians 6:7): ‘Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sow, that shall he also reap.
Josephine Baluyot
Comment by Josephine Baluyot for Adrian Fischer on 12 February 2009 at 12:13:45 PM
Some of you may have been listening to 3AW today and heard Emergency Services Commissioner Bruce Esplin talking about an early warning system that had been successfully trialled in Victoria in 2005. Apparently it had not gone ahead because the states and territories have spent the past four years bickering about it. Four years!
The system works by alerting people through home phones and mobiles that a fire was coming their way. Who knows if that system would have saved lives but even if one life was spared it would have been worth the paltry $12 million Bruce Esplin reckons it would have cost to set it up. Surely this system has to go ahead. If the other states can’t make up their minds bad luck. The State Government has to act to set it up and the Federal Government has to help in any way it can to stop other states and territories holding it up.
What do you think?
Comment by Senator Steve Fielding on 12 February 2009 at 10:24:51 AM
I live in Perth now but as a boy i grew up in Melbourne! Marysville holds special memories for me. As a boy i would visit my uncle who was the anglican priest in Marysville. I remember being an alter boy and how special that felt. My uncle George Edwards would also take us to a sort of amusement park somewhere in Marysville where me an my brother would drive odessys!!! So much fun… There were also other times i would visit Marysville with the ESA group… These Christian camps were so much fun… The bush walks, the friendships, the communion!
I guess i only have one thing to say about the fires… There are people in Victoria, Darwin, NSW etc who are homeless, grief stricken, dying, poor and sick… It is sad to see the pain people have to go through whether by fire, cancer, death, up bringing, etc…
For me hope and faith out weigh any immediate loss… It is said that when a fire ripps through bushland it can give to healthy regrowth of fauna… This is also possible with people… Even if you have lost a child, which many do all year round every day every year all around the world, what are you going to do with your life now? After the grief and sadness… Will you support world vision? Will you visit sick children in hospital? It would be better that humans never experience pain…But as we do, lets turn it into something positive!!!
To Steve Fielding… The reason i logged onto your blog was not to comment on the fires… It was when i read about your criticism of labour’s so called tactics… When i was growing up in Melbourne at 14 yo like my brother before me i went and did my work experience at the preferred company i intended to start my apprenticeship with… Then the next year (1989/1990) with the recession there were no apprenticeships… All my friends and i had nothing… We lost an opportunity to “get a trade” something our working class parents had done and taught us to do… That working class dream was broken… It is no wonder many of us got into trouble later on…
By the end of Labours rain in government the programs in place to retrain and educate people helped most of us find work or as a new option - never dreamt by our parents - enter university… Once the liberal government got voted in most of those programs were abolished.. Before the Howard era you got more money through Aus study than you did on unemployment benefits… There was incentive to go back to school… once the liberals got rid of all those programs incentives, the already above mention broken working class had an even tougher time.. Then the world seemed to get better… Many attribute Australia’s economic boom to Howard and his policies. This is totally untrue… Of course taking money out of social welfare programs, which the liberals did fiercely, helped… But those savings are not what saw this country boom… Our boom worked in concert with every other around the world… Howard did not have anything to do with that growth… World economic factors did…
One thing Howard Costello did do is force mothers out to work… DISCUSTING… Working class Mothers… What did they think? That the economic boom was going to last… How Arrogant and Stupid… Now a Mother cant choose to raise her kids at home? What happens when there are no jobs? Not only are they unemployed but there isnt any money to help raise there kids…Fix the divorce rate, Fix the Family law mess before you penalise Mums…It is good for a mother to seek out work beyond there dream of Mother hood, but if they would prefer to be at home nurturing the home environment, lets encourage it… Howard/Costello have not yet seen the consequences of that policy but they will… When those kids grow up out of the Day care system, Watch out…
Steve when i hear you criticising Labour on Social Welfare issues, especially unemployment i hope you are aware that there are more within the labour ranks that agree with you than disagree… So lets give them a chance… They have an idea, lets see what happens…. To be perfectly honest Steve, i always thought you were aligned with the liberal party…. This outburst is no different… There seems to be so much hostility in your tone… I dont know what its like in Knox but from my point of view you are not an independant you are a conservative liberal… You will succeed and fail with them…
Comment by Michael on 12 February 2009 at 09:19:38 AM
If I may make another post, as a Family First member, I agree that Pastor Danny Nalliah should not stand as a member for the Party in future.
I think his stand for freedom of religion and free speech against the Victorian Vilification board was absolutely courageous, and the Australian public owes him a great debt for that.
But I think there are strong cultural differences between the way most Australian christians express their faith and the way Danny expresses his, coming from a Pakistani background. He invariably creates great controvery. I respect him, but I think he is an inappropriate choice as candidate for the Party.
Comment by acs on 11 February 2009 at 11:21:48 PM
Come on Kat, how can you be so petty in the face of the enormous human suffering going on?
So what if Senator Fielding uses a metaphor. Most policticians do. Why, Kevin Rudd hardly does anything else…!
Maybe Steve has spent too much time around Kevin Rudd
It’s very hard to understand some of
Rudd’s frenetic hyperbole sometimes.
Anyway, Hope all your friends have survived the bushfires OK, Senator Fielding. And thankyou for standing up for the umemployed!
Comment by acs on 11 February 2009 at 11:14:43 PM
Dear Australia,
In regards to the recent bushfires and the loss of life, it is clearly evident that technology could have drastically reduced the loss of life, whatever form that technology took. By this I mean current technologies, e.g. bunkers etc.
I think this is an oversight by the regional and urban planners. A full environmental feasibility and impact assessment should have been completed, providing strong recommendations to council and giving residents flexability in construction, based on simulated natural disaster.
Like everything, construction cost money, and there is our fundamental problem in society.
The poor residents that can’t afford preventative measures vs. the greedy governments and developers that overlook obvious weakness in regional planning.
Comment by Timothy OKane on 11 February 2009 at 10:45:16 PM
I came to this site to see if all Family First’s written communication was as bad as that quoted in today’s SMH article. ‘Torn between a rock and a hard place’, mixed metaphors anyone? ‘The war on the recession’, hasn’t the war on xyz been done to death?
You didn’t let me down. ‘So many families and communities have been scarred forever.’ Scarred? Scarred? Really, come on. The rest of this post on the blog (yes, post on blog, not blog on site) is made up of poorly formed, rambling sentences.
I don’t like your policies. I don’t like what you stand for; in fact I’m generally disgusted by what you stand for. But the least you can do is articulate yourself in a manner befitting a politician, rather than a 14 year old.
Comment by Kat on 11 February 2009 at 09:59:51 PM
Dave, in response to your comment I want to say that as a Victorian and as a Christian I am deeply offended by Mr Nahlia’s remarks. This is a time for all Australians to join together in support and prayer for the Victorians who are grieving. It’s also a time to honour those brave men and women fighting the fires and let them know that they have our complete support.
Comment by Senator Steve Fielding on 11 February 2009 at 06:06:36 PM
I am really interested in the comments by Liz and Dave regarding the possible rebuilding of houses with cellars or bunkers, so people can find shelter in emergencies. I spoke about this issue on Sky News yesterday morning and feel it is definitely something that should be looked at. As we rebuild Victorian communities we have to learn from any past mistakes and be fully prepared for the challenges of the future.
If anyone else has got any other views on this subject or any more ideas about how we could strengthen Victorian communities then I would like to hear from you on this blog
Cheers
Steve
Comment by Senator Steve Fielding on 11 February 2009 at 05:00:19 PM
Hi Steve, I’m from Tassie - yes the fires are shocking & sobering; I agree with Liz Grieb - I have heard 3 stories of how people were saved because of Cellars, wombat holes and damp creeks - you should push that all new buildings in the bush have to have bunkers dug into the earth of all new properties. I have read in the news that you want to siphon $4 billion for grass roots job creation - can you point me to where I can see further details? Thanks and God Bless.
Comment by Neil on 11 February 2009 at 11:57:42 AM
The suffering of the victims is simply tragic.
I hope that Family First will publicly distance itself from the comments of former candidate Pastor Danny Nalliah and his assertion that the bushfires in Victoria are retribution for the changes in abortion law. Pastor Nalliah should play no part in public life if he can so callously ignore the suffering of his fellow Australians in order to further his agenda.
Comment by Dave from Albury on 10 February 2009 at 07:16:30 PM
The Fed. Govt.is putting $6.4 billion of the $42 billion package towards Housing for the 105,000 homeless -good !
Now, with the loss of 750 plus houses from Victoria’s horrendous fires, it could divert more of this package toward rebuilding housing for victims. Many want to return to their blocks & start again. Turn this in to a big plus by the State/Fed. Govt. combining a team of respected Env.Architects, Engineers plus Environment Planners, to achieve a range of energy sustainable house designs, with site bunkers or cellars, shared or on each site,and full water recycling as in much of Europe. The communities will have to forget Victorian, Edwardian or freestyle housing they had before, but know that their homes will better stand up to the future challenges facing drier, hotter Southern Australia.
Thank you for this opportunity, Steve Fielding.
Sinc. Liz Grieb.
Comment by Liz Grieb on 10 February 2009 at 03:22:44 PM
It’s just a tragedy, an absolute tragedy.
Comment by David1964 on 10 February 2009 at 01:48:20 PM