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KIAMA BLOWHOLE SAFETY
Mr NAGLE (Auburn) [5.15 p.m.]: Two young people were injured recently at the Kiama blowhole. As she and her boyfriend walked near the blowhole, a teenage girl fell 15 metres and suffered multiple broken bones, including a suspected broken pelvis and spinal injuries. The young man, who suffered a broken ankle, climbed the cliff to alert friends of the accident. I bring this incident to the attention of the House because in 1992 there was another terrible tragedy when members of an Afghan family were sucked into the ocean near the blowhole. My constituent Mr Zobair lost his wife, Nasrin; daughter, Khaleda; and son, Mostafa; while Mr Mohammed Sharif lost his daughter-in-law, Angeella Cina; her young daughter; and grandson, Arash Sharif. Their son, Fared, remains missing. The Zobair, Cina and Sharif families are related and emigrated to Australia as refugees trying to escape the war and oppression that have devastated their country. Tragedy had befallen the Sharif family many times: since leaving Afghanistan, they had lost four sons, one of whom was executed in Kabul.
The Afghan community in Sydney and in my electorate is small: there are only 600 or 700 Afghan people throughout the Sydney metropolitan area. As refugees, they are obviously very poor and, although they band together in times of hardship and tragedy, they do not have the resources to assist each other financially. I remind the House of that terrible tragedy affecting three families and of the recent accident near the blowhole. I commend the then Premier, Mr John Fahey, who, through the then Minister for Community Services, and Assistant Minister for Health, Jim Longley, paid $4,043 to the Zobair family and $3,244 to the Cina family to cover their direct funeral costs. Miss Peggy Heng then of the Ethnic Affairs Commission was also able to assist the families during this trying time and my wife, Karen, and I provided counselling. Unfortunately, as a result of this tragedy—and because of the interference of others, particularly my former electorate secretary—the Zobair family has split. Be that as it may, the family approached me after the recent incident to ask whether the Government might consider erecting some monument to the family at the blowhole to warn other people against entering that dangerous area.
The area is not fenced; it is impossible to fence. If we were to fence that area, governments would be obligated to provide funds to fence every beach and every cliff throughout Australia. These fine families, although employed, are struggling. They wish to warn people of the dangers of going near the Kiama blowhole. It is not the blowhole that causes problems, it is people wandering around the dangerous cliffs who are the problem. Recently a young lass fell 20 metres to her death at the Kiama blowhole. I ask the Deputy Premier, who is in the Chamber, to raise this matter with the Premier. It would not cost a lot of money to erect a memorial to the Zobair family containing a warning to people of the dangers of the area. If people do not heed those warnings or use their commonsense they could suffer the tragedy that was suffered by the Zobair family.
Dr REFSHAUGE (Marrickville—Deputy Premier, Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, and Minister for Housing) [5.20 p.m.]: The honourable member for Auburn has raised the very important issue of safety along the shoreline. The Kiama blowhole, which is an interesting feature of the local geography, is a dangerous area. I am sure that all members of this House extended sympathy to the members of the Zobair, Sharif and Cina families. I am sure that the Premier will take an interest in the matter raised by the honourable member for Auburn. Perhaps the local council could assist with the honourable member's proposal. The Afghan community played an important part in the opening up of the centre of Australia. They brought camels with them; the Afghan hops that can be seen blooming throughout Central Australia are a reminder of their leaking saddles.