Ms Parke (12:02 pm) – In November last year I was in my parliamentary office preparing my speech in support of this important legislation which imports into Australian domestic law the principles contained in the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment, an instrument that Australia has been a party to since 1989, and the provisions of the second optional protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aiming at the abolition of the death penalty. While I was in the office that day, the mail was delivered. Among the envelopes addressed to me was a handwritten one with stamps indicating that it had been sent from Indonesia. I opened the envelope to find inside a Christmas card. The card was from Scott Rush, one of the young Australians on death row in Indonesia. He wrote:

Kerobokan Prison 18 November 2009
Dear Ms Parke, peace be with you this Christmas. I thank you for all you have done for me again this year. God Bless, Scott Rush.

Debate resumed, on motion by Ms Parke:
That the House:
(1)
expresses its:
(a)
deep sympathy for the people of Haiti following the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck on 12 January 2010 causing terrible devastation, including large-scale loss of life and injury; destruction of homes, buildings and infrastructure; and widespread hunger, thirst, homelessness and lack of security;
(b)
deep sympathy for the United Nations as this disaster has caused the greatest loss of life of United Nations staff members in the organisation's history; and
(c)
strong appreciation for the critical work of the United Nations in Haiti, which it continues to perform under extremely difficult circumstances;
(2)
strongly supports the actions of the Government in providing funding in the amount of $10 million for immediate emergency relief in Haiti, and $5 million for reconstruction, as well as technical assistance in the relief and reconstruction effort;
(3)
urges the Government to consider the provision of further funding and assistance towards the reconstruction effort over the months and years ahead;
(4)
notes its appreciation of the contribution of many United Nations' member states and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) to the aid effort in Haiti; and
(5)
recognises and welcomes the generous and compassionate contributions made by many Australians, and by Australian-based NGOs and charities to the relief efforts in Haiti.

The Prime Minister today announced the sale of areas of land at the Fremantle Artillery Barracks in Western Australia commonly known as Cantonment Hill to the City of Fremantle.

The Australian Government has approved the concessional sale of three areas of land which form part of the 3.87 hectare site to the City of Fremantle on the basis that it will redevelop the land for ongoing community use.

The City of Fremantle intends to incorporate the land into the existing Cantonment Hill Reserve to restore the land for public use, create a safe public park and regenerate the native bushland.

"This is a fantastic result for Fremantle and the wider Western Australian community," said Melissa Parke, Federal Member for Fremantle. "It will return to our community the views and public open space of a vantage point that was always intended to be Fremantle's equivalent of Kings Park."

Melissa Parke, Member for Fremantle, and Chair of the Parliamentary Association for UNICEF, and Senator Simon Birmingham, the Association's Deputy Chair have called on concerned Australians to donate to UNICEF's emergency appeal in order to provide life-saving essentials for those affected by the Haitian earthquake.

Donations can be made by visiting www.unicef.org.au or by calling 1300 884 233.