Tasmania’s parliament has passed a condolence motion for the victims of the Nepal floods, with MPs sharing stories of local families who still do not know whether their relatives are alive.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff moved the motion on Tuesday morning. It passed without dissent after the lunch break.
The motion noted hundreds of people had been killed or remained missing after flash floods struck communities on the Nepal-Tibet border.
It said reports indicated at least 43 Australians were among those missing.
It also noted more than 6,000 Tasmanians were born in Nepal and more than 7,000 speak Nepali at home.
The floods were triggered by a glacier collapse last Wednesday.
Rockliff told the house the disaster had “plunged countless families into grief and uncertainty”.
“To those members of Tasmania’s Nepalese community, I want to say this – your grief is shared by this Parliament and by the people of Tasmania,” he said.
“We stand with you during this extremely difficult time. We recognise your anxiety, your sorrow and your concern for those still unaccounted for.”
Labor leader Josh Willie said many Nepali Tasmanians were grieving from thousands of kilometres away, unable to be with their families.
He said for them, “the distance between Tasmania and Nepal must feel greater than ever”.
Clark Labor MP Ella Haddad said her electorate had the fourth largest Nepali population of any electorate in Australia.
Independent Clark MP Kristie Johnston said a friend contacted her last week to say three members of his family had died and his mother and father were missing.
She said his home had been in the path of the floodwaters and he was trying to travel back to Nepal.
Bass Liberal MP Michael Ferguson said three Nepali people worked at Parliament House.
He said their families in Nepal were believed to be safe, but all three knew people who remained missing.
Clark Liberal MP Marcus Vermey said a Nepali engineer who had lived in Tasmania for years was in Nepal when the floods hit and had returned to the affected area to help.
Independent Clark MP Helen Burnet said she spent Sunday with the Tasmanian Nepalese Cricket Association at Cornelian Bay, where players held a minute’s silence between matches.
Greens MP Vica Bayley said Nepali was the state’s third most spoken language and the community was growing.
The house was told vigils had already been held around the state, including on the Burnie waterfront.
A candlelight vigil organised by Tasmania’s Nepalese community will be held at Montrose Foreshore Park from 5:30pm tonight.
Parliament will pause tomorrow evening so members can attend a vigil on the Parliament House lawns.
MPs urged anyone wanting to help to donate through established aid organisations.
