I rise today on behalf of the ACT Party to express our heartfelt sorrow at the deaths of Rodney Miller, Chaminda Senadhira, Adam Bennett, Michael Suter, and Christopher McDonald; and the young tourists: Patrick Byrne from Ireland, Glenn Bourke from Australia, Annita Kirsten from Germany, and Brad Coker from England—the nine people killed when their plane crashed at Fox Glacier in the South Island on Saturday afternoon. This is the worst aviation disaster that New Zealand has suffered in the last 17 years. The ACT Party joins all other members of this House in sending our deepest condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of those who lost their lives on that afternoon. The death of a loved one—be it a father, a mother, a brother, a sister, a son, a daughter, a partner, or a friend—in such particularly tragic circumstances is one of the most painful ordeals that one can experience. My heart, and the hearts of my caucus colleagues, go out to the victims’ loved ones in their time of grief.
On behalf of the ACT Party, I wish to also express our deepest sympathies to the two young girlfriends who witnessed their boyfriends perish in that disaster. Anyone who has seen the television coverage over the last 24 to 48 hours cannot help but be moved by the interview given by the sister of Glenn Bourke. She talked about her own experiences of skydiving in New Zealand and how she encouraged her younger brother to come and to follow in her footsteps.
No words of mine can mitigate the pain and the sorrow that the friends and the loved ones of the nine victims must be feeling, but I hope they can take even a little solace in the knowledge that the thoughts of every member of this House, indeed of the entire nation, are with them at this terrible time, and that Parliament has seen fit to honour the lives of their loved ones with this special motion this afternoon. Thank you.