❓ A WA parliamentary question addresses the arrangements for the search and recovery of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, specifically inquiring about the Western Australian government's role. The Premier outlines the support being provided by the WA government in cooperation with the Australian government and international partners.
AnsweredQoN 218Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MALAYSIA
AIRLINES FLIGHT MH370 — SEARCH AND RECOVERY
218. MR N.W. MORTON to the
Premier:
Before I ask my question, on behalf of the member for
Balcatta I welcome and acknowledge the students, teachers and principals from
two schools in the Balcatta electorate—namely, Balcatta Senior High
School and Servite College—who are in the public gallery this
afternoon.
Can the Premier please advise the house on the arrangements
in place for the search and recovery of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, and
specifically what role the Western Australian government will play?
AIRLINES FLIGHT MH370 — SEARCH AND RECOVERY
218. MR N.W. MORTON to the
Premier:
Before I ask my question, on behalf of the member for
Balcatta I welcome and acknowledge the students, teachers and principals from
two schools in the Balcatta electorate—namely, Balcatta Senior High
School and Servite College—who are in the public gallery this
afternoon.
Can the Premier please advise the house on the arrangements
in place for the search and recovery of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, and
specifically what role the Western Australian government will play?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. I seek the indulgence of
the house to read the response because of the sensitivity of the issues and the
need for accuracy.
As everyone is aware, Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 from
Kuala Lumpur to Beijing went missing on 8 March. The 239 passengers and crew were
from 15 countries, including 152 from China; 50 from Malaysia; seven from
Indonesia; and six from Australia. Those people have presumably lost their
lives. This is a tragic incident and on behalf of the Western Australian
government, the Parliament and the people of this state I offer our support,
thoughts and sympathy to the friends and family of those on flight MH370.
Today marks day 27 of the international search and recovery
operation, which is now focused around an area approximately 1 800 kilometres
west of Perth. Under international conventions Malaysia is responsible for the
investigation of flight MH370, and Australia will provide all necessary
assistance in the search for and retrieval of the aircraft. Search operations
are being undertaken by aircraft and vessels provided by a number of countries,
including Australia, Malaysia, Korea, New Zealand, China, the USA and the
United Kingdom.
Over the weekend the Prime Minister announced the formation
of a Joint Agency Coordination Centre to be led by retired Air Chief Marshal
Angus Houston. This centre is an Australian government initiative and anyone
seeking information can make use of a hotline—1800 621 372.
It is understood that at the appropriate time the Australian
government will make arrangements for the next of kin of people on MH370 to
travel to Perth, and while here the Australian and Western Australian
governments will work closely with each other to ensure appropriate supports
are provided. This is a significant logistical exercise that has already
involved, and will continue to involve, considerable planning and preparation
at an international, federal and state level.
As for the support provided by the Western Australian
government, I can confirm the following: led by the Department of the Premier
and Cabinet, officers from several state and federal government departments
have been working closely since mid-last week with representatives from
Malaysia Airlines, consular officials, and others such as the Australian Hotels
Association to identify a range of issues associated with the recovery of MH370
and the events that will flow from this. Office accommodation and logistical
support have been provided to the Australian government to establish its Joint
Agency Coordination Centre, with operations commencing on Monday, 31 March.
Preliminary work is being undertaken on security arrangements, accommodation
requirements, potential memorial services, an induction pack for next of kin
who may come to Perth and appropriate means by which members of the public can
register their condolences. Much of the work being undertaken by the Western
Australian government is being done in close cooperation with the Australian
government and not all aspects can be fully explained for security reasons.
I note the significant show of support by businesses,
organisations and the Western Australian community who have come forward with
suggestions and offers of assistance in a range of areas. All these suggestions
are being carefully considered and have been taken into account.
The state government will work closely with the Australian
government, which is leading the response from our perspective; consular
officials; Malaysia Airlines and others to ensure that our response is
appropriate. The people of Western Australia are sensitive to the cultural
differences. I thank them for their support and I support all those people at
federal and state levels who are working together along with various countries
around the world. The state government will do all that it can to assist the
efforts to recover the aircraft. Our role is supportive, obviously, of the
Australian government. We will do all we can to provide a welcome at a sad time
for those who will come to Perth. We will also assist with any memorial
services that will be conducted.
I thank members for their bipartisan support of the action
being taken.
the house to read the response because of the sensitivity of the issues and the
need for accuracy.
As everyone is aware, Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 from
Kuala Lumpur to Beijing went missing on 8 March. The 239 passengers and crew were
from 15 countries, including 152 from China; 50 from Malaysia; seven from
Indonesia; and six from Australia. Those people have presumably lost their
lives. This is a tragic incident and on behalf of the Western Australian
government, the Parliament and the people of this state I offer our support,
thoughts and sympathy to the friends and family of those on flight MH370.
Today marks day 27 of the international search and recovery
operation, which is now focused around an area approximately 1 800 kilometres
west of Perth. Under international conventions Malaysia is responsible for the
investigation of flight MH370, and Australia will provide all necessary
assistance in the search for and retrieval of the aircraft. Search operations
are being undertaken by aircraft and vessels provided by a number of countries,
including Australia, Malaysia, Korea, New Zealand, China, the USA and the
United Kingdom.
Over the weekend the Prime Minister announced the formation
of a Joint Agency Coordination Centre to be led by retired Air Chief Marshal
Angus Houston. This centre is an Australian government initiative and anyone
seeking information can make use of a hotline—1800 621 372.
It is understood that at the appropriate time the Australian
government will make arrangements for the next of kin of people on MH370 to
travel to Perth, and while here the Australian and Western Australian
governments will work closely with each other to ensure appropriate supports
are provided. This is a significant logistical exercise that has already
involved, and will continue to involve, considerable planning and preparation
at an international, federal and state level.
As for the support provided by the Western Australian
government, I can confirm the following: led by the Department of the Premier
and Cabinet, officers from several state and federal government departments
have been working closely since mid-last week with representatives from
Malaysia Airlines, consular officials, and others such as the Australian Hotels
Association to identify a range of issues associated with the recovery of MH370
and the events that will flow from this. Office accommodation and logistical
support have been provided to the Australian government to establish its Joint
Agency Coordination Centre, with operations commencing on Monday, 31 March.
Preliminary work is being undertaken on security arrangements, accommodation
requirements, potential memorial services, an induction pack for next of kin
who may come to Perth and appropriate means by which members of the public can
register their condolences. Much of the work being undertaken by the Western
Australian government is being done in close cooperation with the Australian
government and not all aspects can be fully explained for security reasons.
I note the significant show of support by businesses,
organisations and the Western Australian community who have come forward with
suggestions and offers of assistance in a range of areas. All these suggestions
are being carefully considered and have been taken into account.
The state government will work closely with the Australian
government, which is leading the response from our perspective; consular
officials; Malaysia Airlines and others to ensure that our response is
appropriate. The people of Western Australia are sensitive to the cultural
differences. I thank them for their support and I support all those people at
federal and state levels who are working together along with various countries
around the world. The state government will do all that it can to assist the
efforts to recover the aircraft. Our role is supportive, obviously, of the
Australian government. We will do all we can to provide a welcome at a sad time
for those who will come to Perth. We will also assist with any memorial
services that will be conducted.
I thank members for their bipartisan support of the action
being taken.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.