Ms GILLARD (Lalor—Prime Minister) (14:07): I also ask the indulgence of the House today so that we can pause briefly and remember the anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan one year ago. This was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan and one of the five most powerful earthquakes anywhere in the world since modern records have been kept. The toll was horrendous—19,000 killed or missing, another 6,000 injured, more than one million buildings destroyed or damaged, vital infrastructure wrecked and of course one of the world's worst nuclear accidents, one that has left entire towns and regions abandoned. It is poignant to recall that this disaster struck at 2.46 pm, during school time. Over 500 schoolchildren were killed or lost, including 74 from a school of just 108. Hundreds more will face the future as orphans. The scale of this disaster will resonate for years and decades to come. It was a very great honour for me to be the first foreign leader to visit the disaster-wrecked part of Japan. I will never forget standing there in the wet and seeing the buildings that remained. There were only a very few of them. Of the buildings that remained, even four-, five- and six-storey buildings had boats and fishing nets on top of them, giving you an idea of the scale of the water and the damage that it had done. I heard stories of people who literally held onto outside fire escapes for their very lives, some of them not making it—some held on and some could not hold on against the force of the water. Former Prime Minister Kan has said that in the 65 years after the end of World War II this is the toughest and most difficult crisis for Japan. In uttering those words, he was surely right. In affected areas, decades of modernisation have simply been undone in one blow. Japan has suffered a dent in its national confidence, which has occasioned much soul searching and a lot of reflection. We grieve as friends with the Japanese people but, more importantly, we say to them something that I think within this parliament each of us knows. Japan is a great nation—proud, resolute and strong. We know that Japan will rebuild and, as Japan does, Australia as a friend of Japan will stand with you. We will be admiring of your courage, mourning your loss and sharing all the help we can in the future.