Australia Prime Minister Julia Gillard tribute to flood victims

(SYDNEY 9 Feb): Australian lawmakers paid tribute to the tens of thousands of citizens whose lives have been rocked by floods, fires and cyclones, as authorities reined in a major blaze, which gutted 68 homes.

Australia Prime Minister Julia Gillard choked back tears as she recounted the nation's horror summer, marked by huge floods that killed 35 people in Queensland state, top-strength Cyclone Yasi and wildfires still raging on the west coast.

Fire crews on Tuesday managed to contain the inferno, which destroyed at least 68 homes and damaged 32 more as it tore through heavily wooded areas on the southern outskirts of Perth, Australia's fourth-largest city.

The wildfires came just days after Cyclone Yasi ripped into Australia's northeast coast, wiping out sugar and banana crops and devastating hundreds of homes in Queensland state, which is still reeling from record floods.
Gillard's voice trembled as she recounted the difficulties Australia faced during the summer, a time she said would "always be remembered for the force and scale of the natural disasters the nation has endured."

Prime minister said, opening the first session of parliament for 2011.

"Australia has watched in horror as day after day a new chapter in natural disaster history has been written."

Gillard wept as she presented a flag to the parliament given to her by army rescue workers who found it at Murphy's Creek, epicentre of an "inland tsunami so powerful it swept away lives and shattered communities."

Many MPs wiped away tears as she recalled the story of Jordan Rice, 13, who urged rescuers to save his younger brother first as he was swept to his death, and a pregnant woman whose baby was wrenched from her arms just seconds before help arrived.She also thanked the volunteer army of thousands who turned out to help strangers clean out their homes and the more than Aus$200 million raised through public donations.

"We will always remember the days of despair and the days of courage we've lived through together this summer," she said.

Wildfires that left hundreds of people homeless were still burning on the west coast and Gillard said flooding continued to menace Victoria and New South Wales, while nine people remained missing in the Queensland floods.

Brisbane, brought to a standstill by floods that swamped tens of thousands of homes, on Tuesday put the cost of recovery at $440 million, with roads, marinas and other infrastructure washed away.