Sydney Priest Kevin Lee the First Confirmed Australian Death in Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines

By Patrick Lion
The Courier Mail
November 10, 2013

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/sydney-priest-kevin-lee-the-first-confirmed-australian-death-in-super-typhoon-haiyan-in-the-philippines/story-fnii5s41-1226756905906

Kevin Lee with his daughter, Michelle Lucila

A resident drinks water beside large ships that were washed ashore by strong waves caused by Typhoon Haiyan, in Tacloban city, Leyte province, central Philippines on Sunday.

A child stands amongst the devastation in Tacloban city.

Residents walk past debris and destroyed houses in Tacloban City

Array

Houses wiped out in Tacloban city.

[with video]

JUST six weeks ago former western Sydney priest Kevin Lee was celebrating the birth of his daughter Michelle, joking about buying her a Sydney Roosters jersey and enjoying the family life he would never have experienced in his former life as a celibate priest.

But yesterday the priest, who helped blow the whistle on child sex abuse in the Catholic Church and was removed from the Glenmore Park parish last year after admitting to secretly marrying his wife, became the first confirmed Australian death in the wake of Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

A Melbourne family yesterday also pleaded for details of their traveller daughter last heard from in the Philippines as a regional police commissioner upgraded the disaster death toll estimates from 1000 to at least 10,000 people, mainly in the Leyte province, following Haiyan's sustained winds of up to 315km/h and 3m-high storm surges.

It is understood Mr Lee, who helped bring about the royal commission into child sexual abuse, drowned after going out into the typhoon during his daily swims.

Typhoon Haiyan- 600,000 evacuated in Vietnam

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade did not identify Mr Lee but yesterday confirmed the death of a 50-year-old NSW man in the immense tropical storm.

Mr Lee, 50, was living or on an extended stay in the Philippines with his wife Josefina and baby Michelle, - who are believed to be safe - after the dramas of the past two years, including a recent unsuccessful bid for Liberal preselection in shadow treasurer Chris Bowen's seat of McMahon.

Fellow whistleblower Detective Inspector Peter Fox last night said Mr Lee had enjoyed swimming and recalled how they bonded over the fight for truth in the church.

"I only spoke to Kevin three days ago and he was so happy," Det-Insp Fox said.

"He was very strong willed - a lot like myself. He told me he was going to talk to the royal commission. Even though he was sad about leaving the church, he also found a fair bit of happiness with his relationship with his wife."

In May last year Mr Lee announced he had a secret "double life'' for the past 12 months, married to Josefina and serving as a priest despite rules banning marriage.

A week before his death, Mr Lee wrote of the changes in his life after the September 24 birth of Michelle, which was: "Pretty awesome at the moment and beginning to understand what I was otherwise destined to miss out on. The best thing in my life, my daughter Michelle, would not be here if I had been faithful to my vows,'' he wrote on his blog.

In Sydney, Philippine Community Council of NSW president Arturo Sayas said the group had up to 100 calls from relatives and friends in NSW worried about loved ones in the region.

Two Australian disaster experts are already on the ground assisting the Philippine government and the United Nations.

There were also fears for more Australians, including Melbourne woman Maiko "Michelle" Reimann who last contacted her family on Friday when she sent a text message to say the typhoon was about to hit.