Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise also to make a few comments in relation to the motion that is before us. Terrorism is awful. The poor victims of terrorism and their families, particularly the families, live with it for the rest of their lives.

Sadly, terrorism has always been with us. It's something that, in Western society, we might forget about. We might be lulled into a sense of security for a number of years, and then there's an horrific attack, such as what happened in New York a few decades ago, that makes us realise that terrorism could strike at any time and could strike at any one of us. Usually it comes from a place of hate and is designed to cause significant pain and to make a point. Most of us can recall where we were at the time the Twin Towers came down. I was quite young; I was at university. When I first turned on the television, I thought I was watching a movie, only to be shocked to realise that it was actually happening in real time, in real life.

From that moment there's been a significant shift, particularly in Western democracies, around how we need to act and be more vigilant in relation to terrorism. There's been a lot of conversation about what we need to do to ensure that we're not just supporting victims but preventing future attacks. That's where we need to be more engaged and more supportive of groups, and of our society and our governments, who attempt to deradicalise, to build bridges and to engage those who might feel isolated so they don't become more radicalised in our community.

I do note that, of the opposition speakers, none spoke about the horrific terrorism incident that occurred in our neighbouring country New Zealand, where 51 people were killed while worshipping, by an Australian terrorist who went to New Zealand to cause harm. Just as we remember all of the victims and reach out the hand of friendship, we also need to remember that we have a role to play in educating and engaging our own citizens. We have some responsibility in that. He was an awful, awful person who did a horrific thing. He was an Australian, and we all felt a strong sense of shame and disappointment that day that one of our countrymen could do that.

Right-wing terrorism is on the rise, and it is something that our law enforcement agencies work hard to prevent. I know that in my own electorate we had our own scares, which were not talked about a lot because of the great work of our law enforcement agencies. When our council approved the building of a mosque, it became a bit of a stand-off between the far left and the far right, who came to Bendigo to voice their opposition or their support. A few people who attended those rallies in Bendigo were arrested, and it was later discovered that one of those in attendance—a far-right extremist—had bomb-making material on his home computer and had parts of what he could use to make a pipe bomb. It was only because of the amazing efforts of our law enforcement agencies that no real damage was done, and I, as well as many in our community, pay tribute to that.

Coming out of those rallies, there were the first ever convictions in Victoria of far-right extremists for racial vilification. Why does this matter? Because it is about saying to people that you cannot racially vilify; that people have the right to live in this country, to practice their religion and to have freedom of speech; and that we will call it out. Not all right-wing speech and hate leads to terrorism, but it does help inflame and give the okay. If there were not that rally that had been organised, maybe this individual with that equipment would not have been in Bendigo on that day. This is why we have to make sure that we are addressing all aspects of what causes individuals to become radicalised.

These days like the International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism are important, not just to say to the families that we feel for them but to recommit, as a society, to being more inclusive, to being strong and vigilant, and to making sure that no-one else ever suffers these terrible tragedies again. (Time expired)

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