Daniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to offer my condolences to the families of those killed at Bondi, to their friends and to the entire Jewish community. It may sound trite to say that Australia will never be the same again, but it is true. I don't think we can overstate how terrible, how tragic and how unjust 14 December was. As part of the 2025 Hanukkah celebration, many members of the Jewish community in Sydney came together at Bondi, one of Australia's most famous locations. This was a peaceful public event at which innocent people were violently targeted. Dozens were injured and 15 of our fellow citizens are now dead—killed for who they are and what they believe in. Their passing has, rightly, shaken our nation. Today we honour their memory. We remember them with a deep and profound sadness.

Coming together in a public place to peacefully observe a religious ritual is the right of every Australian and a core element of our successful multicultural society. One central principle that unites all faiths and forms the foundation of our society is the sanctity and intrinsic value of human life. One of the most shocking aspects of this tragedy is that people were shot and killed simply for being Jewish—for their beliefs.

Antisemitism is a manifestation of the urge to dehumanise. It is ancient. It is persistent. It is our obligation as a government and a community to defend against it and to eradicate it. We need to listen when Jewish people express their fears. Those fears are informed by centuries of experience.

In addition to the horrifying scale of the events of 14 December is the profound tragedy of each individual life taken. For each family touched by this tragedy, the absence of their loved one will echo far into the future. The Jewish community at large will feel a collective grief and even greater worries about their security and safety.

The 15 victims demonstrate so many of the strengths of Australia's Jewish community. They were people who have contributed to our society in so many ways, people who were leaders in their community. They were mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers. They included the older generation and the youngest. I want to make it clear that Australia's Jewish community has been an integral part of our broader society for over 200 years and that this will continue. You are not just welcome in Australia; you are an enduring part of our nation and of who we are.

As a parliament, we must now act to ensure that we give meaning to this statement. Today is not a day to debate the specifics of next steps but rather to collectively commit to meaningful reform and protections, to commit to reaching for national unity wherever possible. I believe that humanity's capacity to hate and to dehumanise is far exceeded by our capacity for love and for courage. We saw that on 14 December from New South Wales police, from Hatzolah, from Ahmed al-Ahmed, from Bondi lifeguards and from locals who threw open their doors to shelter those fleeing the beach. Two of the victims, Boris and Sofia Gurman, courageously and selflessly stepped in to protect others. They tried to wrestle the gun away from an attacker. Tragically, this led to their own deaths.

There were countless expressions of love and displays of courage, big and small, that night, and I commend and praise each of them. We need to draw on this love, kindness and compassion if we are to come together as a nation and heal. In the words of Rabbi Ulman:

Darkness is not defeated by anger or force. Darkness is transformed by light, and that light begins with what each of us chooses to do next, and returning to normal is not enough.

We must all commit to not returning to normal, to joining together and collectively finding a better path. In doing so we must remember, with the deepest respect, the lives of all the Australians that were lost.

Again, in the words of Rabbi Ulman:

May the memories of those we lost be a blessing. Light will win.

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