David Moncrieff (Hughes, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Boris Gurman, Sofia Gurman, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, Edith Brutman, Adam Smyth, Boris Tetleroyd, Marika Pogany, Peter Meagher, Dan Elkayam, Reuven Morrison, Tibor Weitzen, Alexander Kleytman, Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, Tani Tretiak and, with that most Australian of names, 10-year-old Matilda: these 15 names represent what Australia lost on 14 December. They are now etched in the hearts of Australians forever. Those names represented hopes and futures for the lives of those who bore them, who were unjustly torn from their families and loved ones at Bondi Beach in an act of violence and terror that most Australians had thought unthinkable on this continent.

It was an act of unspeakable evil and hate. It was an antisemitic attack, targeted at Jewish Australians. But it was also an attack on Australia itself—an Australia that is tolerant and relaxed, a beach-going country where you can take your troubles to the calming sea. The terrorists attacked that. They sought to divide Australians, to get Australians to turn on each other, to get Australians to believe that our differences should separate us. Australians are stronger than that.

During the attack, ordinary community members stood up against the violence, the terror and the hate at the cost of their own safety—people like Boris and Sofia Gurman, who wrestled with one of the gunmen during the early stages of the attack and who, tragically, lost their lives in this act of selflessness and courage; and people like Ahmed al-Ahmed, who owns and runs a shop in Sutherland, in my electorate of Hughes. While unarmed and without any protection for his own safety, Ahmed approached one of the gunmen and disarmed him, turning the weapon on the gunman before propping it against a tree. Ahmed was shot and wounded in attempting to protect others.

In the days following the attack, the front of Ahmed's closed shop in Sutherland became a focal point for my community's grief and their gratitude to those who showed such bravery and selflessness in the face of danger. A sea of flowers and messages of hope and gratitude to Ahmed for standing up for his fellow Australians flooded the front of the shop. I visited that shopfront several times, and each time I was deeply moved to see the love and the gratitude being poured out in messages like this one:

And whoever saves one life—it is as if he has saved all of humanity—Qu'ran 532. From a family outside of your faith and culture, thank you. Thank you for showing the best of humanity when it mattered the most.

The community came together and supported and lifted up our neighbour. In the face of fear, division and contempt, when it would be easy to choose to hate, southern Sydney turned to love. We chose light over darkness.

It's the light that the Hanukkah event was planned to celebrate. When I visited Bondi that week, the community had gathered for prayers and to sing. Australians of all backgrounds had come to pay their respects and to stand with our Jewish brothers and sisters. The terrorists seek to divide Australians, to make us turn on each other, to hate one another. They failed. Australians are wrapping their arms around the Jewish community, and the community of Sutherland have stood in solidarity with a Syrian Muslim refugee who embodied the Australian values of mateship and sacrifice. That is modern Australia, and that is the Australia that the terrorists will not destroy. But there is more to do.

Antisemitism, hatred and racism are unacceptable in any form in modern Australia. Antisemitism in its various forms has been around for thousands of years. The Daesh terrorist ideology in which antisemitism flourishes has persisted for far longer than 800 days. But just because it has persisted doesn't mean it can be accepted. Modern Australians can disagree about international and domestic politics and can practise different faith traditions, but Australia must be a place free from violent international conflicts.

I want to acknowledge the first responders who stepped up to keep victims alive, including the police, ambulance officers and surf lifesavers, many of whom were on the scene, having what should have been an ordinary Christmas party, and many of whom were in parliament today and whom I met with.

We remember those who were lost that day. I want to extend my condolences on behalf of the community of Hughes to all the families, loved ones and the Jewish community. May their memory be a blessing. What happened that day must never be repeated. We must take actions to ensure that we do all that we can to make sure that they are not. I commend the motion to the House.

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