Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party, Minister for International Development) Share this | Hansard source

I guess, just a couple of weeks shy of Christmas, most Australians would have been doing the kinds of ordinary things that we do around that time—prepping for school holidays and for Christmas, a time to rest and recoup and spend time with family and friends. For Australia's Jewish community, 14 December was the start of Hanukkah, the festival of light over darkness.

Over the course of the history of this great nation, Australians have been tested, through wars and conflict and through droughts and floods. Through each of these challenges something really extraordinary has happened: the Australian spirit has prevailed. It's a spirit that embraces every single Australian in true kinship and genuine mateship, a spirit that says to all Australians, regardless of who they are or where they were born, regardless of their religion or skin colour: you are us and we are you.

The day of 14 December 2025 is marked in our nation's collective memory as a day of tragedy. The mass-casualty terrorist attack was not indiscriminate, as most terrorist attacks are; it was an attack that targeted Australian Jews on a day of celebration for who they are. This was anathema to everything Australian—to every value that we hold dear in this country and, indeed, to the very values of humanity. But the day is also remembered for the incredible acts of love, kindness and bravery, and it's that love, kindness and bravery—that light—that will guide us collectively, as a nation, through the dark, as it always has in this country.

I take this moment to extend my deepest condolences to the Jewish community. To the families and friends who lost loved ones, to those who were wounded and to those who witnessed horrific scenes that they will never be able to forget, I say: your pain is felt throughout this nation, from our most remote communities to our largest cities. Your pain is Australia's pain and your sorrow is Australia's sorrow. To our Jewish community: we will not look away. We will not let your grief go unanswered. We will not let you grieve alone. We will wrap our arms around you and we will say to you: you are us and we are you.

I want to take a moment today to honour the heroes of Bondi, who put themselves in danger to protect their fellow Australians, and the everyday Australians who performed these incredible acts of bravery and assistance to those in need. Boris and Sofia Gurman, the couple who many have already spoken of, took the initiative to run towards danger, something that many of us would find pretty much against our first instincts. They confronted the terrorists before they tragically lost their lives. Jessica Rozena, pregnant, shielded a little girl from the gunfire, as did many people, putting their own bodies in the way of harm in order to shield others. Ahmed al-Ahmed also bravely ran towards danger to disarm the gunmen, risking his own life to protect strangers—people who he didn't know. He had never met them, but he nonetheless felt that sense of kinship and mateship for them. I also want to acknowledge the first responders—police, paramedics, doctors, nurses, lifeguards and veterans—who came to the aid of fellow Australians.

Each one of these acts of bravery was done by a person or people who are Australians—Australians who stood up for the safety of our community, Australians who took action against hatred. Their actions on that day compel us—not just those of us in here today and not just for today but every one of us, every Australian, every day at all time—to stand up against those who divide us, to be vigilant against hatred in all its forms, to open our eyes and be vigilant against this ancient hatred of antisemitism and to stand together, as we always have as Australians, against the challenges that confront us: with love, with kindness, with bravery and with the Australian spirit.

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