Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today we gather in this place to remember. We gather to honour those who were taken from us too soon. We gather to reflect and to try and heal. We think of the mothers, the fathers, the sons and the daughters who did not come home that day. Their lives were full of light and, although that light was cut short, we will not let it be forgotten. We will hold their memories dearly and the lessons close.

On behalf of the people of Grey, I also want to speak to those who were there. I want to speak to the people who walked on the beach on a normal afternoon and saw the unthinkable. I want to speak to the shopkeepers who pulled shutters down to protect strangers. I want to speak to the parents who used their own bodies to shield their children. I want to speak to the young people who had to grow up far too fast in one single hour. We see you. We know that, while physical wounds may heal, the sights and sounds of that day stay with you. You were just going about your lives. You were going for a swim. You were simply enjoying a walk in the sun. You were celebrating your faith. You did not ask to be part of a tragedy, you did not ask to be brave, but you were there and you saw things that no human being should ever have to see. This parliament acknowledges your pain. We acknowledge the weight you now carry. It is a weight that no-one should bear alone.

Listening to my colleagues in the Jewish community, it is clear they and those in their faith feel a visceral sense of betrayal by leaders in this House. Now it is our time to stop treating antisemitism as a political inconvenience and confront it as a crisis. As described by my incredible colleague and friend and Jewish Australian, Julian Leeser, action is required across three fronts: disbanding violent neo-Nazi cells, silencing hate preachers and radical Islam and ending open Jewish harassment in the arts and the cultural left. This is a moment of choice. Leaders must act with determination to dismantle hate and restore safety to the Jewish people of Australia whose contribution to the national cultural fabric is both generational and truly profound.

For many of us, what happened at Bondi felt impossible. Australia is a place where we feel safe. Our beaches are a place of peace. We do not expect the shadows to reach us there. We do not expect the world to break in that way. It was a moment that felt as if it belonged in a bad dream, not in Sydney. It was a shock to the soul of our whole nation. We asked ourselves, how could this be? We felt a deep sense of loss for the safety we once knew, yet, even in the middle of that darkness, we saw the very best of who we are. We saw heroes emerge from the crowd. We saw the first responders, who did not hesitate. They ran towards the sound of trouble while others were running away. They did their jobs with a courage that humbles us all. We saw the paramedics and the doctors, who worked until their hands were tired and their eyes were weary, fighting to save every life that they could. They are the shield that holds the night back. We saw the regular people, the heroes in plain clothes, who stood their ground. We saw people who stopped to help a stranger even though their lives were in danger. They showed us that hate and fear cannot win if we stand together. They showed us that the bond we share is stronger than any act of violence. They showed us what it means to be a unified Australian community.

Let us pledge today to support one another. Let us be kind to those who are hurting. On behalf of the people of Grey, I thank the men and women in uniform, who keep us safe. Let us remember that, even when the world feels dark, the light of this great nation and the strength of the Australian spirit will shine through.

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