Jo Briskey (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of my family and my community of Maribyrnong, I rise to contribute and share, as others have done, my deepest sympathies and sadness. On the early evening of Sunday 14 December, I was at home with my two girls, Gweny and Margot. I was introducing them to one of my favourite movies, The Sound of Music. It was an ordinary, gentle Sunday summer evening. And then the news broke.

As the details became clear about what was unfolding at Bondi, that iconic, much-loved place, like all of us I was shocked, devastated and reeling. People who had been at the beach, celebrating their faith, gathered with friends and family, were suddenly confronted by bullets, by indiscriminate violence and by hatred directed at them because of who they were—because they were Jewish. This abhorrent act of violent antisemitic terrorism is the very antithesis of who we are as a nation, and yet it happened.

But, even in the darkest moments, we also saw the very best of Australia. We saw the extraordinary bravery. We saw compassion. We saw people run towards danger to help strangers. To the first responders, to the active bystanders, to Ahmed al-Ahmed—whose courageous act in disarming one of the attackers saved countless lives—and to every person who helped, comforted, shielded others, stayed and cared for the injured: thank you. There was an outpouring of solidarity right across our country for the victims and their families and for all Jewish Australians, who, in the wake of this attack, continue to carry the weight and fear of rising antisemitism. These acts of courage and kindness speak directly to who we are. They remind us of the Australia we strive to be.

The following Saturday, my family and I travelled to Sydney to attend the funeral of my husband's grandmother, who had passed away the same day as the attack. After the funeral, Ravi and I felt it was important to go to Bondi to pay our respects, to stand with others and to acknowledge the horror of what had occurred. It was a deeply moving experience for us and our two girls. While we were there, we heard Rabbi Yossi Friedman, who had been reading out the names of the victims each hour. I want to acknowledge Rabbi Friedman for his dedication to honouring those who were lost and for helping families like mine understand who these people were—their lives, their stories, their humanity.

As Rabbi Friedman read, we heard about Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41 years old, an incredible support to his family and community; Peter Meagher, who had spent 34 years on the police force but who was there on the day as a photographer, capturing the joy of the festival; Tibor Weitzen, 78 years old, murdered while sheltering others; Dan Elkayam, 27, a young man from France, visiting and enjoying our great country, who had spent the day on the beach playing soccer before heading out to join the Hanukkah celebrations; Alex Kleytman, 87, a Holocaust survivor; Reuven Morrison, 62, who bravely tried to stop the attackers, throwing a brick and anything else he could find; Marika Pogany, 82, an active community volunteer who distributed meals to those who needed them; Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, described as the backbone of the local Bondi Jewish community; Sofia and Boris Gurman, the first to be gunned down as they tried to wrestle the guns off the perpetrators; Edith Brutman, murdered alongside Tibor Weitzen as she too sheltered others; Boris Tetleroyd, who had come to Australia seeking safety and freedom to live his faith, only to be murdered here because of it; Adam Smyth, 50, a passer-by walking his dog; Tania Tretiak, remembered for her kindness and care of others, and Matilda, just 10 years old—only a year older than my Margot. Each name is a life, a family, a future taken and a community left grieving.

In remembering them, in honouring them, we make a shared commitment: to never forget; to stand against antisemitism in all its forms, and to stand against all forms of hate; to choose unity over division, compassion over cruelty, courage and curiosity over fear and light over darkness; and to continue the work of building a kinder, safer Australia.

In this place, we have a responsibility not just to mourn but to lead—to lead with decency, with compassion, with unity and with the quiet strength of kindness—to call out hate wherever it appears, to protect those who are targeted, and to ensure that Australia remains a place where people can live, worship, and belong without fear, because kindness is a strength that binds us, compassion is a courage that moves us and unity is a power that carries us forward as a nation. That is the responsibility of this parliament, and that is the responsibility we owe to those who we honour today. May their memories be a blessing.

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