Garth Hamilton (Groom, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to direct my contribution to the family members and friends of the victims; to the first responders, the police, the medical staff; to those who were there, who tried to stop it; and to those who stood up. I'd commend to them the many fine speeches that have been given here today, like the contribution of the previous speaker and the contribution from the member of Isaacs, which I thought was very fitting, this morning, and I thank him for that contribution. He spoke with clarity and conviction at a time when we need to hear these words.

Australians should know that there are very good people from all sides of politics representing them here in the parliament. They should listen to these speeches. If they do, they will hear one message repeated over and over: we cannot let this happen again. On this we are united. Listen to these speeches and judge us not on our words; judge us on our actions. Today we mourn the dead, but the work ahead of us in this parliament is to protect the living and to stop this from ever happening again. That is how we can best honour the victims of the Bondi massacre, and on that we should be judged.

Like many Australians, when I first saw those images begin to trickle through, I struggled to understand how something like this could happen, how someone could live in this beautiful country of ours, with our freedoms, and yet hold that much hatred in their heart. Who could put young Matilda in their crosshairs and pull that trigger?

I was reminded of my grandfather's struggle to understand what he had seen and the atrocities he'd witnessed in the Second World War. Like many who fought, in his dark hours he wondered, 'What was the point?' What was the point of that war, of all that slaughter he saw? He told me that it was only after the war, when the full extent of the atrocities of the Holocaust were laid bare to all the world, that he began to find meaning for the suffering and sacrifice that he and his mates had gone through. He needed to know that it was worthwhile—that everything that they had done and been through was worthwhile. It gave him a way to understand the horror he'd been through. I tell the story of my grandfather and of his generation now because they were proud to have been there when the Jewish people most needed them—most needed us. They were very proud that we as a nation chose to fight on the side of good against evil. That sense of particular care for the Jewish people became part of Australia's understanding of itself—an understanding I thought we all shared until Bondi.

I'm glad my grandfather isn't here to see what has happened on the shores of the country that he loved and he fought for. I can still hear his voice talking about how important it was for us to be a nation that could reach out and stand up to bullies and look after those who needed our care and how that was important to him. And it's important to me. I'm glad he's not listening to the condolence motions. He and his generation would be heartbroken to think that the antisemitism that was in the hearts of those that they went overseas to fight against has found its way to Australia in the form of radical Islamic extremism. They would be heartbroken.

We owe it to the victims and their families. We owe it to the generations of Australians who fought and died for this country to ensure that this never happens again. We think of all 15 victims of this terrible event. I hope that we can say that we have acted in such a way that we can look each other in the eye across this chamber and know that we have done everything we can to stop this from ever happening again. May they rest in peace.

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