David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Nationals, it's with great sorrow that I rise to grieve with this parliament for the 15 Australians that were tragically lost at Bondi Beach in what was a horrifying terrorist attack targeting our nation's Jewish community. Our thoughts remain with all those who were injured, and we offer our gratitude for those acts of incredible bravery that we saw during this moment of terror—the bravery of our first responders and the bravery of those Australians who acted heroically to save the lives of others. We commend the courage of heroes like Ahmed al-Ahmed, who put his life on the line. He disarmed a terrorist and he saved the lives of countless others.

But what unfolded last month was a despicable act of antisemitic terror. Australia was violated in the most egregious way on that day by pure evil that has left a scar on our nation. Ultimately, it is for us not to let this become a footnote in our history but instead to have the courage to make it a defining moment—as an enduring legacy to those lives lost, to eradicate this type of evil from our country.

There have been only two times in my life that I have seen fear in the eyes of the people of western Queensland. The first was the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the second was on 14 December 2025. Many people not just in western Queensland but across Australia think of Bondi as this iconic, if not mythical, part of Australia that most of us only ever dream of visiting. For one of this nation's most iconic places to have been assaulted in the most heinous way has shaken our belief in what it is to be Australian and what it is to live in Australia, a nation that until now has been far from this type of terror.

As the sun began to set in the early evening of Sunday 14 December, the shores of Sydney's Bondi Beach had been throughout that afternoon a scene of bliss and enjoyment. It was Chanukah by the Sea. It was an occasion for the Jewish community and for families, for children and for locals of all ages to come together and light up the famous Bondi beachfront in a celebration of humanity and faith. As the time approached 7 pm, horrifically, two Islamic terrorists unleashed a barrage of bullets which transformed what had been a scene of peace and grace into a scene of cold blooded terror.

In the aftermath of this shattering act of evil, today is a meaningful moment for this parliament to remember and honour all those innocent souls who were cruelly taken away. We honour 10-year-old Matilda, a ray of sunshine who will be remembered by her family as a girl who loved to laugh, dance and sing. We honour the generous souls like Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who was cherished by his community for his graciousness and whose funeral I had the absolute honour of attending. We honour the bravery of Boris and Sofia Gurman, a couple who were both lost while trying to stop the gunmen. We honour the boldness of Reuven Morrison, who went down as he confronted the terrorists, armed with just a brick. And we honour the sacrifice of those Australians who died while shielding their loved ones from this act of terror. Today we honour each of the 15 Australians who have sadly lost their lives in a sinister and vile terrorist atrocity, which should never have happened.

What unfolded at Bondi is the human toll of antisemitism. This is the human toll of inaction, where antisemitic hatred is allowed to fester. This is the human toll of Islamic terrorism, a threat fuelled by an extreme religious ideology embedded with violence and intolerance. For 2½ years, Jewish Australians have warned and pleaded for us to act against this scourge of antisemitic hatred that has been allowed to spread, and for that we have failed them. When Jewish childcare centres need to be patrolled by armed guards, we have failed them. When Jewish students are intimidated on university campuses, we have failed them. When Jewish businesses were boycotted, we failed them. When synagogues were firebombed, we failed them. This cycle of poisonous anti-Jewish hatred must end, otherwise this will all be in vain. Antisemitism must be irradicated, and radical Islam must be irradicated.

I grew up in an Australia where it didn't matter whether you were Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jewish or anything in between, so long as you contributed to your community and you contributed to our country. We celebrated the richness of faiths, and that's the Australia we must fight to regain. We are the custodians of the Australia that we inherited and a society that has drifted into a dark place, which we must have the honesty to face up to—to what it has become—and have the courage to fix it and to hand an Australia to the next generation that we're proud of.

Today we pay our respects to the lives which were stolen at Bondi. Fifteen innocent Australians have lost their lives. Our Jewish community has been traumatised, and our country has been reshaped. There are really no words of comfort that I or any of us can provide to the families of these victims that will ease their pain, but they should know: this country is with you, and your loss will not be in vain. May they rest in peace.

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