Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Kita semua keluarga—we are all family. At approximately 2300 hours on 12 October 2002 on the island of Bali, Indonesia—one of Australia's closest neighbours—Australia, Indonesia, the region and indeed the world would change forever. Families across Australia, including the Central Coast, and Indonesia were impacted through this unprovoked act of violence, this act of terror. Three explosive devices detonated at the Sari Club, Paddy's Bar and the Consulate of the United States of America.

Dua ratus dua orang meninggal. Delapan puluh delapan orang dari Australia. Some 202 people lost their lives that night, 88 of whom were Australian. Ibu-ibu, bapak-bapak, nenek-nenek, kakek-kakek, anak-anak dan teman-teman—mothers, fathers, grandparents, daughters, sons and friends were lost. Following the explosions, people from all walks of life, people from all over the world, instead of running away from the blast—the fire—ran towards it without regard for their own personal safety to extricate and care for the injured—true bravery, selfless acts of courage.

My cousin, a retired police officer who was on holiday at the time in Bali assisted those affected by the blast and assisted local authorities to identify those who had died. Many friends he had travelled to the island with would no longer return. On behalf of the people of Robertson, I send my deepest condolences to all of those who lost a loved one and who were affected by this horrendous act.

We are all family—now, tomorrow and forever. Kita semua keluarga—sekarang, besok dan untuk selama-lamanya. Terima kasih banyak—thank you.

James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too rise to speak to acknowledge the 20th anniversary of the tragic Bali bombings terrorist attack in October 2002. I start by reflecting on the wonderful contributions to this motion by both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the House. At the end of that sitting week, as I recall, formal services were held around the country. Each year a particularly moving service is held in Sydney at Coogee Beach. In Adelaide we have one at Unley Oval, home of the Sturt Football Club. Like many sporting groups, members of the Sturt Football Club were on an end-of season-holiday in Bali—a part of the great camaraderie of being in a sporting team—and were victims of that attack. We will never forget in South Australia those victims, not just those who died but those who were injured and who have lifelong impacts after going through such a horrible experience.

It is so touching to remember the effort and response of the Australian government, led by Prime Minister Howard, Australian agencies, the embassy in Indonesia and the consulate in Bali and the unbelievable work of those at the Darwin Hospital. Professor Fiona Wood, one of the most high-profile clinicians, was on the front line of assisting so many of those victims. Too many came home in body bags. Those victims who were flown directly to Darwin and Perth were given spectacular medical care. I have heard the stories about the unbelievable surge of those being evacuated out of Bali into Darwin and about the work of all of those who were there at the time as well as those who were dramatically and rapidly called in to be part of the effort at the Darwin Hospital.

We acknowledge how, in tragedy and adversity, in this country we're so proud of the fundamental elements of the Australian character, and that includes how people will always rush to help their fellow Australians in absolutely any and every way that they can. Our Defence Force personnel, Federal Police and other federal agencies helped in the aftermath but also in the very important work of supporting Indonesian authorities in the investigation to make sure that those responsible were tracked down and that justice was served.

There were 202 victims, 88 of them Australian, and more than 200 people were injured. Those injuries are enduring for everyone, because the memory of going through that experience is something that will last for a lifetime. Then, of course, there are the families of those who died, those who were wounded and those who were there, and we see the families who attend the commemoration services that are held around Australia every year to mark the anniversary.

That period of heightened terrorism began with the attack on the World Trade Centre in New York, which unfortunately led to a number of other attacks led by Islamist terrorist organisations like the attack in Bali and the attacks in London, in other European centres and in other places around the world. I hope that period is behind us. I don't have any reason to say with any authority that it is, but that experience is one that I hope our nation doesn't have to endure again.

I was speaking last week at an event here for the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, which was established by Mr Walter Mikac, whose two beautiful daughters were killed at the Port Arthur massacre in 1996. Making those reflections last week at that event, and now, a week later, speaking about Bali has reminded me of two of the most horrendous memories from my childhood and adolescence—of massive tragedies that absolutely shocked and gripped the nation. If there's one thing we can take out of it, it's the memory of how much we need to cherish those that we love and how we must have an enduring commitment to the values and the freedoms of this great nation that we live in. We do have people who don't like our way of life, who don't like our values and what we stand for—freedom, democracy and treating everyone with equality of opportunity. It's fitting, having made those remarks last week and these this week, to conclude on that point—that, whilst as a nation we have these tragedies befall us, if nothing else it reminds us of how enduring the Australian character is, how lucky we are to be Australians and how vigilant we need to be to fight for our way of life at every opportunity into the future.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was one year and one day after the terrible tragedy at the World Trade Centre in New York and other associated terrorist attacks in the United States of America. Those attacks changed the way we lived. Thereafter no-one could go to an airport without being totally and utterly screened, without having all of those checks take place. The memory of the loss of life on that day of infamy in 2001, 9/11, will live with us forever. 12 October 2002 was another such day. Australians, 88 in total, died in that attack. In total, 202 people died, with a further 209 injured.

I remember very well the heroic stories, and there were many from that, but one of them for Australian football and sporting followers was Jason McCartney, who was injured at Bali. On 6 June 2003—not that long in the scheme of things after the devastation—he returned to the Australian Football League. He'd had a lot of hospital treatment and he had horrific injuries, but he returned to play for his beloved North Melbourne against Richmond. He was heavily bandaged, he wore a long-sleeved top and he had to wear protective gloves. He had the numbers 88 and 202 embroidered into his jumper, 88 representing the number of Australians who died in the Bali bombing and 202 representing the total number of deaths. Those numbers were also held up by many in the crowd. Not before and probably not since has there been such a show of support for a player from two sparring AFL clubs. Supporters from both clubs rose as one. I can remember watching it just on TV, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, because the bravery that Jason showed was quite remarkable—an inspiration not just to sports followers but indeed to us all.

He only had a modest number of possessions, three kicks, one mark and one goal. But the goal brought cheers from both sides. Right towards the end of the game, with just two minutes left on the clock and Richmond in front, Jason collected a bouncing pass inside the forward 50 and he toe-poked the ball through to a teammate, Leigh Harding, who finished by kicking a six-pointer from close range to put the Kangaroos ahead for good. North Melbourne ran out as the winners by just three points. In a nice way to end the night, he retired from AFL. He fought so hard to get himself back on track to play that game, having gone through the Victorian Football League to get himself match fit and ready for the AFL—a more demanding major competition—and then retired on the night. He wanted to do it not for himself but in the spirit of all of those who passed away in the Bali bombing.

In the Riverina, I knew some of those who lost their lives in that tragedy. Three deaths had links to my local area. There was Clint Thompson from Leeton—just a young fellow, who had so much of his life to give and to live; it was taken from him. There was Dave Mavroudis from Wagga Wagga. David's family and David himself lived opposite me in the suburb of Tatton. They were two of six members of the Coogee Dolphins football club. There was also Shane Walsh-Till, originally from Coolamon, and I knew Shane well because I played cricket with him. It won't be any surprise to the member for Hinkler that he was far better than I was at cricket.

Keith Pitt (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No surprise there!

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

'No surprise there,' he says! Shane was a very good spin bowler. He was a very solid batsman. He went through the grades and straight into the firsts for Saint Michael's, my club—the club I've been playing with since high school. And the club still to this day remembers Shane, as they should, and honours him.

The Forbes community wasn't in the Riverina electorate in 2002 at the time of the bombings, but it is now and has been since 2016. The Forbes community held a moving commemorative service to pay tribute to Paul Cronin, Greg Sanderson and Brad Ridley. They also died in this awful terrorist attack. They were there as members of the Forbes Rugby Union Club, along with 22 of their teammates, on their end-of-season trip. Many sporting clubs, football and otherwise, were in Bali.

Bali is a destination of choice for many Australians. It's a place of adventure; it's a place of youth; it's a place of high spirit; and, sadly, it's a place of tragedy. Those left behind continue to be strangled by the evil tentacles of terrorism. Having lost a loved one, you could not get over it, but, indeed, their spirit endures. Many of the families who lost loved ones have memorials in their honour. They always remember this day, and the 20th anniversary has been a sombre occasion. They live with the cost of terrorism each and every day. But they are bigger than letting it defeat them, and Australians are bigger than letting terrorism defeat them, as are all people of good conscience and of good faith who are not going to allow terrorism to dictate the way we live.

We all want our freedom. We're a very lucky country. We look at some of the atrocities being committed in other nations, still to this day, and we all should be thankful and grateful that it's not something that we have, but, indeed, the spirit of those Bali bombing victims is always with us. The price of peace is eternal vigilance. We will always fight against terrorism; we will always fight against evil. We remember those we lost, we honour their memory, and we love and respect what they gave to their families.

Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the people of Kingsford Smith, I join in offering condolences to the families and friends of those who lost loved ones in the terrible Bali bombings that occurred 20 years ago. On 12 October, the anniversary of that horrific night in Bali, the Prime Minister joined members of our community at Dolphins Point in Coogee to pay tribute to and commemorate the lives of those that were lost in the Bali bombings.

They say that time heals all wounds, and 20 years is certainly a long time, but time can never erase the memory of a loved one, particularly those that were taken before their time, as many were in those horrific acts of terrorism 20 years ago on 12 October. I can still remember that day quite vividly. I awoke on a Sunday morning and was heading down to Maroubra Beach to do a surf patrol. I remember hearing on the radio that a bomb had gone off in the Sari Club in Kuta in Bali. I distinctly remember thinking: 'There are so many people from our community that are there at this time of the year. I hope no-one has been harmed.' Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Many members of our community were killed and injured in that horrific act of terrorism, particularly the six members of the Coogee Dolphins Rugby League Football Club.

I had friends that were killed. Kathy Salvatori is someone that I used to see on a regular basis. She worked at the gym at South Coogee Juniors, which I used to visit on almost a daily basis. Peter Singer was my economics teacher in years 11 and 12 at high school. He lost his beautiful son, Tom, a member of the Coogee Surf Club, in that bombing that night. Many others from our community, the Buchan's, the Airlie's, and others unfortunately lost their lives.

The Bali bombing left a terrible legacy on our community as well. There were others that lost their lives in the wake of that. Some from the Coogee Dolphins simply couldn't cope with the fact that they were there on that night but they walked outside when the bomb went off and their friends were lost. I want to pay particular tribute to Paddy Byrne, who lost his battle with the demons that he faced in the wake of the Bali bombing some years later.

I want to pay particular tribute to the families that lost loved ones. I can't begin to contemplate what you have been through and what you have suffered over the last 20 years. But your strength, your courage and your resilience are incredibly admirable—the fact that you've been able to get on with your lives. Now we're seeing the grandchildren of those that were lost in Bali start to come through in our community.

The twelfth of October is a special day in our area. We have the commemoration at Dolphin Point every year, and it's always well attended by members of our community. We have a follow-up commemoration at Malabar Beach on an annual basis for members of the Malabar community that were lost. We won't forget those that passed away in that terrible act of violence and malice.

The other point about the families of the victims is, I think, that their resilience and their strength and their courage demonstrate that evil will never win in these circumstances. No matter what people do to us, no matter what people have done to the victims' families, their courage and their resilience and their strength have won out and they've continued on with their lives in our beautiful community. So to those who perpetrated these evil acts: you haven't won. You haven't done anything. You've just proven to be really small-minded, weak people. The strength of our community and the courage of our community and the love that we have shown for each other in helping get through these last 20 years are testament to the great honour that I have in representing the people of Kingsford Smith. I pay tribute today in particular to the families who've lost loved ones, their friends and the wider community that continues to remember and ensure that those that lost their lives in Bali will never be forgotten.

Keith Pitt (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks very much for the opportunity to make a brief contribution, Madam Deputy Speaker. We've heard from speakers tonight who have personal interactions. They have friends that they know were injured or killed, and after 20 years there are scars that will never heal. And we all remember the images and the footage of those injured and the things that we can recall from that time. I clearly recall an Australian on TV telling first responders, 'Forget about me; help someone else.' And, unbeknownst to him, he'd been fatally injured with burns which would eventually take his life.

The fact is that the Australian Federal Police responded in such a magnificent way in such terrible circumstances over a long period of time. There were the volunteers on the street and the individuals that helped out, and I think it is a great reflection on our country—the actions that our citizens took at such a terrible time in another country and the ability for them to simply respond because it was the right thing to do. It was the right thing to do.

Out of all of the footage and the images and the things that happened since that time, the strangest thing that sticks with me is actually a political cartoon. It was a cartoon where Australia was a Queenslander, and Australia was looking into the backyard, where there were some birds. There was a washing line and a clothesline, and Australia was saying, 'Oh, no, what about the kids?' And it was just such a powerful image—such a powerful image.

It's incredible that 20 years has gone past, and it's why we will fight terrorism in all its forms. So I thank our Defence Force. I thank our first responders. I say to all of those whose scars will never heal: you'll never be forgotten. Those individuals, those Australians who were directly impacted will never be forgotten. And it's why we should always reflect and recollect in this place even those tragedies that directly affect not us, but other Australians. It is one of the roles that we should take so seriously, and we do. I acknowledge each and every one of them and what has happened in the past, and we must continue to work forever into the future to make sure that this is never repeated anywhere, no matter what we have to do. Thank you.

Alison Byrnes (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That further proceedings be conducted in the House.

Question agreed to.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 17 : 56