Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

When parliament rose at the end of 2025, none of us foresaw what was about to happen in New South Wales, in Bondi, on 14 December. To end 2025 with such sadness and horrific loss will be remembered as a very dark chapter in our nation's history, a chapter laced with hate, antisemitism, extremism and, of course, such great cost and loss. Fifteen innocent lives that are no more. Fifteen people who were going about their lives in this peaceful and freedom-loving country, privately. Fifteen people whose lives were taken away just because of who they were. Fifteen people whose lives were taken away by people inspired by extremist ideology.

On Monday 15 December last year, I joined the Jewish community in Bondi. The impact so clearly and obviously felt will forever stay with me as a memory of this time. The deep wound inflicted on the Jewish community by these events was clear in a way that words just can't explain. The grief on the faces of Jewish Australians, who were the target of the worst ever terror attack on our soil in our history, makes clear that things in this country do have to change—that this can never happen again.

Over the course of the week, I stayed to show unity with this community and support our Jewish brothers and sisters. Beyond the impact, one thing became clear to me. While Jewish leaders and members of their community, ordinary men and women, were grateful for them, they wanted more than the thoughts and prayers that were being offered. Thoughts and prayers didn't stop this senseless loss of life. Thoughts and prayers didn't stop two people inspired by hate and radical Islam from taking the lives of 15 innocent people. We have let Jewish Australians down, and, indeed, action must be taken. This community has been warning us and has been crying out for action for some time.

Despite what I've described, I believe truly and I think the facts and history bear out that this is a resilient community, after years of sustained abuse, harassment and vilification, some of the most disgusting attacks, all because this group of people have a faith and because of who they are—indiscriminate attacks against all members of this community. The Australian Jewish community, having suffered so much and been forced to often hide who they were to avoid attack, have faced all of these events with strength. Children within the Jewish community, their most innocent and vulnerable cohort, had to be protected with armed guards at schools and in childcare centres, and this is not Australia in 2026. This community, despite all of this, remains strong. They remain faithful. They remain steadfast in their commitment to who they are and their right to hold their beliefs—and rightly so. And they want us to stand with them and support their strength and their resilience.

What I saw in Bondi during that week, in this strength—the resolve and the resilience—is something we often observe about the Australian spirit more broadly. That shared spirit we have is why we need to stand with the Jewish community at this time. It's that which is good about our country, which saw so many ordinary Australians do the extraordinary on 14 December, from New South Wales police who bravely confronted evil—as we saw in these gunmen—to the volunteers of the surf lifesaving club who, without hesitation, acted to render assistance to those who needed it. There were the members of the public, of course, who did all they could to stop the attack, who have been recognised by so many other speakers in this debate. Every one of these people who did what is right has been impacted forever. They'll never be able to forget what they saw or forget what they heard or experienced that day—and, indeed, the impact since.

It'd be dishonest of me if I didn't admit to feeling a little useless when I was in Bondi, trying to support the Jewish community after this most horrendous of attacks. But I can say that I encountered a young man named Matt, who was visibly affected by what had happened and approached me while I was at the memorial in Bondi to ask for help for his friend, whose partner had been lost in the attack. Beyond offering Matt a hug, I was able to work with the government to offer Matt's friend support, and I want to acknowledge Tony Burke and his swift response to my request, which made a massive difference in the life of a family member of one of the victims.

Beyond the many differences we have in this place, there is a common humanity, and we should tap into this when confronting what lies ahead for our country, particularly when we need to support a community affected for so long by everything I've described. As Rabbi Yossi Friedman said recently, 'One month on, we must remember, remain strong and remain together.' He's right. We must remember those who lost their lives, honour them and prevent this from happening ever again. We must do it with strength and we must do it together.