Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

A peaceful summer evening at an iconic Australian beach, a gathering at the start of Hanukkah, a celebration of faith was shattered by gunfire, shock, fear, terror. Fifteen dead, families torn apart, 15 empty chairs—not at 15 tables but at hundreds of tables as the ripples of this tragedy spread throughout our community. This should not be our Australia. This expression of Islamic extremism has no place here. But we have seen this building over the past few years. We have heard the words of Australian Jews of feeling safer in Israel, notwithstanding the violent conflict happening there, than in Australia. Why? How? Because of the chants, because of the hateful graffiti, because of the threats and because of the attacks on places of worship.

It was my absolute honour, a few short years ago, to have attended a Jewish school in my hometown of Perth where they were honouring an Australian as one of the Righteous Among the Nations. This celebrates the profound moral courage of those non-Jews who sought to protect Jews from the Holocaust. At that very, very moving ceremony, one of the things that stayed in my mind, and has stayed in my mind ever since, at this Australian school, was the presence of guards out the front for that ceremony—guards, at a place of education.

However, we did see examples of moral and physical courage at Bondi. I want to profoundly thank all those who responded to the attack with that courage. You shall not be forgotten. To those families grieving, I say to you: you are not alone. The strength and the resilience of the Jewish community has been tested, but that strength is profound and it is ongoing, and we stand with you.