Kerrynne Liddle (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Hansard source

I stand to add my words and thoughts to those already conveyed here today. Today, the Australian parliament and this Senate gather in sorrow. We do so to honour lives stolen, to comfort families broken and to affirm the values that bind us as Australians—and to affirm our resolve that the future must be different.

Bondi Beach is a place of sunlight and surf, of early morning swims, of late afternoon walks and of grandparents and families minding children while parents grab a coffee. It's a place of freedom. It's a place of joy. But the violence meted out to innocent Australians on 14 December 2025 is, sadly, now etched in our nation's history. This was violence aimed not only at individuals but at the heart of our way of life—at our communities, on all Australians and on Australia.

This attack targeted the Jewish community and what they hold dear as they gathered for Chanukah by the Sea, a celebration of light, resilience and hope. What should have been a festival of joy was severed by hate, and that makes our grief deeper still. Our duty is remembrance. We mourn each of the 15 lives lost and the harm meted out to so many others. We hold in our hearts the injured, the traumatised and all who witnesses scenes no-one should ever have to see or hear.

We also acknowledge the courage that rose above the sirens and the chaos, and the bravery, compassion and support of everyday Australians risking their own safety in the service of others: strangers helping strangers—police, paramedics and lifesavers securing the scene, treating the wounded and shepherding terrified people to safety. To the first responders, thank you. To the medical teams who worked through the night and the days following, to the counsellors who will work through many more nights and to the faith leaders who stood vigil and prayed with families, thank you. Your response reflects and represents the very best of our country.

This attack targeted a community that has for generations contributed much to Australian life through business and medicine, the arts and academia, sport and philanthropy. The tragedy of the past two years has been the growing exclusion of Jewish Australians as contributors, leaders and participants in these areas and an all-too-underwhelming and silent response to that.

Since October 2023, a life of heightened alertness increasingly grew to be one of alarm, and the evidence was clear as we saw parents quietly taking their children out of school uniforms to avoid identification, kindergartens requiring guards, and community centres and places of worship defaced and firebombed. These were not just stories; these were warnings.

Soon after the attack, I attended a candlelight vigil in Adelaide at Hope in the Light in the city. It was another response to honour victims of this tragedy. At that vigil, South Australian rabbi Franklyn Salzman told us the brutal killing and injuring of Jewish members of the community was no surprise to Jewish people because of their lived experience of escalating hatred since 7 October 2023. Attendees at the vigil also heard from 92-year-old Holocaust survivor Andrew Steiner, a retired teacher and historian, who emphasised the urgent need for real, everlasting change. Mr Steiner reaffirmed to me the importance of education. Mr Steiner's life work, the Andrew Steiner Education Centre at the Adelaide Holocaust Museum in Wakefield Street, reopened just recently and welcomes visitors, volunteers and students. Mr Steiner's message is also one of determination: to be visible and unafraid, to gather and light candles and to remember and rebuild. We must stand shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish community with action that delivers outcomes. That is the Australia we believe in, one where hate finds no foothold and where differences are neither weaponised nor feared but honoured as part of our shared national tapestry.

This morning I spoke to Rabbi Salzman, the South Australian rabbi, as he reflected on events since December and on the Australian parliament today. In his words:

Violence against the Jewish community was something that we have been on edge and worried about for the past couple of years.

The past few weeks have forced us to really evaluate what it looks like to be a Jewish person living in Australia.

We want to be here, but we do not want to have to worry about what is happening in this country.

We want to feel comfortable and safe gathering in public. We want to be able to be present and express the needs of our community.

He said, unfortunately, in the past week, his community has received many unkind messages. He also fears that being public may also make them further targets. He said:

Many parents are telling their children not to speak Hebrew outside their homes.

What has happened was awful but unfortunately unsurprising.

As a country we have an important task: to ensure that this never happens again by creating an environment where people can express differences of opinion and identity in a way that doesn't harm those around them.

He wants to be able to express his Jewish faith without requiring security, fencing and other protections. He wants his congregation to be open but fears for its safety.

In our great country, what Rabbi Salzman is asking for is fair, just and reasonable. Moments like this ask us: Who are we? What are we willing to defend? Where are we heading? Australia is a nation committed to freedom and a right to practice faith without intimidation. Our social contract demands that every Australian, every person who calls this country home and every visitor to these shores can walk on the beach, attend a service, gather for a festival and wear a symbol of faith without fear. That freedom is protected, too, by our laws, both state and federal, maintained by our institutions and sustained by our culture of mutual respect. It is freedom that is strengthened when we stand together. Every voice, every action, must unequivocally reject the structures of hate, whether whispered online or shouted in the street—those things that seek to threaten, demean or harm others. Whatever ideology fuels violence, as Australians, we name it, we confront it and we defeat it together through our laws and through our resolve. That is what it means to be Australian.

The answer to this atrocity is to not retreat into corners; it is to reach right across them. As the Leader of the Opposition said:

There is a pathway forward and a model of leadership and unity …

In parliament, responsibility means ensuring our agencies have the tools they need and the clarity of purpose the public expects. It means not shying away from the truth. It means reviewing what went wrong, not to score points but to learn, to improve and to protect Australians from future harm. What matters most is that any process undertaken be thorough, independent and capable of looking honestly at root causes, institutional responses and the broader environment in which antisemitism and extremism takes hold. Our commitment should be simple: truth, accountability and practical recommendations delivered without prejudice.

Hanukkah teaches that light can endure even against the odds. The candles lit after the attack were more than ritual; they were acts of defiance against despair. They told us that while violence can shatter it cannot define. Let us teach our children that courage is not only the bravery of first responders but also the quiet bravery of a child wearing a school uniform with pride, a parent walking into a festival without fear and a stranger stepping forward when someone is harassed on a bus.

To the families who have lost loved ones: we grieve with you. We honour your loved ones by saying their names, by telling their stories and by building a country where such hatred finds no respect and no recruits, and where action makes a difference to people's lives. Your sorrow is now part of our national memory. Your courage, as you face the days, weeks, months and years ahead, is part of our national inspiration.

But no-one thinks that the nation's duty ends when the headlines fade. It does not. It is an everyday thing, and we will keep faith with you. May the memories of those lost remain a blessing, may the wounded find comfort and strength, and may we turn sorrow into resolve, resolve into unity, and unity into the enduring light of the Australia we all love.