Jessica Collins (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is with a heavy heart that I stand here to give my condolences to the victims families, friends and communities. The terror attack at Bondi was the worst in Australia's 125 years as a nation. The devastation of this attack on Jewish Australians will be felt forever by all Australians because this was not just an attack on one community; it was an attack on all Australians who call this place their home. Whether you were born here or you moved here, if you love Australia and you live by our values, you are one of us.

To all the Jewish Australians that have come to our beautiful country I want to say that I am sorry. I'm sorry that you have come to our shores, embraced the Australian way of life and enriched it with your deep history, your family values, your faith and your spirit of civic duty and this then happened to you. You came here for safety, for mateship and for community, and you contributed all this and more. You came here to be free from persecution and free from fear. You came here to live peacefully amongst everybody else. The values embodied by Hanukkah reflect the aspirations of all peace-loving Australians. I pray for your courage and comfort.

I want to thank those who stood up to protect all the innocent civilians on that day and those that step up every other day to put themselves in harm's way to protect Australians and the Australian way of life. To the police who served with bravery and distinction: I salute you. To those heroes who fought back with nothing but their hands and rocks against hate and bullets and to the many other brave Australians and visitors who shielded family and strangers from those cowardly Islamic extremists: thank you for your bravery. To the ambulance and health workers who saved lives that day and in the days since: I thank you for your skill and dedication and your courage.

In the days that followed the attack, I visited the Bondi Pavilion and met with locals, victims and community members. It was heartbreaking to hear these stories, but it was uplifting to hear the strength of their resolve. Fifteen people were taken from their families that day. The youngest was a 10-year-old girl. I just can't get that image out of my mind, that the last beautiful image, the last beautiful sight, that Matilda's mother saw was her daughter walking with her other daughter, hand in hand, to go and pat the animals. It's a beautiful image. And the men that were sheltering their wives—they took a bullet for their wives. We will never forget what happened that day, and we will do everything we can to make sure that this does not happen again.

There are people in this world and in Australia who want to dismantle our institutions and change our way of life. But Australia didn't become great by accident; it became great because of the Australians that fought and continue to fight for this country and its way of life. On 14 December, innocent bystanders revealed themselves as heroes. So many people fought for Australia that day, and 15 people died for Australia that day. They fought darkness with light. They faced evil with courage. We will mourn them, and we will remember them. They will not die in vain, because we will never weaken our resolve to protect the Australian way of life. I pray for all the victims of this attack, and I pray for their families. They might break our hearts, but they will never break our souls. God bless you all.