Lidia Thorpe (Victoria, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I acknowledge that we're on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country, sovereign custodians on stolen land. What we saw at Bondi, on Bidiagal, Birrabirragal and Gadigal land, was an absolutely devastating attack on the Jewish community. I pay my respects to those families and communities who have lost loved ones. My thoughts are with you, as well as with those who have put their lives on the line to save others.

As First Peoples, we understand racism and violence. We have always sought peace and an end to racism, war, death and genocide. We stand with all those who are targeted by hate, here and everywhere.

On 6 December 1938, Yorta Yorta man William Cooper and a delegation of the Australian Aborigines' League marched 10 kilometres from Footscray in Melbourne to the city to deliver a formal petition to the German consulate. Their intention was to protest and condemn the cruel persecution of the Jewish people by the Nazi government of Germany following Kristallnacht and to send a warning about the unfolding genocide. The protest was seen by many as the only one of its kind in the world. An Aboriginal man, one and only, protested. It was the only one in the world. This enduring solidarity between people standing against oppression, racism and violence is where we can find strength, power and healing.

I've heard many people say they can't believe that the kind of violence we saw at Bondi could happen here. Well, unfortunately, I know, as a survivor of a genocide that occurred in this country, that is not the reality in this country. The massacres—the many massacres—towards my people on the shores of this country were the worst terrorist attacks of all time on this country's First People. So, whether it's comfortable to accept or not, the truth is that violence, racism and dealing with the consequences of genocide are everyday realities for many people in this country. Ignoring this buries crucial information and context that we need to make sure that what happened at Bondi never happens again.

Racism and genocide are the very foundation of this colony, and they created a system and culture that continues to produce death, hatred and deep division. This reality is reflected in the fact that a person born and raised here carried out the horrific terror attack against our Islamic brothers and sisters in Christchurch and that Nazis were allowed, in open daylight and unhindered by police, to attack Camp Sovereignty, a sacred site.

We cannot ignore the longest and deadliest campaign of terror on these shores that began in 1788 and the frontier massacres that followed or the fact that our day of mourning, which we've been calling for for 88 years, is still celebrated as this country's national holiday. We cannot ignore the systemic racism that festers at the core of this colony, embedded in the state institutions of this country, or the actions of its agents, who continue to murder my people at record rates. Justice, healing and an end to violence cannot be found in violent institutions or achieved through more prisons, police or weapons. It must begin with truth-telling.

The roots of the violence perpetrated at Bondi lie deep. They lie in the colonial foundations of this country and in a culture where racism and oppression of the other is permitted, whether they be Jewish, Muslim, First Peoples or any of my black and brown brothers and sisters. We need to look at racism, hatred and extremism in a holistic way if we want to have a chance of tackling violence in this country. This means not only committing to challenging antisemitism; we must challenge hate and racism in all its forms, and we certainly cannot put the blame on those who speak out against oppression, genocide and human rights violations.

Life is sacred, and the loss of life marks the beginning of a long journey of grief, sorrow and healing. May this moment demand truth-telling about the causes of violence and the collective commitment to ensuring it is not repeated. We must unite as a nation and stand up against all forms of racism and eradicate it once and for all.