Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) tenders our nation's heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the fifteen innocent people murdered at Bondi Beach on the 14th of December 2025;

(b) condemns the atrocity which stole their lives, an act of terrorism deliberately targeted at Australia's Jewish community gathering to celebrate the first night of Chanukah;

(c) unequivocally condemns the evil of antisemitism and vows new action to eradicate it;

(d) honours the courage, composure and quick action of all the police officers, first responders and healthcare workers whose dedication and skill saved lives;

(e) acknowledges the trauma of the men, women and children injured physically and psychologically, including those who witnessed the horror;

(f) expresses Australia's deep admiration for the heroes of Bondi, everyday people who showed extraordinary bravery and selflessness, including those wounded and killed saving others;

(g) affirms the fundamental right of every Jewish Australian to live, work, worship and learn in peace and safety, to participate fully and freely in Australian public life and to gather in communal association unhindered, proud of who they are and proud of the profound contribution their community has made to our nation's success; and

(h) stands together in a spirit of national unity, resolved to confront and defeat the worst of hatred and division with the best of the Australian spirit.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Minister Wong. I ask senators to join in a minute's silence.

Honourable senators having joined in a minute ' s silence—

Thank you, senators.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

President, senators, 14 December 2025 is a date that will live on in our collective memory. It will live on in the memory of 15 innocent people, in the 15 lives so horrifically stolen at Bondi—15 Australians and others who should still be with us, with their families, with their communities, with full lives of hope and love ahead of them. We remember them all, and we hold their families and loved ones in our hearts.

We remember Matilda, just 10 years old, who should be enjoying her school holidays and the sunshine but who has been stolen from all who loved her far, far too soon.

We remember Sofia and Boris Gurman, who came to Sydney from the Soviet Union. Married for 34 years, they saw the impending danger and they ran towards it—an astonishing act of selflessness, remarkable courage in the face of terror.

We remember Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who gave over 18 years of service to his community and was a key organiser of the Chanukah by the Sea event. At his funeral, Rabbi Aron Moss of Sydney's Nefesh community said of Rabbi Schlanger:

In his life and in his death, he towered above as one of the highest and holiest souls.

We remember Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, who was, at the time of the attack, helping his community do good deeds, mitzvahs. The two rabbis, Rabbi Schlanger and Rabbi Levitan, worked together for years. Their wives have been best friends since high school.

We remember Edith Brutman, who served with distinction as vice-president of the New South Wales branch of the international Jewish organisation B'nai B'rith. In the words of her family, she 'chose humanity every day'. They said:

She met prejudice with principle, and division with service.

We remember Boris Tetleroyd, who attended the event with his son Yaakov, who also sustained serious injuries. Boris is remembered as a gentle man and a gifted musician.

We remember Adam Smyth, a loving husband, father of four and passionate fan of Liverpool in the English Premier League. He was memorialised by his family with Liverpool's slogan, 'You'll never walk alone.'

We remember Marika Pogany, who came to Australia in 1968 from what was then Czechoslovakia. COA, where Marika volunteered, delivering kosher meals to seniors, will not forget her selflessness. She was someone who 'asked for nothing and gave everything'.

We remember Dan Elkayam, a scuba diver who loved the outdoors. Born and raised in France, he was just beginning to build a life in Australia—a life cut short so cruelly.

We remember Peter Meagher, a respected member of the NSW Police Force for 34 years and photographer for the Chanukah by the Sea event—his family's big brother, teacher and protector.

We remember Tibor Weitzen, who his granddaughter Leor said 'only saw the best in people'. He died a hero, making the ultimate sacrifice to shield others from gunfire.

We remember Reuven Morrison, who emigrated from the Soviet Union as a teenager in the 1970s and made Bondi his home. Armed with only a brick, he confronted a gunman with immeasurable courage.

We remember Tania Tretiak, adored by her family, who attended Hanukkah with her. She emigrated to Australia from Russia in 1992.

And we remember Alexander Kleytman, who survived the horrors of the Holocaust. He wrote two books to tell the story of Jewish heroes in the Soviet Union during and after the Second World War. In the words of his daughter, Sabina, 'He died doing what he loved most: protecting my mother and standing up and being a proud Jew.' He joins the ranks of those heroes whose lives he documented.

Fifteen names, 15 lives, 15 voices silenced, 15 absences which will be forever felt—they were innocent victims of the worst terrorist attack on Australian soil, along with 41 injured. It was a targeted, antisemitic terrorist attack inspired by extremist ideology, ISIS ideology, that devastated a Chanukah by the Sea celebration at Bondi Beach and devastated an entire community and an entire nation. On a day that Jewish Australians came together to celebrate all that Hanukkah stands for—hope and the victory of light over darkness—a community came together in joy and prayer on the first night of Hanukkah on what should have been a gathering of family and faith, a festival of life, and it became a massacre.

Australia stands with everyone affected; with the loved ones of those who were killed, whose lives have been shattered; with those still recovering from injury, whose healing will take time and whose trauma will endure; with the police, paramedics and emergency services who did not hesitate; and with the everyday Australians who showed so much courage in the face of terror. And we stand with the Jewish Australian community. We know that the attackers at Bondi targeted Australian Jews because of who they are, and we know they were inspired by hateful, violent, intolerant and extreme ideology that has no place in our country. We will not give terrorists what they seek, which is a divided nation. We will not allow them to shake our confidence in each other, to tear at what binds us or to turn Australian against Australian. Our patriotism demands that we do not let them. While Australia's Jewish community is experiencing unbearable hurt in a way that only they can comprehend, I say: please know you are not alone in your grief. The nation shares it with you and stands with you. We will not leave you to shoulder the burden of eliminating antisemitism alone.

I have said once and I say again: an attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on all Australians. It is an attack on the Australia we know and the Australia we cherish, where all are free to practise their faith, to follow their traditions and to live free from antisemitism, from prejudice and from discrimination; the Australia that lives up to that ideal of our country as a safe haven; and the Australia that offered refuge to thousands of Jews fleeing Nazi Germany.

Around 7,000 Jewish refugees arrived in Australia between 1933 and 1939, having escaped Germany, Austria and Poland before the outbreak of the war, and they were joined by thousands more who came after the war. They came here to be safe. They came here to rebuild and to raise children and grandchildren in peace. They created thriving communities, enriching our nation with contributions across society, writing the story of the vibrant multicultural Australia of today. I will never forget the words of Holocaust survivors that I heard last year at the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp and extermination centre. Alongside the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Ms Segal, and Mark Dreyfus MP KC, I heard powerful stories of where unchecked antisemitism, hatred and prejudice can lead.

So let me be clear. There is no place for this hate, for this violence, for terrorism in Australia. There is no place for antisemitism. We must all confront antisemitism and extremism in all its forms, wherever it hides and whatever weapons it wields. We affirm that Jewish Australians should walk proudly in a nation where they belong, a nation that honours and celebrates their extraordinary contribution and a nation that sees antisemitism and extremism as antithetical to who we are and what it means to be Australian.

For many years, I have spoken about what it means to be Australian—about a nation united by respect for each other's humanity and each other's right to live in peace. Our memory of 14 December cannot only be the horrors inflicted by the terrorists; our memory should also include the courage of everyday Australians who ran towards the danger: Ahmed al-Ahmed, who disarmed one of the attackers and will forever be an Australian hero; the brave first responders who, that day, saved countless lives; lifeguards, who rushed barefoot across the sand of Australia's most famous beach to do what they could do to help; and the Australians who rushed to donate blood in record numbers, who attended vigils and memorials in solidarity or who lit candles at home in quiet remembrance. This is the Australia I know. This is the Australia that can never be taken from us—a country that refuses to reproduce foreign conflicts or re-enliven ancient hatreds, one which recognises diversity does not mean division but strengthens us, one where difference is not weaponised but is respected and a country that rejects all hatred and all prejudice in all its forms.

The emotional tributes from those who knew and loved those whose lives were stolen that day in Bondi stay with us, including their courage. There were so many whose first thought was not only to protect those they loved but to protect those they had never met—countless stories of bravery and of sacrifice. There is one theme in the tributes that particularly stayed with me: compassion. So many of the victims were known in their community, in their family, in their lives, for their kindness, for their gentleness and for their compassion. That compassion was reflected by the rabbi of the Newtown Synagogue, Rabbi Feldman, a close friend of Rabbi Schlanger, who was killed at Bondi. He responded to the horrors of that day not with hatred, not with anger, though that would have been completely understandable. Rabbi Feldman responded by calling on all Australians to demonstrate that compassion, saying:

The only way to stamp out darkness is with light. Hatred, bigotry, evil, that is darkness. The Australian people need to combat that with the lights.

The theme from the national day of mourning this Thursday, as chosen by the Chabad community in Bondi, will be 'Light will win, a gathering of unity and remembrance'. Light will win.

Rabbi Feldman's message echoes that of Andrew Steiner OAM, a Holocaust survivor from my hometown of Adelaide. He has dedicated his life to education about the Holocaust. He says, 'Compassion has no limitation.' Compassion bridges the space between ourselves and others, a space in which fear and mistrust—as we have so tragically seen—hatred and prejudice can all too easily take root. Compassion brings us closer together and reminds us of our common humanity. It can unite us. That is the Australia we must defend. That is the Australia we must protect. May the memory of those 15 innocent souls remind us of what is at stake. May their memory be a blessing.

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Edith Brutman, Dan Elkayam, Boris Gurman, Sofia Gurman, Alex Kleytman, Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, Peter Meagher, Reuven Morrison, Marika Pogany, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, Adam Smyth, Boris Tetleroyd, Tania Tretiak, Tibor Weitzen, 10-year-old Matilda—15 lives lost, 15 families shattered, 15 empty places at tables that will never feel whole again. Behind each of these names is a life taken, a family shattered and a community wounded. Their loved ones will carry this loss forever, and a nation carries a responsibility with them. We mourn them today and we owe them more than words. We owe them answers, the lessons we must learn and the resolve to protect Australians from this evil ever happening again.

In speaking on this condolence motion on behalf of the coalition for the victims of the Bondi terrorist attack, I begin where all Australians begin: with grief. On Sunday 14 December 2025, families gathered at Bondi to mark Hanukkah, the festival of light. It should've been a day of candlelight and song, and a day of prayer, of togetherness, of children laughing and of families holding one another close. Instead, in a place that represents everything Australians love about this country—community, openness, family and freedom—violence came without warning. The unthinkable happened in broad daylight among ordinary people who were doing what Australians have always done: gathering peacefully, looking after one another, celebrating faith and family and sharing a public place with trust.

Children were there, parents were there, and grandparents were there. Holocaust survivors were there. As someone who lived in Israel on a kibbutz with Holocaust survivors, to listen to the horrors that they went through back then and to then think that on Bondi Beach in Australia they were met with pure evil—I can't even begin to understand what that meant for them or their families. People came to pray, to sing and to stand together as Australians, and they were met with pure evil. What followed was chaos and terror: people running; people hiding; people trying to shield strangers with their own bodies; parents searching desperately for their children; and loved ones calling again and again, praying for an answer. But a day that began with light ended in darkness. Fifteen innocent lives were taken and many more were injured, and countless Australians—especially within the Jewish community but far beyond it—have been traumatised by what they saw and what they know. For so many, that day has divided life into 'before' and 'after'.

To the families who've lost loved ones: there is nothing this parliament can say that will undo what has been done to you. Nothing can fill the silence in a home that was once filled with their voice. The grief you carry will not be confined to funerals or anniversaries. It will be there in the ordinary moments: the empty chair, the message you still expect to receive and the habit of reaching for a phone to call someone who's no longer there. We cannot carry that grief for you, but we can say this and we can mean it: Australia mourns with you, Australia stands with you, and Australia will remember your loved ones always. And, if we're to honour them properly, we have to do more than mourn. We have to make sure the country learns, acts and protects.

To those who were injured, those who witnessed this horror and those who will carry its scars for the rest of their lives: we acknowledge the trauma you have suffered and continue to suffer. Trauma does not end when the headlines fade, nor can our responsibility to those who have suffered.

To the first responders—the New South Wales police and the paramedics—the doctors, the nurses, the lifesavers, the emergency services, the council workers and the members of the public who ran towards danger: thank you. In the worst moment, you showed the best of Australia. You saved lives; you comforted strangers; you held people, as the unthinkable unfolded.

We must be honest about what this was. This was not simply a tragedy. It was an act of terror. It was an antisemitic attack. It was an attack on Australia—on the promise that in this country you can worship openly, gather peacefully, and raise your children without fear and live your life without intimidation. Australia will never be the same after Bondi. We must also be honest about what makes this even more devastating. Jewish Australians have felt the pressure rising for too long. They have spoken about fear, about intimidation and about being targeted in their own country, and, too often, they have felt alone.

Let me speak directly to Jewish Australians. You should not have to live life with a permanent calculation of risk. You should not have to wonder whether it is safe to gather, safe to celebrate, safe to send your children to school, safe to wear your faith openly. Your safety is not negotiable. Your children's safety is not negotiable. Your place in Australia is not conditional. You should be able to light candles without fear at home, in public and in your community without wondering who's watching and who's waiting to intimidate you. You should be able to send your kids to school without a knot in your stomach, without worrying about threats, harassment or whether today will be the day something happens. You should be able to wear your faith openly, proudly and peacefully without looking over your shoulder, without hiding symbols of who you are and without being made to feel like you must make yourself smaller to stay safe.

To those who would target Jewish Australians, who would intimidate them, threaten them or try to push them out of public life, hear this: you will not succeed, you will not break this wonderful community and you will not break this country. This parliament has a responsibility to ensure Jewish Australians can live freely and securely in the weeks, months and years ahead, to ensure community institutions are protected, to ensure threats are taken seriously, to ensure the law is enforced and to ensure that those who incite hatred and glorify violence are met with consequences.

We must also be unsparing about the ideology that drives terrorism and fuels antisemitism. One of the drivers of the threat we face is violent Islamist extremism, an ideology that preaches intolerance, separation, supremacy and, in its most dangerous form, violence. I say this without hesitation: the fundamental Islamist ideology that incites hatred and glorifies terror has no place in Australia—none. It must be confronted and rooted out with the full force of the law. Australians deserve some basic truths stated clearly. Incitement is not protest. Glorifying terrorism is not free speech. Importing overseas conflict onto Australian streets through intimidation, threats and violence is an assault on Australian values and Australian law.

Following Bondi, Australians want to know what happened—what was known, what was done, what must change. Families deserve answers and communities deserve reassurance grounded in appropriate action. A Commonwealth royal commission has now been called. This is an important step. But it must be thorough, properly resourced and worthy of the families' trust. It must not be an exercise in closure. It must be an exercise in truth, however difficult that may be and wherever it leads, because the families deserve honesty and the country deserves protection.

We also can't be naive about what it takes to defend a free society. Decency is who we are, but decency must be matched with strength. A country that cannot protect its citizens is not a strong country, and a parliament that cannot name the threat confronted and defeated will leave Australians exposed.

Australians will never be the same after Bondi, but Australia can still decide what happens next. We can choose unity over division, we can choose courage over cowardice and we can choose action over excuses, and every Australian should demand nothing less.

I again offer my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those murdered at Bondi. Your loss is not a headline; it is a lifetime, and the whole nation grieves with you. May the memory of those lost at Bondi be a turning point for our country not just in how we speak about antisemitism but in how we stop it—when this country stops managing antisemitism and starts defeating it, when we stop excusing intimidation and start enforcing consequences, and when we make it unmistakably clear that those who threaten Jewish Australians threaten Australia itself.

To the families, we will never forget the lives you loved but sadly lost: Edith Brutman; Dan Elkayam; Boris Gurman; Sofia Gurman; Alex Kleytman; Rabbi Yaakov Levitan; Peter Meagher; Reuven Morrison; Marika Pogany; Rabbi Eli Schlanger; Adam Smyth; Boris Tetleroyd; Tania Tretiak; Tibor Weitzen; and 10-year-old Matilda.

Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to add my support and the support of the Australian Greens for the condolence motion for the families and the loved ones of the 15 innocent people murdered at Bondi Beach on 14 December. The shock of this attack loomed large in my heart over the summer break, as I'm sure it did for many Australians. What made this brutal attack all the more devastating and confronting is that we're not a country defined by gun violence or terror. As we gathered with family over the holidays, we have all been thinking of those in the Jewish community who are mourning, missing family and friends at their table, reliving the nightmare of what happened at Bondi and slowly beginning the tough road to recovery. I express my deepest sorrow for everyone affected and for all that you have lost.

The Bondi killers took the lives of young and old—including beautiful 10-year-old Matilda—of men and women, of locals and visitors. They cut short the lives of people with different jobs and different experiences. But the killings were unambiguously targeted at the Jewish community gathered to mark the first night of Hanukkah, the festival of lights. What was meant to be a joyous celebration became one of the darkest days in our history.

This reprehensible act of antisemitic violence is not who we are. Australia is a multicultural nation that is stronger because of our diversity, not in spite of it. No-one in Australia should fear practising their religion or culture. No-one should be persecuted for having a different religion or for not being religious at all. Every Australian should have the right to live, work, worship and learn in peace and safety. But we cannot ignore that fear and hate have been allowed to fester in our communities and to spill over into tragedy. I'll speak more about how we address that shortly.

First, I honour the courage of first responders and the heroes of Bondi who risked their lives to keep people safe, and the healthcare workers who worked tirelessly to save the lives of those injured. More people undoubtedly would have been killed if it weren't for those who intervened. Ahmed al-Ahmed, a Syrian Australian shop owner, was seriously injured while wrestling a gun from one of the attackers. Reuven Morrison hurled objects at the same attacker after Ahmed disarmed him. Reuven was killed while attempting to stop the killer. Natasha Willemsen shielded Matilda's beloved sister, Summer, after Matilda was shot, preventing her family from losing both of their beautiful daughters. Boris and Sofia Gurman grappled with one of the attackers and wrestled one gun away before he took another from the car and killed them. Their lives were taken fighting to protect others. Chaya, only 14 years old, was shot in the leg while shielding two young children. Twenty-two-year-old police officer Jack Hibbert, who was just four months into the job, was shot in the head and the shoulder but continued to help festival attendees. Jack will survive but with life-changing injuries.

So many lives were lost and irrevocably changed on 14 December by an act of hate. But there are so many stories of bravery, kindness, compassion and care to counter that hate. This is what we must hold onto. The heinous acts of two men cannot be allowed to become a catalyst for more hate and division. We must collectively act against all forms of hate and intolerance, whether it's directed at a Jewish man for his kippah, a queer person for who they love or a Muslim woman for wearing a hijab, whether it's attacking a new migrant making a life in our country or a trans person for expressing their gender identity. We have seen the dangers of racial vilification and dog whistling that leads to violence. We've seen the dangers of radicalisation and the consequences of failing to stamp out the conditions that allow it to flourish. This hatred led to the murders at Bondi. It drove the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings and the recent attacks at Camp Sovereignty. Weak gun laws only added fuel to the fire.

The Greens have long called for stronger gun controls, and we will work with the government to establish a new national gun buyback and progress the firearms registry. I urge all states to contribute to the buyback scheme. We will continue to work in all state and territory parliaments to limit the number of guns, strengthen character checks, restrict access to high-powered rifles and prohibit rapid-fire guns. Getting guns off the street is one clear action to help prevent a future tragedy like Bondi. But any hate laws must be measured and inclusive. Everyone deserves to be respected and safe from discrimination, hatred and violence. As a society, we cannot let this continue. Combating hate is the responsibility of everyone in this place.

In my time in parliament, I've had to deliver more condolence speeches than I would like—condolences for the victims of racist attacks and of homophobic attacks, condolences for the victims of domestic, sexual and family violence, condolences for First Nations men, women and kids dying in custody, and condolences for people that our system has failed. We cannot just keep being sorry. We need action to break the cycle. Hate is the disease, violence is the symptom and hope, connection, compassion and action must be the cure.

Gun violence is not who we are. Antisemitism is not who we are. Demonising migrants is not who we are. We are lucky to have such diverse communities with rich cultural, linguistic and spiritual traditions. But those communities also face systemic racism and discrimination. Those on the opposite side of the political spectrum continue to ramp up their attacks on migrants and already marginalised communities. We cannot let them divide us. We cannot allow those on the far right to demonise migrants and to use them to distract from their own failings. The reality is it is inequality and not immigration we should be angry about. Increased financial pressures, lack of affordable housing, persistent racist attitudes from our politicians and media, algorithms and online echo chambers fanning the flames of rage and hate, and of course the climate crisis that we cannot continue to ignore—these are the issues driving the displacement this generation feels. It is our job to fix these issues, not to find a scapegoat for them.

Our response to the Bondi massacre must not select those to protect and leave others behind, and we need to bring the community along. To end hate we must also eradicate poverty and ensure everyone has a roof over their head, access to top-quality public healthcare and education, and freedom to express political and religious views. We must take every opportunity to build community and to learn about, and from, each other. These are the ways we build social cohesion and reduce hate, reduce discrimination and reduce blame. We fix the system. Rushed laws won't achieve that.

Standing against hate requires us to all to call out any violence and discrimination wherever it is. We cannot watch violence, human rights abuses or genocide and do nothing just because it's happening elsewhere. Whether it's in Sudan, Iran, Palestine or the US, we must protect our right to political expression and to peaceful protest. Criticism of Israel's actions, just like those of Russia, China or Australia, should not be criminalised, because political expression and peaceful protest are things to be proud of. They're at risk in other countries and we cannot let community voices be silenced here. And we simply cannot criminalise our way out of hate.

Combating hate and all forms of racism requires a genuine commitment to grassroots community led change. The Greens unequivocally support the National Anti-Racism Framework, a blueprint for an antiracist society that protects all marginalised groups. It must be fully funded and implemented to work. The tragic murders of loved ones at Bondi strengthens our resolve for a comprehensive response to antisemitism and racism, and our commitment to stand against hatred and division and to fight for a future where all people are safe and free. We cannot claim to be safe, free or equal unless we address antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism and discrimination in all its forms, and allow the legitimate political protest that a free country enjoys.

I send my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims of the Bondi massacre. Our thoughts are with you now as you continue to grieve and heal. Let this awful and heartbreaking event on our soil be the catalyst for us to find our better selves and care for each other and celebrate our differences. Vale to those 15 cherished, innocent people.

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today, on behalf of the National Party, to honour the memory of the 15 innocent Australians whose lives were lost and stolen in the Bondi beach terrorist attack on Sunday 14 December 2025. This was the deadliest attack of terror on Australian soil, and the first mass murder of Jewish Australians in our nation's history. This atrocity was not only an assault on individuals and families; it was an assault on faith, on the very idea of Australia as a safe home for Jewish people—a community that, for generations, had believed itself immune to the hatreds of Europe.

Today this parliament speaks their names. We speak of them with reverence and we speak of them with love. Fifteen lives were lost. Edith Brutman, 68: a pillar of the Sydney Jewish community; vice-president of B'nai B'rith New South Wales antiprejudice committee; a woman who spent her life working to reduce hatred between people. Dan Elkayam, 27, a young French Australian IT analyst and a promising footballer, whose whole future lay in front of him. Boris Gurman, 69, and his wife Sofia, 61: a couple known for their warmth, generosity and courage, witnesses said they acted instinctively to shield others when the shooting began. Alex Kleytman, 87—incomprehensibly a Holocaust survivor who rebuilt his life here in Australia as a civil engineer. Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, 39: secretary of Sydney Beth Din; a scholar, a man of compassion, a father of young children. Peter Meagher, 61: a retired detective sergeant who'd given decades to public safety, he was also a talented photographer, beloved by friends for his humility and his humour. Reuven Morrison, 62: businessman, husband and father. Marika Pogany, 82: born in Slovakia, Marika had devoted her life to community care and volunteer work. Matilda, the youngest of them, Ukrainian born, an innocent child whose parents fled another war. Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, assistant rabbi, Chabad of Bondi, and a Corrective Services chaplain who ministered to some of our society's most forgotten people in our jails. I had the privilege of attending a packed service of Rabbi Eli's funeral in Bondi, a heart-wrenching event for a man the loss of whom has left an enormous chasm for thousands of people that he served, not to mention his incredibly young family. Adam Smyth, 50, a Bondi local remembered for his kindness. Boris Tetleroyd, 68, a father, whose final act was to protect his son. Tania Tretiak, 68, a Randwick resident, mother and grandmother. Tibor Weitzen, 78, an automotive engineer and mentor to young tradesmen. He died shielding his wife from gunfire.

Fifteen lives lost for what? So that Islamic extremists could send a message to the world? Their loss is a wound across our whole nation. This was a crime against Australia motivated and perpetuated by Islamic extremism—the deliberate targeting of Jewish Australians at a peaceful public celebration. It was not only an inexplicable tragedy for the families of the dead but also a tragedy for our great country. The world already knew that we had a problem with violent antisemitism because of what happened after October 7 2023 on the steps of the Sydney Opera House over two years ago. Three of Australia's most iconic globally recognised locations, our most famous building—the Sydney Opera House—our most famous bridge—the Sydney Harbour Bridge—and our most famous beach are all being used by Islamist propagandists to beam anti-Jewish hatred around the world, to say 'we are even here on the shores of the most peaceful, celebrated, diverse country in the world'. It was to tell the world that they are here and they will find their hate and their violence anywhere across the globe. That is why, when the news broke that Jewish Australians had been murdered at a Hanukkah celebration, the nation was shocked.

But too many were not surprised. For two years, we had witnessed Jewish children under protection, under armed guard, attending schools in Australian suburbs in our capital cities—spat on, harassed on trams in Melbourne daily, unable to wear their own uniforms. They are Australian kids. We stood in this place and spoke about it; we bore witness to that. Everyone heard it. If you didn't experience it personally, you knew it was happening—Jewish students harassed on Australian university campuses; Jewish lecturers shunned, their offices urinated on; in publicly funded university campuses, Jewish businesses boycotted and targeted violently; Jewish entertainers in the arts community silenced and doxxed.

You can't say that cohort of Australians are hard right wingers. All of this was part of a rampant rise in antisemitism directed not at the State of Israel—a Jewish state created as a home for Jewish people across the globe in the wake of what happened after World War II—but at Jewish Australians just living out their daily lives. The nation cannot and should not look the other way from hatred without inviting tragedy. It jars the present view of our nation, and we cannot look away from what has been happening. It has been easy to do that for a lot of people, to pretend it is not happening. It has been happening, we have been speaking about it, and you cannot ignore it.

Australia was meant to be safe. After the Second World War, Australia stepped forward; we opened our doors to Holocaust survivors and to Jews who sought a safe harbour. We supported the establishment of the State of Israel. Like my home city of Melbourne, Sydney's eastern suburbs became one of the great centres of Jewish life here in Australia—vibrant, proud and peaceful. The promise offered to Jewish Australians was simple and sacred: this is a country where you will be safe. On 14 December 2025, that promise was broken. The Holocaust survivor killed that night, Alex Kleytman, was living proof of what that promise meant. He rebuilt, after the worst horrors of humanity. He trusted our country; he trusted us. It is a stain on our national conscience.

The day after the atrocity, I drove down to Melbourne to attend Caulfield Shule with a lot of colleagues. The synagogue was full—overflowing, in fact—with families, with children, with grandparents, with people who'd not slept, who were grieving, exhausted and afraid. Yet they sang, they prayed, they lit the candles of Hanukkah. They stood together in defiance. The resilience of the Jewish people, always spoken of, was made very, very visible in that shule that night, because their forebears have seen this before. They know, tragically, that they'll see it again, but they refuse to be bowed or broken. They refuse to surrender their identity and their joy in that moment. They are an example to all of us who stand against evil. I walked home from the shule and was reminded that Jewish history is full of not only darkness but also miraculous endurance.

I walked out with a deep conviction that it is up to us, here in this parliament, in this peaceful corner of the earth, to ensure it doesn't happen again. The 15 Australians we mourn today were murdered because hatred was allowed to go unchecked, in silence, uncomfortable questions never answered. We honour them not only with our grief but with our resolve, and that's going to take courage. There's a lot of talk of kindness, but it has to have courage to face what we've been previously unprepared to face because we might be called racist, because we might be called mean.

You cannot turn your face away from this. Resolve to restore that belief that Australia is a safe place to be Jewish, to worship freely, to raise your children without fear. Fifteen families and their community will never be the same. Their loss is bottomless. But, from this place, the national parliament, we must resolve to fight the scourge of antisemitism and Islamic extremism that has visited us. To the families of the dead: we will remember your loved ones, we will speak their names, we will honour their stories and we will fight the hatred that took them. We will not be silent.

To be naive enough to think that there weren't homes in Australia that were celebrating what happened on Bondi Beach is to, again, fail to recognise the extent of the evil that we are dealing with. There will be homes in suburbs across our country who celebrated this terrorist attack that night, who continue to say it was a good thing. I see senators shaking their heads at what I'm saying. Again, you fail to understand the significance—unless you are understanding the significance of what's happened and pretending it's not true. Of course not every Muslim Australian is an Islamic extremist, far from it. We should not let this become an attack on our Muslim community, but I can stand here and tell you: you need to be able to say that every single Islamic extremist is Muslim. So we need to have a serious, upfront reckoning with how this happened, why it happened and who perpetuated it—where they are—without demonising law-abiding Muslim Australians who have also sought a better life here for them, their families and their future.

We will also resolve never to forget. May the memories of Edith Brutman, Dan Elkayam, Boris and Sofia Gurman, Alexander Kleytman, Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, Peter Meagher, Reuven Morrison, Marika Pogany, Matilda Horovych, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, Adam Smyth, Boris Tetleroyd, Tania Tretiak and Tibor Weitzen be a blessing.

May the light of courage, kindness, faith and family shine brighter than the darkness that tried to extinguish it.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Senate for the opportunity to speak on the condolence motion today, and I offer my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those whose lives were tragically cut short at the Chanukah by the Sea celebrations in Bondi on 14 December last year. I'd also like to acknowledge the President of the ACT Jewish Community, Athol Morris, and his colleagues including Mike Kelly, and members from the National Jewish Memorial Centre here in Canberra who are in the chamber today.

As a nation, we grieve, and, as a senator for the ACT, I want to take a particular moment to acknowledge members of the Jewish community here in Canberra, who are also mourning the loss of loved ones as a result of the terrorist attack on the Jewish community in Bondi. It's been just under a month since Canberrans came together for a candlelight service up here in the Great Hall where we honoured the 15 people murdered, the 41 people injured, the thousands of festival goers and the Jewish community members whose lives have been changed forever. As I've met with members of the Canberra Jewish community, as I've had moments to pause at the National Jewish Memorial Centre just down the road and as I've listened to the contributions from other senators made here already today, I have been reminded that, although these tragic events may have happened elsewhere, there is not one community across the country that will be unmarked by the devastating events of that Sunday night in Bondi.

The values we hold dear as a nation are freedom, respect, kindness and a sense of shared humanity. It's clear that what happened in Bondi was an attack on those values and an attack on the Australian way of life. As many have observed over the last month, there is another level of pain from violence enacted on holy days in sacred spaces as it attempts to poison days meant for faith, reflection and joy. I know I speak for all Australians when I say to the Jewish community: we stand with you, not just today but in the months and years to come and on every anniversary as you carry this unimaginable sorrow and grief.

Acts of terror seek to fracture our communities, sow division and make us retreat in fear of one another, but so many Australians over the past month, including in this place today, have come together to affirm that we must refuse that path. In those moments of terror and in the days that followed, the two terrorists in Bondi showed us the very worst of what humans are capable of. But we also saw so many, many more examples of the very best of what humanity can be.

In the Jewish tradition, Hanukkah means 'miracle of light that refused to go out when all hope seemed lost'. It speaks to the enduring truth that goodness does persist, and I'm not the first—and I won't be the last—to reflect on the ways in which this central tenet of Hanukkah also aligns with the Australian spirit, which, time and time again, buoys ordinary people to take extraordinary action, just as we saw in Bondi that night.

There are all of the strangers who ran towards danger to help those they'd never met. There are the citizens who sought to disarm gun-wielding terrorists before the attack began. And there are the young people thrust into a world where they should have been protected but then, instead, chose to protect others. We saw bravery and courage in real time by those responding to hate and terror—the police officers, the paramedics, lifesavers and the first responders, who bravely faced unimaginable scenes and did everything they could to save lives. There are the social workers and the chaplains who held space for grief in its rawest form. There was the outpouring of grief that touched the nation from every corner of our country. There was the visual representation of that found in the flower tribute that blanketed Bondi. There was the lighting up of windows with candles across the nation. People were donating blood for more than a month after the tragedy. This is the Australia we know; this is the Australia we love, as seen in every act of kindness and care that occurred on that day and since that evening in Bondi.

The lesson of Hanukkah teaches us that light endures. It also calls us to remember that light must be tended to, protected and passed from hand to hand. So, as a nation and as communities like ours here in Canberra, in the wake of this devastating tragedy, we are called not only to kindle that flame but also to carry it forward, shielding it from the winds that seek to dim it and sharing it with one another to send the very strongest of message that we must stand together with Jewish Australians and that no Australian should ever feel unsafe because of their faith, their heritage or who they are. We know that there is more to do. We know that we must be vigilant. We know that all the freedoms and security that had been so hard fought for can be taken away. This is the ongoing responsibility of all of us in this parliament and beyond.

I extend my sincere condolences to the 15 Australians who lost their lives, to those injured, to those touched by this terrorist attack, to their families, to their friends and to their communities. You are remembered today and you will be remembered every day.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today the Senate pauses in grief to remember the lives taken at Bondi Beach. We pause for the families whose lives were forever changed in a matter of moments, and we pause as a nation coming to terms with an act of violence that should never have occurred in Australia.

The terrorist attack on Sydney's Jewish community and on all Australians will be forever etched in our national memory. It stands as the darkest day our country has faced since the massacre in Port Arthur in 1996. It was not an attack just on individuals; it was an attack on our entire country. It was an attack on the sense of safety Australians expect in their everyday lives.

Like thousands of Australians, I visited Bondi Beach over the holidays, but this year, sadly, it was to pay my respects to 15 innocent lives stolen. Bondi is one of the most recognisable and loved places in Australia. It's a place that's embedded with a sense of community, of freedom, of joy of living that is at the heart of this beautiful country and what it means to be Australian. It's a physical reflection of our way of life. Standing there, it was impossible not to feel how profoundly that place had been marred by fear and violence and how it will be forever remembered as the site of the worst terrorist attack on Australian soil ever.

It's the human faces that sit behind the headlines and the news reports that bring home the profound tragedy of this attack. These were wonderful individuals whose lives were filled with love, family, community and faith and whose absence will be forever felt. One of those lives was Matilda. Like so many Australians, I found it impossible to forget the image of that smiling face just moments before the attack unfolded. The image will stay with all of us because of her innocence. We saw our own and watched both shattered in the same brutal moment of violence. The grief for that young girl and for what was taken from her family sits heavily with all of us.

Today we remember each and every one of those lives that were taken. We remember Rabbi Eli Schlanger and Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, men who devoted their lives to faith, to their families and to the service of their communities. They were leaders and teachers and a source of guidance for many. We remember Dan Elkayam, who moved to Australia from France only a year ago, full of love and life and adventure. We remember Alexander Kleytman, a Holocaust survivor, who died protecting his loving wife. He had already endured unimaginable hatred, only to face violence again in the country he now called home. We remember Boris and Sofia Gurman, a couple whose final acts were defined by courage and bravery as they tried to prevent this violence. We remember Peter Meagher, a former police officer, a respected figure in his local rugby community and someone who had spent a lifetime serving others. We remember Reuven Morrison, a hero who put himself in the line of fire to try and save lives—an act of courage and selflessness that speaks to the very best of human character. We remember Tibor Weitzen, a beloved husband and grandfather who died shielding a friend. We remember Marika Pogany, known lovingly as Omi, a lifetime volunteer described by her family as 'vibrant and full of life'. We remember Edith Brutman—remembered as gracious, generous and deeply devoted to her community. We remember Boris Tetleroyd, a beloved husband and father taken from his family so soon. We remember Tania Tretiak, a beloved grandmother remembered for her compassion and respect. And we remember Adam Smyth, a footballer, a husband and a family man whose life was cut short for no reason, like the others.

Today is about standing with the families who have lost loved ones, it's about standing with the Jewish community that has been deeply shaken and whose resolve to continue to gather in faith and community remains strong, and it is about reaffirming that hatred and violence have absolutely no place in this country. But, to do this, we must be honest about the motivation that sat behind this massacre—years of unchecked hatred directed towards the Jewish community in Australia. This hatred must not continue to be tolerated; it must be condemned, and it must be stamped out. I hear my Jewish friends say that they are considering moving to Israel because they will feel safer in Israel than they do here in Australia. This must not be the Australia of the future. We must ensure that every Australian has the guarantee of feeling safe in this country, now and forever into the future.

To the families who are mourning, I know that no words that are being expressed in this chamber can ease your pain, but our words and actions must honour it. As a nation, we stand with you, and we must all stand together in rejecting antisemitism in all of its forms. In doing so, we must uphold the values that define our nation: decency, compassion and mutual respect.

May the memories of those lost in December endure in the lives that they have touched, and may this parliament and this country move forward with resolve to ensure such a tragedy can never be allowed to happen again. Today, we remember them. But, behind the names and the stories—the loved ones, the families, the friends, the communities and the lives that should not have been taken—they will be remembered not for the hatred that took their lives too soon but for the love they embodied, the community they strengthened and the courage they showed, both in ordinary life and in those final moments. Only days after the massacre, Rabbi Frankie Salzman gave an incredible speech at the vigil held in Adelaide, and that speech was filled with love and forgiveness, even in light of the tragedy that had unfolded against his people only days before.

Today our deepest condolences are with the families and friends, and we feel their loss, as they will every day for the rest of their lives. We grieve with the families, we grieve with Australia's Jewish community and we grieve with every single Australian who has been touched by this tragedy.

For too long, Jewish Australians have lived with rising fear, hatred and hostility. Incidents of violence, vandalism and hate have not occurred in isolation. The rising tide of antisemitism has been real and it has a lasting impact on the daily lives of all Australians. Homes have been vandalised, synagogues attacked, childcare centres targeted, students ostracised and symbols of hate displayed in public places where no Australian should ever have to feel unsafe. This attack occurred against a backdrop of fear that has been steadily growing.

So today is about standing together and recognising our shared responsibility to ensure our country is safe and every Australian can live free from hatred and violence. Today we acknowledge the pain of the Jewish community—a community that, despite what has happened to them, remains forgiving and full of love. In their own words, light will win.

Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to pay my respects and remember those whose lives were mercilessly taken on 14 December and those who were injured by the antisemitic attack that terrorised the Jewish community in Bondi Beach. Today we again bear our heartfelt condolences to the 15 people whose lives were taken and the families, friends and loved ones, whose sorrow is unfathomable and immeasurable. This act was not only heinous; the place that it was perpetrated at also matters. Sydneysiders know that Bondi Beach is an iconic location, recognisable across the world, which meant that this terror and violence too reverberated around the world. After my family migrated to Sydney 34 years ago, Bondi Beach was a must-do once a week. Sitting on the sand, looking out on the Pacific Ocean, while hearing the waves break on the rocks was a new pleasure for Lahoris from a river city. It will never be the same again. Some wounds will always be felt.

Worlds have felt and continue to feel totally inadequate. The grief of the community is immense. The grief of the nation is immense. The shock is profound. The brokenness of the world seems overwhelming, but we stand alongside our Jewish brothers and sisters, who are reeling in the wake of this senseless violence. We mourn with them and we grieve with them.

The day following the attack, I went to Bondi Beach with my colleagues to pay my condolences and my respects. It was deeply important for me to pay tribute and to pay my respects to the victims of this violence and especially to my husband's colleague who was brutally murdered on that day. What happened on that day was an appalling and unforgivable act of terrorism and antisemitic violence. As a Muslim woman, my faith teaches me that silence is not an option in the face of suffering. It calls on me to feel the pain of others and to respond with compassion, care and love. It reminds me that nothing is more important than our shared humanity. This humanity was shown by our frontline services and ordinary people on the scene who ran towards danger to save, to help and to support those in need and try and stop the terrorists. Without any hesitation, they put their lives on the line trying to protect others. They must be commended as heroes for their courage and humanity. I do hope that it is this spirit of solidarity and of service that we will long remember and aspire to as a society.

This attack is, for our society, our Christchurch movement. Just like our neighbours in Aotearoa New Zealand, where 51 Muslims were murdered by an Australian white supremacist in mosques as they prayed, we have now seen hate up close. How we respond, how we honour the dead and how we make sure that this never happens again to any community is a heavy responsibility for this parliament and one we feel deeply—because, even in moments of deep grief, there are voices that seek to divide us, to politicise loss, to police grief and to sow further hatred. We must reject that path. We must refuse to allow tragedy to be weaponised and turned against one another.

Many of my Jewish friends and comrades who have been shocked and devastated by the Bondi antisemitic terror attack have also expressed to me their distraught and their anger at the politicisation of these horrors and at their grief being exploited by powerful forces to achieve narrow political ends. This should not be the way. The legacy of this appalling violence at Bondi cannot be the undermining of basic civil and political rights or laws that can be used to weaponised racism and hate against everyday Australians who follow their conscience and speak out against injustice and genocide.

Our safety, our dignity and our humanity are bound together. We are not safe until everyone is safe. We are not free until everyone is free. Hate directed at one community threatens all of us. In Christchurch, the world saw leadership that met horror and trauma with compassion and met violence with unity. That is the path we must choose here as well. That is the path needed to make sure that something like this can never happen again.

My deepest and heartfelt sympathies and prayers are for the families, friends and loved ones of those whose lives were taken and those who continue to deal with the wounds, seen and unseen, of 14 December.

Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I, too, offer my deepest condolences to the families, friends and communities whose loved ones were murdered at Bondi on 14 December 2025. Fifteen people were murdered by a cruel and senseless act against Jewish Australians celebrating a holy day at an iconic Australian place. Of course, for those of us who live in Sydney, it's not only an iconic Australian place; it's a very ordinary Australian place. The 40 injured are left with physical, emotional and spiritual scars that no community should have to bear. For the thousands of Australians at the beach on that day, traumatised by what happened, we should put our arms around them, too.

As I listen to the contributions in this condolence motion, I am reminded that no individual condolence contribution itself can possibly meet the moment. All our contributions are in some way inadequate, but the purpose of a condolence motion in the Australian Senate is that, together, we send a message to the Australian community and the Australian Jewish community of our condolence, our solidarity and our sense of loss. As a senator from New South Wales, as a member of the government and as a Sydneysider myself, I want to add my voice to that, too, both for our condolence and our response.

This attack realised the Jewish community's deepest fears. It assaulted all that is good about the welcoming and inclusive society that we have built together here in Australia. Tania Tretiak, Boris Tetleroyd, Tibor Weitzen, Reuven Morrison and Alex Kleytman came here to build lives free from hatred, intolerance and conflict. So did Valentyna and Michael, the loving parents of Matilda B. Matilda was their first Australian-born. Her parents asked us to remember her name because, in their words, when they named her, it was the most Australian name that could ever exist. That struck a very deep chord with me.

Each of those lost were part of Sydney's social fabric. Former detective Peter Meagher was a committed volunteer at the Randwick rugby union football club. Edith Brutman was a leading advocate against prejudice and discrimination among the local Jewish community. Rabbis Eli Schlanger and Yaakov Levitan gave that community intellectual, social and spiritual leadership, the kind that young people like Dan Elkayam, travelling the world but anchored by their faith, must have deeply valued.

For so many families, the violence will leave an indistinguishable sadness. I think of Adam Smyth, loved husband and father of four, and Marika Pogany, who is described as a beautiful mother, grandmother, sister and aunt and steadfast friend by her family. This week, we provide what comfort we can, and we advance the hard work of reckoning with this atrocity, addressing the motives and the means, the hateful extremist ideology and the awful weaponry that enabled it. In honouring 15 good people, we strive to make a safer, stronger Australia worthy of their memory.

There were some truly extraordinary acts of self-sacrifice at Bondi. Boris and Sofia Gurman stood up to terror with utmost bravery and paid the highest price. Ahmed al Ahmed, who risked his life to disarm one of the gunmen, later said he acted because his soul required it. We come together now because our nation's soul requires it. The social and political compact that keeps Australia strong, democratic and safe is under pressure. Those of us elected to this parliament must rise to the moment.

There are positive examples of national leadership that we can emulate. On 15 March 2019, a man mobilised by racist white-supremacist hatred murdered 51 New Zealanders at a mosque in Christchurch. The then Prime Minister and her government responded admirably and substantially, and so too did the conservative centre-right opposition National Party. There was unequivocal condemnation of the violence, support for faith communities and a willingness to reaffirm a multifaith, multicultural and united New Zealand. There was bipartisan action to pursue anti-hate measures and to strengthen New Zealand's gun laws.

The people of Sydney have modelled that positive example of togetherness and unity of purpose all summer, supporting one another in grief and holding onto all that is good about Australia, including that well-loved beach, with that extraordinary floral tribute in the days that followed the massacre. I want to acknowledge my friend Senator Tony Sheldon. We attended that remarkable tribute shortly after the massacre. Let's emulate the example of the people of Sydney and people of Australia and rise to the occasion as the occasion demands.

Susan McDonald (Queensland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the days following the horrific terrorist attack in Bondi, I've spoken with many Australians who feel shaken, unsettled and searching for reassurance that the country we love remains a place of safety, freedom and mutual respect. But nowhere has that fear been felt more acutely than within Australia's Jewish community. Today, we pause to mourn the 15 innocent lives lost, for the 40 injured Australians, to thank the heroes of the day and to stand united in our horror at the unveiled face of terror that was revealed at Bondi.

As a nation, we have been silent in our lack of action after the protests in front of the Sydney Opera House in October 2023, when university professors and students were made to feel so dangerously unsafe across Australia and when Australians marched, some waving terrorist flags, throughout our cities. We must own that and we must ensure that, now, we take targeted action. Words are cheap. We must be judged by our actions not just over the last 2½ years but that we choose to take in this parliament now. For Jewish Australians, the Bondi attack seemed an inevitable outcome after months of street marches, threatening slogans, celebrations of the October 7 attack in Israel and threats to their safety. Even thousands of kilometres from Bondi, the shock waves were immediate.

In North Queensland, the Jewish community only numbers about 100 people. They were preparing to celebrate Hanukkah with a public beachside gathering, which was meant to be a joyful expression of faith and light. Indeed, like many Jewish communities across Australia, they made the difficult decision to move the celebration into a private home. It was an honour to attend a later Hanukkah gathering in Townsville. It was beautiful. It was warm. It was deeply moving. But it was also sobering. People spoke quietly. The joy of the festival was there, but it was tempered with a deep and ancient sorrow.

Hanukkah is about light triumphing over darkness. It commemorates resilience, survival and the refusal to let hatred extinguish faith. Rabbi Ari Rubin, the only rabbi in North Queensland, said something that has stayed with me. He said, 'We don't want to let the joy be taken away from us.' That determination has echoed across Jewish communities nationwide. Despite safety concerns and despite fear, people showed up. In fact, more people attended this year's Hanukkah gatherings than usual, and, while hatred sought to intimidate, Jewish Australians did not retreat; they stood together.

Rabbi Rubin's journey to Townsville that Tuesday evening captured this spirit perfectly. On his way south from Cairns, his family was caught in a nine-hour traffic jam on the Bruce Highway after a serious crash. While stranded, an Israeli backpacker in the same traffic jam noticed the Rubin family's Jewish clothing. Two families in the middle of nowhere, in the shadow of tragedy, met. They prayed together. They shared traditional food at the back of a car. In the midst of fear and isolation, light found a way through, and it didn't stop there. Rabbi Rubin and his family handed out toys meant for Jewish children in Townsville to other stranded families along the highway, spreading joy to people they had never met. That is the response of the Jewish community that we are talking about, not withdrawal but generosity.

There is a clear responsibility on all of us in this place. It is the duty of politicians to do everything possible to ensure that antisemitism, radicalisation and extremist ideologies—including radical Islam—are identified early, confronted honestly and prevented from taking hold in Australia. That means strong laws. It means proper enforcement. It means serious oversight of extremist networks and the courage to speak plainly about threats. Protecting social cohesion requires moral purpose and honest conversations. No Australian should have to celebrate their faith behind closed doors. No parent should hesitate before taking their child to a religious celebration. No school should have to hire armed guards to protect those within from hatred. No community should feel that visibility comes with risk. No doctor should have to remove their surname from their name tag to be safe at their work.

The Bondi attack forced not only Jewish Australians but all Australians to confront these fears, so here we must confront our responsibilities, because an attack such as this is a test of our national character and it is a test of political leadership. It is our duty as leaders and as Australians to ensure that the values of tolerance, freedom and mutual respect are not simply cheap words.

The Jewish community has responded to Bondi with grace and hope that reflect the very best of Australia, but there are forces at work on our shores seeking to make Jewish people feel unwelcome, unwanted and unloved. Radical Islamist hate preachers continue to spread their poison and numerous institutions continue to marginalise Jewish beliefs and culture. This is not the Australia that has been a beacon for thousands of people from around the world to join us on the shores and it is not the country I want to leave to my children.

How we respond should reflect the very best of Australia and it should be a signal that Jewish people have safe haven here. The measure of our nation will be whether Jewish Australians can live here openly, worship freely and celebrate publicly. They should not have to be brave to do it; they should be able to do it because our leaders are strong enough to guarantee their safety.

The candles of Hanukkah remind us that even a small flame can push back great darkness but that flame must be protected. Today, we must stand with the Australian Jewish community and say clearly: 'Your light is welcome here.' I stand today to share the condolences of Australians to the entire Jewish community.

David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of this condolence motion and I acknowledge the contribution of my colleagues. This attack shook the community to the core. It was a violent antisemitic attack by two men armed with legal lethal firearms, and it truly has shaken our country. The lives that were taken that day—15 lives—are mourned here today. Their families and communities will continue to hold them in their hearts.

In those few violent, awful minutes on a beautiful beach in Sydney, those lives were lost were Adam Smith, Tania Tretiak, Dan Elkayam, Alexander Kleytman, Tibor Weitzen, Peter Meagher, Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, Marika Pogany, Edith Brutman, Reuven Morrison, Boris and Sofia Gurman, Boris Tetleroyd, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, and 10-year-old Matilda. They were parents, children, friends, colleagues and members of our community. Many of them came from around the world to make their home in Sydney, Australia, and they should have been safe here. It is particularly painful for this attack to have been committed on the first day of Hanukkah, the day the community gathered in joy to celebrate light over darkness. It struck at all of us. I know this attack has heightened the feelings of many in the Jewish community of fear and grief and vulnerability.

But I also know there is a commitment across the community to end violence and division, to ensure that all communities, including and not least our Jewish community, feel and are safe. This awful attack happened in my neighbourhood, at my local beach. Many of my team members and their families live in that area. Some of them were on the beach that day. The fear and the shock were real, and I know that, for so many, it will continue for years with the memory of the phone calls, the urgent messages flooding in, checking on friends, family and neighbours—too many of which in the Jewish community were not answered on the night and will never be answered. It is one of the many reasons why I joined with my state colleague Amanda Cohn, Greens MP in New South Wales of Jewish heritage, and thousands of others that morning after the attack to lay flowers at the site—the beautiful historic Bondi Pavilion. The great diversity and unity of those who did that with us stays with me. I remember walking towards the beach with Amanda and flowers, people walking back with tears in their eyes, and the sense of grief—but a sense of community, too.

It's also important to remember that in the midst of the fear and the horror so many ran towards danger and acted to protect their neighbours and strangers. I acknowledge the courage of Boris and Sofia Gurman—incredible, intense bravery; the courage of the first responders like the police, the paramedics and the lifeguards who placed their duty before their personal safety; and the courage of Ahmed Al Ahmed, a father, a fruit shop owner and a man who was born in Syria but who made his life and his home in Australia. He wrestled the gun off one of the shooters—unarmed himself—and in doing so undoubtedly saved many lives. Again, he saved his neighbours, he saved his friends, he saved strangers. He acted in the spirit of Australia.

There are also so many ordinary people who met this moment with outstanding courage and kindness. They sheltered children with their bodies. Young people ran to use their first aid skills in circumstances they could never have imagined when they took the course. Medical teams worked tirelessly to save lives. They should not have to show this bravery, but I know we are all glad that they did. Let's collectively pay tribute to them.

There is real power in people coming together after horrific attacks like these. The queues at blood donation sites were a particularly powerful example of how people from across my beautiful home city of Sydney, in particular, felt this savagery attacking their city and their neighbours and wanted to—and did—show their solidarity in that moment.

I also recognise those community members who showed humanity in the darkest moments. There were those who knitted teddies and handed them out at the site of the attack in the days are followed, and those who brought down water and snacks for people paying tribute. They came from every religion and every walk of life in this country. They provided simple comfort and connection and that—that was political leadership.

But we need to remember, too, that the same hate that was directed against the Jewish community could equally have been directed at other vulnerable parts of our community—at women or the LGBTIQ community. We need to respond with that in mind. Let's resolve to meet hate with compassion, calls for division with acts of solidarity and unity, and, collectively, with compassion, condolences and love for those 15 vibrant lives that were stolen by hate.

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

():  There has been a dark and heavy cloud over Sydney this summer, as our city tries make sense of an act of hate. The Jewish community is in mourning. Families have spent what should be a time of rest and communion with an empty chair at the table. The whole of Australia grieves with them and for them. Many Sydneysiders will carry the physical and the mental scars of that evening for a lifetime.

On 14 December, a father and son left an Islamic State flag on the windshield of their car and spent the next seven minutes committing a terrible and hateful act of violence. This crime ripped 15 people away from their families and their community—15 people peacefully gathered to celebrate their community and to observe their faith.

The events at Bondi were unimaginable for most Australians, but sadly for our Jewish community they were not. Bondi was the realisation of some of their worst fears. A community that has a long history of persecution understood exactly what this was: Jewish families targeted with violence for being Jewish and for practising their faith.

I was invited to Chabad of Bondi on the evening of 15 December for the lighting of the second candle. Many of the wounded were still in the hospital and we were still counting the dead. It was humbling and heartbreaking to be with the Jewish community in the depths of fresh grief, another tragedy for a people who have become wearily familiar with them, many so resilient and so generous. Rebecca Solnit wrote this: 'Disaster lays bare the foundations of a society, what matters, what holds and what breaks. It is also an extraordinary moment when we glimpse who else we might be and what else our society could be, when the ordinary order of things break down and people rise to the occasion in unanticipated, beautiful and profoundly social ways.'

Today it is worth remembering what held in Bondi during that attack. Ordinary people risked themselves to challenge the shooters and help those around them. Lifeguards and bystanders shepherded people to safety and treated the wounded. Police and emergency services personnel rushed toward danger. In the days after, a spontaneous memorial at the pavilion offered kindness and love. There were record queues outside blood banks as people rolled up their sleeves to do what they could. The broader community without hesitation wrapped their arms around Jewish Australia, and we heard a full-throated affirmation of important ideas that serve us well as a people and as a democracy that an attack on a peaceful religious gathering offends every value we possess, that an attack against our Jewish community is an attack against all Australians, that everyone deserves to feel safe and to be safe and that antisemitism is unacceptable to any of us.

In the days and weeks after the event, the beach reopened. The overflowing memorial of flowers was cleared away so that the tributes offered by ordinary Australians could be properly preserved. But it is easier to restore a physical space than it is to restore and repair a community. This violence casts a long shadow. What does it mean for an antisemitic attack to happen in Australia? We have serious questions to reckon with. The inquiries over the course of this year will help us grapple with them and there will be important conversations along the way. As leaders in this place, we all have a responsibility to conduct these conversations with the gravity and with the seriousness that they deserve.

We have an obligation to seek out the opportunities to confront hard truths, but we also have an obligation to seek out the opportunities to help our communities heal. I found my thoughts returning to the volunteers at the Sydney Jewish Museum, many of whom are Holocaust survivors. They have chosen to dedicate so much of themselves to educating generations about the Shoah and to the message, 'Never again'. There is much to learn from a community that time and time again has chosen to combat prejudice and violence through compassion and connection and to embody the idea of mitzvah. I join with every Australian in offering love to those families who are grieving and whose loss will endure. I offer my most sincere condolences.

Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to 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.

David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the people of the ACT, who I represent in this place, I add my deep condolences for the extraordinary loss and pain caused by the ISIS-inspired terror attack on the Jewish community celebrating Chanukah by the Sea in Bondi. The attack in Bondi targeted the Jewish community, and it hurt all Australians. I join with my parliamentary colleagues and Australians around the country in, again, condemning this act of terror in the strongest possible terms.

For Jewish communities across the country, including here in Canberra, recent months have been marked by fear, anxiety and a sense of vulnerability not felt for generations. Families have questioned whether it is safe to wear visible symbols of their faith. Parents have worried about their children going back to school. Synagogues and community centres have required constant security.

For many Jewish Australians the terrorist attack in Bondi shattered the sense that it couldn't happen here. Something Australians should be reflecting on is that, for most Australians who watched with shock, horror and surprise when this happened, when you talk to many Jewish Australians, they experienced shock and horror but not so much surprise. That is something that we should all reflect on and take steps to both listen and ensure that this can never happen again.

One of the things that has made Australia stand out in the global community is how we have been, until now, fortunate to not have experienced any kind of mass casualty terror attack on our shores. We are largely seen as a peaceful nation and a peaceful people—a free people, a democratic country and a multicultural society that celebrates its diversity and shared values as Australians. For many in the community 14 December challenged that sense of ourselves—that two individuals could inflict such violent and deadly antisemitic hatred on so many innocent people in such a beloved and iconic location as Bondi Beach and take 15 lives and terrorise so many more. This is something we hoped would never happen on our shores, but it did. Without the tremendous courage, bravery and selflessness of so many people at Bondi that night, more lives would have been taken.

On behalf of Canberrans, I too pay tribute to the many, many individuals who showed themselves to be true heroes that night: those who paid with their lives trying to disarm the gunmen; those who were grievously injured; those who ran toward danger rather than away from it; those who used their bodies to shelter others; the lifeguards, paramedics, police and other first responders—people who were on and off duty; people who were just there and put helping others before themselves; the surgeons, doctors, nurses and other medical staff who worked through the night saving lives; the tens of thousands of Australians who turned out in the days following to donate blood; the team at Lifeblood who worked through the night processing record numbers of blood and plasma donations; the Australians who lit a candle in their front window in solidarity; and the Australians who fundraised for victims, who undertook a mitzvah, an act of kindness, who attended vigils, laid flowers and sent messages of love.

At a time of unimaginable pain and suffering for the Jewish community, Australians of all faiths and all backgrounds came together, offering love and support. Here in Canberra, on the Monday after the attack, I saw firsthand people bringing flowers and paying tribute down at the National Jewish Memorial Centre and reaching out to Jewish leaders and community members. The Canberra Interfaith Forum held a Pray for Peace Vigil two days later. The Hindu Council of Australia, the Federation of Indian Associations of ACT and the Hindu Temple and Cultural Centre brought the community together for a vigil on the Saturday following the attack and hundreds gathered here in the Great Hall to mourn, marking one week since the atrocity. This solidarity, this love, this coming together was replicated right around the country, and it's those values that must guide us in this place as we navigate the aftermath. All of us belong. All of us deserve safety.

I would like to publicly thank Canberran Jewish community leaders for their openness, counsel and generosity over the last few years, and in the aftermath of the tragic events in Bondi. In particular, I would like to thank Jerry Lissing, Athol Morris, Mike Kelly, Nicole Campbell and many others for taking time to speak and work with me in these difficult times.

We must all protect each other's rights to practice our respective religions, celebrate our diverse cultures and our diverse ancestries, and hold on to our shared values, free from hatred, violence and discrimination. Whether you're wearing a kippah, a hijab, a turban, an Akubra or a possum skin cloak around your shoulders, you should be able to walk down any street in absolute safety.

Our challenge is to do our utmost to make sure that what happened at Bondi never happens again; to use it to build a more inclusive Australia. Our challenge is to work on education; to stop the othering of groups here in Australia; to stop people turning their fear, their anger on fellow Australians when it comes to conflicts and wars in other parts of the world. We need to recognise our shared humanity. We need to recognise that while we may have differences of ancestry and opinions and politics, we have a shared humanity. We are Australians and we are all in this together. As many have said, none of us are safe if we are not all safe.

Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's now 36 days since 15 Sydneysiders lost their lives and 40 others were injured while celebrating Hanukah with friends and family in an unspeakable act of antisemitic evil. When I attended Bondi Pavilion in the wake of the shooting, it was hard to process the evil that took place there—a place where I lived for a decade, and where I have spent countless time with my own friends and family. As the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies said: 'They were murdered as they sought to bring light to the world in their Hanukah celebrations. Every one of the victims is a father, a mother, a partner, a friend or a child to many others whose lives will also never be the same again.'

I want to say a few words in memory of these 15 extraordinary people. Boris and Sofia Gurman, who were about to celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary, gave their lives fighting and attempting to disarm one of the terrorists. Edith Brutman is remembered as a woman of integrity who chose humanity every day. Boris Tetleroyd is remembered as a gentleman, a gifted musician and a valuable member of his community. He was loved by everyone he met. Dan Elkayam, just 27, is remembered for his love of football and his love of Judaism. Alex Kleytman, a Holocaust survivor, was shot while shielding his wife, Larissa, from danger. As his daughter Sabina said, he died doing what he loved most: 'Protecting my mother and standing up and being a proud Jew.' Rabbi Eli Schlanger is remembered for his love of his family and for his work with Corrective Services NSW. Rabbi Yaakov Levitan is remembered for his kindness, friendship, inclusion and warmth. Peter Meagher, a 35-year-old veteran of the NSW Police Force, is remembered for his love of rugby union and his volunteer work. Marika Pogany, a loving grandma, was known for her kindness and generosity and her decades of volunteer work with Meals on Wheels. Adam Smyth's love for Liverpool FC, the Sydney Swans and the Manly Sea Eagles was exceeded only by his love by his wife and four children. Tania Tretiak came to Israeli from Russia in 1992 and loved travelling and spending time with her family. Tibor Weitzen, a beloved member of the Sydney Jewish community, lost his life shielding his loved ones. Of course, Matilda, just 10 years old, is remembered by her school community as'genuinely the most caring and compassionate young girl who brightened everyone's day with a radiant smile and an infectious laugh'. And Reuven Morrison was captured in that stunning video giving his life to take on the terrorists and keep his community safe.

Now, while I didn't personally know those who lost their lives, we will remember them for the way they died—but not only for the way they died, for the stories of the way they lived and enriched the lives of everyone around them. In the actions of Reuven, Boris and Sofia Gurman, and the many others who risked their lives to save others, we saw the best of Australians, including from Ahmed al-Ahmed, a Muslim Syrian refugee from the shire, who risked his life to disarm one of the terrorists.

People of all faiths and backgrounds have come forward and said an attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on all Australians. The Australian National Imams Council said:

This is a moment for all Australians, including the Australian Muslim community, to stand together in unity, compassion, and solidarity, rejecting violence in all its forms and affirming our shared commitment to social harmony and the safety of all Australians.

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe said:

… this blind prejudice and hatred points to a dark and destructive stain in our society which threatens not just our Jewish brothers and sisters but, in fact, all of us.

The Hindu Council of Australia said:

This is not merely an attack on the Jewish community it is an assault on the freedom of faith, public safety and social harmony of our society.

What is clear is that we must do everything we can to ensure this sort of evil cannot happen here again.

I also want to thank and commend the first responders on the scene at Bondi—from the police who took the terrorists on to the paramedics and surf lifesavers who put their own safety at risk provide life-saving support. And I want to finish by saying this: Australia is made stronger thanks to the diverse range of communities that make up our society, and we'll always stand with the Jewish Australians against vile antisemitism. The work to protect and defend our precious multifaith, multicultural country is never done, and we must all play our part.

Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to 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.

Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Dan Elkayam, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, Marika Pogany, Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, Alex Kleytman, Reuven Morrison, Peter Meagher, Tibor Weitzen, Boris Gurman, Sofia Gurman, Edith Brutman, Boris Tetleroyd, Adam Smyth, Tania Tretiak and 10-year-old Matilda. I stand in the parliament of our nation, the centre of democracy, and I grieve for you.

I associate myself with the remarks of my colleagues, who have sought to capture your lives of goodness in their contributions to this condolence motion today. I grieve for the days you had yet to live, for the plans you had made that will not come to pass and for the loss of your profoundly unique contributions to the lives of all those who knew you. I acknowledge the deep and abiding grief of all those who loved you and lost you on 14 December 2025—24 Kislev 5786, in the Hebrew calendar.

I mourn your loss. I'm mourn with you as a mother, as a sister, as a daughter and as a longstanding friend of the Jewish people. I mourn with you as a person blessed with my own Catholic faith, which I have practised publicly with little resistance or derision, and I see your suffering as a Jewish community that has already, for years and years, had to farewell your children at fortified school gates, watched over by guards with guns protecting you and your family as you attend faith based schools. I mourn with you as an Australian of goodwill, and I bring to you the many condolences of all who have shed tears for you, all who have prayed for you and all who, like me, continue to grieve with and for you. What happened in Bondi was a day that can never be undone, a day of shame forever now part of our nation's story, a day when the whole world saw our collective failure and a day that impels us to act in unison and move our country towards a more enduring and secure internal peace. But I fear we will fall short.

I have a long and strong association with the Jewish community. As Chair of the Parliamentary Friendship Group of Israel, I've worked closely with community leaders and attended countless events over many years. In 2023, I participated in a Chabad organised Hanukkah lighting in the city of Sydney, my home city. I've invited October 7 hostages and their loved ones to come to parliament and speak to leaders of our country. Just two weeks before 14 December, I attended an Executive Council of Australia Jewry event with leaders of the Jewish diaspora communities from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada and Argentina alongside Assistant Minister Matt Thistlethwaite and Ms Allegra Spender to discuss the rise in antisemitism.

In June 2024, I spoke in this parliament about how the atrocities of October 7 unleashed hatred across the world. Perversely, much of that was directed at Jews. In Australia, I said, we witnessed a change from a steady uptick to a significant surge in antisemitism. That surge has come from across the spectrum, with radical elements of society feeling emboldened. We've seen Nazis march in Spring Street in Melbourne and Macquarie Street in Sydney, carrying signs calling to abolish the Jewish lobby. Jewish businesses have been targeted with antisemitic graffiti, including red triangles. Synagogues have been set alight. Homes in Jewish neighbourhoods have been attacked by agents linked to the Iranian regime and the terrorist listed Iranian revolutionary guard corps. Hate preachers have espoused vile filth that may have ultimately contributed to the Islamic state radicalisation of the two gunmen responsible for this atrocity.

This requires antivilification legislation in Australia. I say to all in this place and those outside who baulked at taking seriously this historical moment to deliver responsible antivilification legislation: if not now, then when? When? When will it be time? The report of the antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal, has been widely accepted. She called for antivilification laws. They have been widely accepted, at least in word. But that antivilification legislation element of what has been advanced by this Labor government has died in the days since the release of the draft legislation. But mark my words. It will be needed.

On Sunday 14 December in our beloved homeland, Australia, families were destroyed by political hate, by antisemitic hate and by hate engendered, fed and nurtured within our own society, sometimes by actions that were overt and sometimes, to our enduring shame, by silence. We will need antivilification laws because the reality that I have just described has not changed. We each in this place must consider what our role is in this when we knew our gun laws were failing, when were worried that our schools and universities were not modelling the democratic ideas of tolerance and acceptance, when our national conversations were distorted to allow foreign conflicts to be used to target our fellow Australians and when we saw increasing antisemitism but didn't do everything possible to stamp out that raging, hateful fire.

Senators in this place have spoken of moral courage. This was the week to show some of that. A child of 10 shed blood on our shores and is lost forever, a man who survived the Holocaust was gunned down at Bondi Beach, and 13 other decent Aussies—13 other fellow citizens of this nation—had their lives taken by two evil men with guns and bullets in their hands and a lifetime of hatred for Jewish people in their hearts. We saw what hate for a particular group of people can do and we can never turn away from the image from Sunday 14 December 2025 in Sydney. That river of hate, I am sad to say, is not yet stemmed. This is our task. Today, we are where we are and we know what we know, and now the question will be for how much longer will we fail to name and properly address vilification?

Will we continue to play politics as usual, full of smart and cynical gamesmanship and hollow platitudes? Will we excuse ourselves from action today and tomorrow and every day that follows until the antisemitic hate against our Jewish brothers and sisters is put to rest or will we turn away? Will we choose a false freedom-of-speech agenda that emboldens the angry and silences the good people of this nation? Freedom to speak cannot be allowed an unjustifiable victory over freedom to live. If we do that, my fellow senators and my fellow Australians, we will see hate continue to flow in our streets, and I'm pretty sure that's not what we really want. It's certainly not what we want to be responsible for.

Here in this chamber, my fellow senators, we have the fate of the nation in our hands. We have the lives of our fellow Jewish Australians in our hands as surely as those who held Jewish bodies in their arms that afternoon at Bondi did. I say to every Australian of goodwill do not offer performative grief, do not give shallow condolence, and do not offer platitudes to the families in this building today who are genuinely grieving. Do not dishonour their profound loss. It's time to move past the division and the cynicism. Today, in the shadow of the 15 deaths at Bondi, we cannot continue to posture for political advancement by pretending to wish for peace while fuelling unnecessary division for personal or professional gain. The nation needs more from this chamber than business as usual and its attendant performances. This, my fellow senators, is the moment to lift our sights and to lift our game. The coming days will reveal us utterly.

To us falls the task to legislate for the reality of our times and for the physical safety of our people. We must ensure that laws are firstly adequate and then that they're enforced. We're tasked in this place to ensure that agencies are properly resourced and we're tasked to ensure that extremist networks, both foreign and domestic, are disrupted before hate turns to murder. We must confront disinformation and radicalisation wherever it spreads, particularly online. And we—all of us, each and every one of us in this place and each and every Australian of goodwill—must recommit ourselves to education and life in the public place that teaches and hears history honestly and enlivens without qualification the core values that give life to our democracy.

Hanukkah is a story about how light pushed back against overwhelming darkness. On 14 December, darkness intruded violently into that story. But the Jewish people are showing us the way and the light. To the families who lost loved ones, to the wounded, to the Jewish community across Australia, I am so sorry that you've had to experience this awful tragedy. Your collective spirit means you truly feel every loss. And I thank every person who responded with courage and generosity to our fellow citizens on the beach that afternoon in Bondi and on the days that have followed.

I want to thank the Jewish community, particularly the Jewish women with whom I gathered one week on from that atrocity. Thank you for sharing your capacity to grieve. Thank you for creating liturgical moments for us to share that grief with you.

'Never again' is not a slogan; it is a duty, and we must prove through our actions that we are worthy of saying it. May the memory of the 15 lives taken in Bondi on 14 December 2025 be a blessing.

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to pay my deepest respect to the families of the 15 murdered at Bondi Beach on 14 December in a shocking act of hatred, antisemitism and terrorism. It is important that we are here today as the nation's parliament to pay our respects, to show condolence and to be united in a defeat of division and fear in the name of love and compassion. There are no words, though, that can be said today that truly capture the magnitude of loss and fear that members of the Australian Jewish community have felt ever since this unspeakable attack. Throughout this usually festive season, as I know so many of us in this place today and of course across the country, so often my thoughts have turned to the families who are not able to be celebrating with all of their families at this festive time, constantly being reminded of the devastating loss of their loved ones and the hole that will forever be left in their lives and their hearts.

Like so many Australians, I've been unable to forget that smiling face of 10-year-old Matilda, who was joyfully celebrating Hanukkah with her family and her community just moments before she was gunned down in a cruel act of hatred and antisemitism. I think that face—Matilda's smiling face—represents the innocence that was lost on 14 December. Listening to the interview with her family today was particularly shaking. Fifteen innocent people beloved by family, friends and the wider community went to Bondi that night for a celebration of light but, because of an act of pure evil, they will never return home. We stand with their loved ones at this extremely difficult time and we wrap our arms around you.

The hatred, cruelty and violence that drove this deadly attack will forever mark our country but we cannot let it change us. This is not a moment for political grandstanding or pointscoring. It is a time for deep reflection and sorrow.

Terrorism, extremists and terrorists, seek to divide us. They seek to spread hatred and fear and to drive a wedge through our community. As we deal with the shock, the sadness, the horror of what happened at Bondi, we must look to our shared humanity for the path forward.

At Bondi, we saw the worst of humanity, but we also saw the best of it. We saw acts of extreme bravery and courage. We saw people without even a second thought take on the gunmen, and in doing so put their own lives at risk but save so many others. We saw people using their bodies as shields to protect children from the flying bullets. We saw first responders—ambulance, police, lifeguards—and everyday people run towards the danger and put themselves on the line for others: some friends, some family, some neighbours, some strangers. We saw locals throw open their doors to offer safety to strangers.

In the days and the weeks after the attack, we've seen Australians rally around the Jewish community and those impacted in Bondi, the broader Bondi community as well, which of course has been absolutely shaken to its core. We've seen acts of generosity and solidarity, big and small, and they all matter.

The bravery, the selflessness, the generosity that so many people have shown since this horrific, murderous attack is what we must hold onto. As leaders in this country, we've come here today to firstly express our deepest sympathies and our condolence to the families, to the loved ones and to the Jewish community and the broader Bondi community.

But we have also come here to do our job and to lead. As we grapple with what happened at Bondi, it is our role to overcome those who seek to feed the fear, the hate, the division. It is our job to overcome that evil, to unite our grieving community together in love and compassion.

To those whose hearts have been absolutely, utterly and forever broken, and to those whose sense of safety has been shattered: we see you, we stand with you and we will do our very best to protect you—to offer care, compassion and to protect all in our community.

The horrors of 14 December must be a turning point to unite our country, to overcome the fear and hatred and to reject those who feed upon it, because it is division they are after. The extremists want us divided. The terrorists want us full of hate, full of fear. We must beat them with love, compassion and unity for our community.

Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with a heavy heart that I stand here today in this chamber, on a day that was never supposed to be our first sitting day of 2026. What a heartbreaking way to begin a new year at Parliament House, standing together in grief.

But it is important that we come together like this, because 35 days ago on 14 December last year what should have been a day of joy and celebration, a day for families and friends to gather on Bondi Beach to celebrate Hanukkah, was shattered by an act of terror. What began with laughter and light ended in fear, in chaos and in unimaginable sadness. This was the worst terror attack Australia has ever witnessed. Fifteen innocent people—three women, 11 men and 10-year-old Matilda—lost their lives. My heart aches for the families who will never again hold their loved ones close. No words can ever erase that pain. Today, we gather in our federal parliament to say that these 15 people matter. Their lives mattered. Their absence leaves a void that cannot be filled, and they will not be forgotten. We also meet in this place today to unequivocally condemn antisemitism in all its forms. Make no mistake. This terror attack was a direct attack on Australia's Jewish community. It never should have happened, and we must never let it happen again.

In the midst of this dark day in our country's history, we saw something extraordinary. We saw the better side of humanity. We saw Australians—first responders and ordinary civilians—running towards danger, not away from it. They risked their lives to stop the rampage, to comfort the wounded and to protect strangers. That is courage. That is the Australian spirit, and it fills me with such incredible pride to know that my fellow Australians responded with such bravery.

Over the years, I've had the privilege of meeting many members of our Jewish community and of listening to their hopes, their concerns and their stories. Those conversations have deepened my understanding of what 'safety' and 'belonging' truly mean. Today, I reaffirm that commitment. To the Jewish Australian community: I stand with you. Australia stands with you. This is your home. You have the right to feel safe here and to celebrate your faith without fear. I pledge to do everything in my power to protect that right, not just with words but with action. That means ensuring our security agencies have the tools they need to keep our Jewish community safe—indeed, to keep us all safe. It means confronting Islamic extremism wherever it hides. It means saying clearly and unequivocally: the sort of violence that we saw on the shores of Bondi last month has no place in Australia.

This attack was not just an assault on innocent lives; it was an assault on our values of freedom, of faith and of community. We will not allow violence to win. We will not allow fear to divide us. We will honour the victims of the Bondi attack not just with our prayers but by living the values that they cherished: kindness, compassion and courage.

I've sat with families, community leaders and young Australians over the years who proudly celebrate their Jewish heritage. Those meetings remind me that our strength as a nation lies in our diversity and in our shared values. That is why I will continue working with them to ensure Australia remains a place where faith is celebrated without fear. So let us all commit today to stand together, to speak out against antisemitism and to ensure that all Australians can live without fear.

To the families who are grieving, you are not alone. Your pain is our pain, your loss is our loss. Your strength must inspire us to build a safer, stronger and more united Australia.

Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Fifteen Australians massacred in 10 minutes of terror—15 Australians executed, 15 Australians given the death sentence for being in a park and on the street in a beautiful, once peaceful part of our country. Others are carrying injuries and scars for life. My condolences to the victims' families, friends, workmates and colleagues. Nothing I can say will adequately articulate your grief, fear, devastation, shock and desperation—your search for understanding, for clarity in putting your lives back together, for addressing the hole in your heart and mind, for meaning, for making sense of it all. It's difficult to make sense of something senseless that's the result of inhuman ideology, Islamic ideology, which is the number one killer of Muslims worldwide, a rampant killer of Christians and of Jewish people and the driving force behind indiscriminate killing of non-adherents worldwide.

Before 14 December 2025 we thought this may happen close to us—in Bali's two bombings, when 92 Australians died—yet surely not on our shores. How can you make sense of it all when so many people won't name the force, Islam, that brutally murdered your loved ones? Yet before embarking on that search, I acknowledge 27 million Australians who had our collective perception of Australian security ripped away, tearing at the heart and fabric of our nation, security, culture and identity—our democracy, our unity. My condolences to all Australians whom this tragedy touches. Honouring the Bondi victims is not with words alone; above all it's done with action—honest, genuine, meaningful actions. This is an opportunity to unite Australians whom this tragedy touches and to unite them with a unity based in truth.

Another preliminary to action is to acknowledge that life is precious. From conception to death, life is precious. This is the first of our universal God-given freedoms, the freedom of life, our freedom to live. Without freedom to live there can be no freedom of speech, no freedom of thought, no creativity, no freedom of belief and no freedom of assembly, association, initiative or movement. In other words, in another preliminary to action we must acknowledge that freedom to live is essential. In another preliminary to action we must acknowledge that in our actions honesty is vital. Regarding the Bondi massacre, honesty starts with responsibility, because parliament has failed to hold government sufficiently accountable to spur the government to take action that would have or likely could have avoided the massacre. As a senator in federal parliament could I have done more to hold the government accountable—I asked myself that—to spur the government to confront Islam's beachhead in our country? For those upset with my comments, I quote from evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins:

Something you can convert to is not a race. A statement of simple fact is not bigotry.

Truth is important. Responsibility is a key to leadership that needs to be provided for all Australians and especially for families of the murdered. A true leader takes responsibility for failures like the failures and lapses leading to Bondi, rapidly investigates using a genuine royal commission with terms of reference that ensure truth is established and then, based on data and facts unearthed, leads changes in governance, all to protect people, not to punish or control people, apart from those responsible for lapses in doing their duty—only to protect people. I know two quotes from everyday Australians on my social media posts:

Social cohesion doesn't occur under social coercion.

…

Anyone who wants to ban free speech has a lot to hide.

A real leader doesn't weaken the people he or she leads; they strengthen people. A real leader doesn't take resources from his political opponents; they strengthen their opponents, because stronger opponents strengthen governments—governments that care. A real leader calls an inquiry with adequate power to get to the root causes and to then recommend answers. All this, with a clarity of understanding, leads to prevention of future recurrence.

I divert briefly from Bondi to Australia's largest domestic mass murder, the Port Arthur massacre, which killed 35 people in beautiful Tasmania on 28 April 1996, because there's at least one important lesson there. Then prime minister John Howard illegally cancelled the request for an inquiry into the 35 deaths—an action that failed and betrayed the victims and their families. It betrayed every Australian. Had the lessons of Port Arthur been explored through a royal commission or through a proper inquest, we may not be where we are today. Our obligation lies not only to those Australians in mourning for what this country has lost in the last month but also to those Australians yet to be born. It may take many years for the circumstances of Bondi to recur, yet they will recur unless action is taken now.

Prime ministers are elected in a vote of the party caucus. Leaders, though, are not appointed; they are self-emergent as a result of their successful, sincere and honest handling of challenges and incidents that affect the people they supposedly lead. On Sunday 21 December at Bondi's 'Light over darkness' vigil at the memorial to terrorist attack victims, the current Prime Minister was loudly and emphatically booed. That booing reverberated across Australia. It was an emblematic verdict from the people on the Prime Minister's performance in response to Bondi because, in Bondi's aftermath, our country has not seen leadership. Once the absence of leadership became obvious and open, the government tried to rehabilitate a tarnished image with branding. Branding, though, is not leadership. It is dangerous because it's a vacuum. The best way to honour the Bondi massacre victims is to respect them, to be honest, to be open and to enable a fair dinkum royal commission to get the data and facts truthfully, and then, based on the data and facts, to change systems and adjust leadership behaviours.

Why have there been no prosecutions under Commonwealth hate crimes legislation that Labor introduced in 2010 and 2025? If the place of worship of the radicals that committed this offence could be closed under existing powers straight after the offence, why can't others? If they can deport tennis players and Nazis under existing laws, why have they not deported Islamic hate preachers?

As a way of honouring the Bondi victims, I pledge to fulfil my role as a senator and as a servant to the people of Queensland and Australia. I will fulfil my role under our Westminster system of government to ensure that Australians can again feel safe and secure and to hold government—regardless of who's in power—accountable in its primary role of ensuring every Australian's security and safety. We must do more to end Islamic extremism, the world's large perpetrator of terrorism. The most appropriate way to honour the Bondi victims is to end Islamic extremism and terrorism in Australia. The Bondi victims, at the very least, deserve honest leadership—leadership that takes responsibility for ensuring the safety and security of all of their, and our, fellow Australians.

I will now convey some condolence remarks from Senator Pauline Hanson. I'm proud to be able to deliver them for Pauline. She says:

Due to my suspension from this chamber my colleague Senator Malcolm Roberts has kindly agreed to deliver my Bondi condolence speech.

On December 14th 2025, just 10 days out from celebrating Christmas our nation was struck the cruellest blow with the terrorist attack at Bondi beach that claimed the lives of 15 innocent Australians.

Many more faced hospitalisation from injuries they incurred but countless more will carry scars for the rest of their lives from the horrors they witnessed on that fateful day.

To all of those who lost family, loved ones, or a dear close friend never forget your fellow Australians, including myself, share your grief.

Our heart goes out to you, your loss is our loss, your hurt and pain is our hurt and pain.

Your fellow Australians and many throughout the world share your grief and pain, you are not alone.

Matilda was the youngest to lose her life, a beautiful young girl only 10 years of age.

Why? What could she have possibly done to warrant her life being cut short at such a young age?

Nothing! She was celebrating the Jewish festival Hanukkah with family, held at the iconic setting, Bondi beach.

Thousands of Australians attended as they do every year, only this Hanukkah ended in a massacre.

The carnage Australians witnessed as it was happening on their devices, left most of us stunned, disbelieving and in horror that this could possibly be happening in our country.

The hate and evil delivered on that day must be stamped out.

I question myself constantly what has happened to our country when two men, father and son, are seen to be deliberately firing rifles with precision and determination to kill or maim as many people as they can.

The heroic actions of Ahmed Al-Ahmed in wrestling the gun from one of the men while he was firing at people, has been praised for his bravery, from all around the world.

Also the heroic actions of the couple Boris and Sofia Gurman who saw a man taking the rifle out of his car, tried to take it from him, but tragically lost their precious lives.

There were countless heroes, including the amazing first responders, on that tragic day—

I pause here to convey Pauline's deep appreciation, respect and admiration for the first responders who actually ran towards the firing—

many trying to help and protect the young and not so young.

Australians selfless to their own safety only to put themselves in danger to save others—

Pauline says thankyou—

This is a tragedy, a scar that will be in our history books for eternity.

Mistakes have been made, but lessons must be learnt. We cannot just move on and thank our lucky stars that it was not one of us or one of our loved ones.

History repeats itself, don't let the death of 15 innocent Australians and the suffering of many more be swept under the carpet and forgotten.

We are very fortunate to live in such a beautiful country, that many from around the world look on in envy.

This tragedy has been a wake-up call for a lot of people. Never take your freedom, peace or harmony for granted, there are those wanting to spill their hate or evil, if we let them.

Our current and previous governments have a lot to answer for, but that is for another day.

I and my One Nation colleagues will continue to fight for your right to freedom and safety not only for you but for future generations.

A country you can be proud to live in and call home.

My deepest condolences. Senator Pauline Hanson.

Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise, with colleagues today, with a very heavy heart. On 14 December last year, 15 innocent people were murdered at a community event at Bondi Beach—15 lives stolen in an act of terrorism directed at Australians of Jewish faith who had gathered peacefully to mark the first night of Hanukkah, a major celebration on the Jewish calendar. It is a day that has carved itself into the memory of our nation—a day of horror, grief and profound shock. That one day has left an indelible scar on our nation.

In the week since, I have met with members of Australia's Jewish community who are now living with the aftermath of this attack. I listened as they spoke about how they are feeling right now. What I heard was grief layered with fear and fear layered with disbelief. People told me that they feel shaken in a way they never expected to feel in Australia. Some spoke about looking over their shoulder when attending their synagogue. Others spoke about hesitating before wearing symbols of their faith in public. Parents spoke about the conversations that they are now having with their children—conversations they could not have imagined they'd ever need to have.

That is the cost of the shocking growth that we have seen in antisemitism in this country in the last two years. Those who were murdered were not statistics; they were Australians gathered in our society and in our community. They are Australians celebrating faith, tradition and belonging. They are Australians who are parents, grandparents, children and friends. They are a part of families, part of their community and part of our great country called Australia. Their faith is felt deeply by a Jewish community in mourning and by a nation that prides itself on multiculturism and mutual respect.

What happened was not random. It was an act of Islamist terrorism inspired by ISIS. It was driven by hatred, and it targeted people because they were simply Jewish. Multiculturalism is not just about food, festivals or symbols; it is about belonging. It means that people of every faith and background can live openly, gather freely and participate fully in our way of life, the Australian way of life, without fear.

When one community is under attack and targeted, multiculturalism itself is also under attack and targeted. What is important to understand is this: antisemitism is real. It is estimated to have grown over threefold in the last two years, and it has real consequences. When it is ignored or minimised, it creates fear, and those who seek to undermine our multiculturalism are emboldened. And, when it escalates, it destroys lives. In its milder forms, antisemitism creates a two-tier society. There are those who are free to celebrate their faith and ethnicity and those who are afraid to celebrate it. That goes to the heart of multiculturalism here in Australia. Antisemitism today is too often disguised by being behind some other language or popular social causes, but, whatever the excuses or the language games, the truth is that what we have witnessed in this country since October 7 is simply a new evolution of the world's oldest hate. The rationale might be different, but, sadly, the targets are the same. Condemning antisemitism must be unequivocal, not just in moments of tragedy, but in our laws, our institutions and our leadership—each and every senator in this place plays a role in that.

I want to acknowledge the extraordinary courage shown that day. There are the police officers who ran towards danger, the first responders who treated the injured and the doctors, nurses and hospital staff who worked tirelessly to save lives. I also want to honour the everyday Australians who acted instinctively to help others. They are heroes, Aussie heroes, who stepped forward in a moment of terror. They put themselves in danger to protect others, the children and the elderly, before themselves. Their courage reminds us that, even in the darkest moments, humanity endures—the very best of the Australian spirit.

My thoughts are also with those who survived. There are those who are injured physically and those carrying psychological scars that will take time, care and ongoing support to heal. And there are those in the wider Jewish community who have been made to reassess their safety in this country. That should never have happened.

The moment before us and the moment that we are here for today reaffirms a fundamental truth at the heart of multicultural Australia: Jewish Australians have the right to live, work, worship and learn in a peaceful and safe way within our communities and within our societies. They have the right to gather openly as a community, to participate fully in public life and to be proud of who they are and the immense contribution that they have made to our great nation. Australia is stronger because of multiculturalism, and we are also stronger because of our Jewish community.

Moments like this test us. We can allow fear and hatred to divide us, or we can stand together and stare it down. We can retreat from multiculturalism, or we can reaffirm it, as a shared commitment to one another. Today, the Australian Senate stands together. We honour those who have lost their lives at Bondi by refusing to look away, by standing with those who are hurting and by committing ourselves to confronting antisemitism and hatred wherever they appear. But we must also recognise that Australians look to their parliament, to this place, not only for words or sympathy but for guidance, for leadership and for action in turning back a tide of antisemitism that has seeped into too many corners of Australian life.

May the memory of those who were murdered be a blessing, and may their families find strength in knowing that a nation mourns with them and that their parliament is resolved to ensure hatred has no place in our country.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Special Minister of State) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To the families and friends of the 15 victims of the antisemitic massacre, I am sorry. I am sorry for your loss, and I am sorry that Australia failed you. To those who ran towards gunshots, to those who shielded, to those who helped, to the first responders, to those who tackled and to those who stood up, I say thank you.

A year ago this week, I was in Poland, paying my respects at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp because, 81 years ago, the world vowed, 'Never again,' following the Holocaust. Sadly, 'never again' has become the Bondi massacre, one of the largest massacres of Jews since the Holocaust. Since October 7, Jewish Australians have suffered under repressive antisemitism, aided by rampant Islamic extremism. The Bondi massacre didn't start at 6.42 pm on Sunday 14 December; the Bondi massacre started on the steps of the Sydney Opera House when a baying Islamic extremist mob called out for Jews: 'F the Jews,' 'Gas the Jews,' 'Where's the Jews?'

While the massacre is shocking and horrible and distressing, sadly, it is not surprising. When people, including in this chamber, were shouting and spreading the message, 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,' or 'Globalise the intifada,' what did they think was going to happen? Where'd they think this was going to end? Since October 7, Jewish schools have had to have high fences and security guards. Jewish students don't wear their school uniforms on public transport. Universities have become incubators of antisemitism. Jewish businesses are being vandalised and boycotted. Jewish synagogues are being firebombed. Jewish homes are being vandalised. Jewish Australians feel safer in Israel, a country that is effectively in a permanent state of war, than they do in the so-called liberal democracy that is Australia. That is a national shame upon everybody in this chamber and every single Australian.

Yesterday I went to Bondi, as many have. Life goes on, as it should—as it must. There was a veneer of normality over that deep well of horror. So it's up to all of us to keep alive the memory of those who were murdered by stamping out the evil twins of antisemitism and Islamic extremism.

Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to offer my condolences to the Jewish community following the horror of last month's antisemitic terrorist attack. On that warm December evening, Jewish Sydneysiders had gathered in joy on Bondi Beach, on the lands of the Birrabirragal of the Eora nation and the nearby clans of the Gadigal and Bidjigal people. They met at Bondi Beach, a location so many Australians associate with summer fun, to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah with food, music, petting zoos and face paints. But those innocent celebrations were shattered by horror, an act of hate and of darkness targeting the festival of lights—murderous, antisemitic violence targeting those celebrating simply for being Jewish.

I rise to remember those who were taken: Edith Brutman, Dan Elkayam, Boris and Sofia Gurman, Alexander Kleytman, Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, Peter Meagher, Reuven Morrison, Marika Pogany, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, Adam Smyth, Boris Tetleroyd, Tania Tretiak, Tibor Weitzen and the youngest victim, beautiful 10-year-old Matilda. Since the attack, we've seen the faces and heard the stories of each of those 15 people—cherished granddaughters and sons, sisters and brothers, wives and husbands, parents and grandparents. Each smiling photograph is a reminder that they were members of families and communities and that each loss will leave a void that simply cannot be filled. I offer my sincere condolences to the families, friends and communities of those grieving. I offer my prayers for recovery to the dozens injured and their loved ones.

As Minister for Indigenous Australians and as a Yanyuwa Garrwa woman, I offer a particular condolence to our Jewish community. The pain of violence committed against innocent people, targeted purely for their identity, is something First Nations Australians have felt all too often throughout Australian history and still continue to feel in various forms. The intergenerational harm caused by that violence and loss is a devastating reality for a community. I grieve with our Jewish brothers and sisters, and I stand in solidarity with them.

The message of Hanukkah is the triumph of light over darkness. In that spirit, I also honour the extraordinary acts of light that shone in that awful darkness. They are stories of extraordinary selflessness and courage to save lives: Boris and Sofia Gurman and Reuven Morrison, who bravely tried to stop the attackers but made the ultimate sacrifice; Ahmed al-Ahmed, who confronted and disarmed one of the shooters and was shot himself; 14-year-old Chaya, shot while shielding two young children; mother-of-two Jessica, who threw herself over three-year-old Gigi, a child she didn't know, to protect her from bullets; policeman Jack Hibbert, who was shot in the head and chest while getting people to safety; Constable Scott Dyson, who managed to return fire despite critical injuries; and their fellow police officers, emergency services workers, health workers, lifeguards and everyday Australians who bravely sprang into action to save lives in the face of danger.

The triumph of light over darkness—that central theme of Hanukkah—is undoubtedly what we saw at Bondi. It's incumbent on all of us to ensure that the light continues to drive out darkness. This is a time for unity, not division. It is a time to stand together to emanate that light.

We should follow the gracious example of those who lost loved ones in this tragedy—like Ms Lina Chernykh, little Matilda's aunt, who said, 'Take your anger and just spread happiness and love and memory for my lovely niece,' and also Rabbi Zalman Lewis, the late Rabbi Schlanger's cousin, who reminded us: 'The message of Hanukkah is of optimism, of hope, of a good world, of a kind world. The world is a good place, and it's filled with billions of good people. We have to believe that the billions of good acts can dispel the darkness, and that is what Eli would be saying.'

On Thursday, all Australians will observe a national day of mourning for the Bondi victims, and I'll be remembering Rabbi Schlanger, remembering little Matilda, and remembering the brave Gurmans and Mr Morrison and all of those lost in this attack. On behalf of the people of the Northern Territory, we do send our sincere love and condolences. And I'll be remembering that light must always triumph over darkness. Yo, bauji barra.

Kerrynne Liddle (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to 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.

Sean Bell (NSW, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today with a heavy heart to offer One Nation's sincerest and deepest condolences following the radical Islamist terrorist attack at Bondi.

Before I begin, I will address that Senator Hanson is not here to speak to this motion because I know she deeply wishes she could be here. Senator Hanson, as leader of One Nation, would ordinarily be the first in this chamber to speak on behalf of One Nation. If she were in this chamber, she would be the first to stand in solidarity with Australia's Jewish community and to condemn the evil that has been done. However, she is currently excluded from the Senate for raising the very serious threats facing every Australian community. It is an evil that has been exposed that permeates in Australia today, an evil that was directed towards Jewish Australians at Bondi Beach 36 days ago: the evil of radical Islamic terrorism. It is an evil that took the lives of 15 innocent Australians. It is an evil that our Prime Minister is refusing to name. So I say directly to the Jewish community, Pauline Hanson stands with you. She has your back. One Nation's door remains open to you not only in the immediate days of grief but in the longer months of recovery and the hard work of restoring confidence and safety.

Today is first and foremost a moment for mourning. To the families who have lost loved ones, there is no speech that can ease the weight that you carry. There are no words that restore what has been taken. There is only the truth that your loved ones mattered, their lives were precious and that this nation grieves with you.

To those who were injured and to those who witnessed scenes that will never leave them, we acknowledge the trauma that terrorism inflicts. It does not end at the scene; it follows people home. It returns in the quiet moments. It changes the way regular, everyday places feel. This parliament must not forget you when the vigils end and the media's attention shifts elsewhere.

We also acknowledge the extraordinary courage and decency shown in the middle of this horror—those unarmed civilians who ran towards danger, our first responders and the everyday Australians who help shield strangers instinctively, without hesitation and without regard for their own lives or personal safety.

This act of radical Islamic terrorism leaves a distinct wound for Australia's Jewish community because it struck at a moment that should have been defined by family, faith and light. Hanukkah is a festival of light. It is festival to celebrate identity, faith and the collective courage of the Jewish people. It should have been a safe, joyful gathering, a community celebration by the sea. Instead, it was turned into a scene of terror and grief.

To the Jewish community in Australia, particularly those in and around Bondi, One Nation stands with you. We see your grief. We recognise the fear that follows an attack like this, and we affirm, without qualification, that Jewish Australians have the right to live openly, safely and proudly in this country without intimidation and without threat. No Australian should have to calculate a risk to their lives or their safety before attending a community event. No parent should have to wonder whether a celebration is safe for their children to attend. This is not acceptable, and it must never become normal.

Today we grieve and we honour 15 victims whose lives were taken. They were not a headline. They were not a statistic. They were people with names, families, histories, hopes and futures that have been stolen. Each of these lives mattered. Each one leaves a space that cannot be filled. We hold each of them in our hearts and we hold their families in our prayers.

Jewish Australians have contributed immeasurably to our national life. You have built businesses, served in medicine and law, enriched culture and scholarship, strengthened civil society and helped shape the Australia that we are proud of. And you have done so while carrying a history that makes the threat of antisemitism especially frightening and especially personal. So let me say this without hesitation: you belong here. Your right to gather, to worship, to celebrate, to live openly and proudly as Jews in Australia is not negotiable. It's not conditional. It's not something granted by the goodwill of others. It is your right as Australians.

Australians of many backgrounds have stood with the Jewish community after this attack, and we acknowledge and respect that solidarity. But we cannot respond to a radical Islamic terrorism with soft language or comfortable evasions. We cannot protect communities if we will not confront the drivers of this violence: radicalisation, indoctrination and the organised spread of an extremist Islamic ideology that claims this violence is righteous—because this was not a random attack; it was terrorism animated by an extremist worldview that treats civilians as legitimate targets and treats Jewish life as something to intimidate and drive from public spaces.

Radical Islamists sought to terrorise a community and send a message of fear. One Nation condemns, without reservation, this violent ideology that preaches extremism, glorifies terror and incites religious violence in our home. We condemn the ideological network that seeks to 'globalise the intifada', celebrate violence and encourage sedition and hostility towards Australians living peacefully in our own country. When violence is tolerated, excused or romanticised, it becomes permission, it becomes recruitment, it becomes actions and, across time, when it isn't named, called out or confronted, it festers until it chooses the terms of engagement.

If you refuse to name the causes of antisemitism and refuse to name the ideology driving it—radical Islamic extremism and radical left-wing agendas—you are not being neutral; you are giving it room to grow. When a group of thugs stands on the steps of the Opera House and chants, 'Gas the Jews,' you must confront it. When firebombs are thrown at synagogues by thugs acting on behalf of a radical Islamic foreign power, we must take action. And, when protesters march in our streets calling for a globalised intifada, we must deal with them. But we have not seen any of this done in a timely fashion by the Albanese Labor government. What we have seen is this government call people who demand action at the time—they called them alarmist; they even called them racist. History is blunt about what happens when warnings about these dangers are treated as alarmist. A threat doesn't become less real because people find it awkward to say out loud. In 1963, Winston Churchill gave a warning about delay in confronting extremism, and it is as relevant today as it was then. The era of procrastination, of half measures, of soothing and baffling expedience, of delays is coming to its close. In its place, we are entering a period of consequences. And, on 14 December, we saw the consequences of this Labor government's inaction.

So we will stand with the Jewish community. We will stand with you as you mourn, as you rebuild and as you seek reassurance that Australia remains a place where Jewish people can gather freely, worship freely and celebrate freely. We will insist that the government and institutions focus on prevention, identifying Islamic extremist radicalisation early, disrupting networks that promote violence, enforcing our existing laws and ensuring our Border Force, law enforcement and security agencies have the resources and support they need to stop those who hold radical Islamic beliefs from coming to Australia; deport those who share these dangerous, violent beliefs from Australia; and stop future attacks before they occur. And we will speak plainly about the need to confront the Islamist extremist recruitment and incitement that is taking place in our communities and the need to stamp it out, because the safety of our own people matters more than any hurt feelings, cultural tensions or political games that may be going on. So we say today with sorrow but with steel, 'We will confront it, we will disrupt it, we will drive it back and we will not allow extremists to set the boundaries of Australian life.'

To the families who have lost: we cannot remove your grief, but we can honour your loved ones by refusing to forget them, by refusing to excuse what happened and by doing the hard work required to prevent another family from receiving the same awful news. To the Jewish community: you are not alone. You are not expected to carry this quietly. You have allies in this country and you have an open door with One Nation as you navigate the path forward. May God comfort the grieving, heal the injured and strengthen our nation.

Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 14 December, the first evening of Hanukkah, Australia's soul broke, with 15 victims that, in the space of six minutes, were taken from their families, from their communities and from all of us forever. And it still aches as we stand here in grief and unity to mourn the victims.

Each life lost was an unthinkable tragedy. From Alex Kleytman, who survived the Holocaust as a young child, to Matilda, a young child herself, whose image stays with me and with many others—just a young girl, sitting with her sister, petting a lamb, face painted and smiling from ear to ear. Australia and this parliament will remember each of the victims—their names, their faces, the love that their families and friends felt in their presence because of their generosity and their big heartedness. This is what we should remember.

The victims taken from us at Bondi will be etched into Australia's history forevermore, because what occurred on 14 December, the devastating terrorist attack at Bondi Beach, was the purest act of evil. What should have been a joyous celebration of faith and light ended in a nightmare from which these victims' families will sadly never wake. Cowards committed a targeted, antisemitic attack on Jewish Australians, and an attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every single Australian, because there is no place for hate, violence and terrorism in our nation.

My thoughts have been filled every day since with the people impacted by this event, particularly the loved ones of those who died and those who were injured. But, in the darkest moments, we see the greatest courage and compassion from everyday Australians. From the second the first shot was fired, we saw heroes, like Ahmed al-Ahmed, the police and surf lifesavers, who so courageously fought back, running barefoot across the sand towards the sound of gunfire to tend to the wounded—something no ordinary Australian expects to do on a Sunday afternoon nor is trained for. But they did it anyway to protect their fellow Australians. Doctors, nurses, paramedics and ambos dropped what they were doing and ran to work to transport and treat the wounded, and, in the hours and days after the attack, we saw Australians across the country lined up to give blood, because hate is not Australian. Mateship, camaraderie and a willingness to do your bit and help out where you can in a crisis—that's what Australian unity is about. We thank every single hero for their acts of bravery on that day. They saved countless lives, and their kindness endures.

Jewish Australians should never live in fear, and that is why we are dedicating every resource required to make sure not only that they feel safe and protected but that they are safe and protected. We recognise that this is an incredibly tough time for the Jewish community across the country, and I want to acknowledge a Rabbi Ari Rubin and the Chabad of North Queensland, or the 'Chabad of the Great Barrier Reef' as it is sometimes called. He has comforted our Jewish Australians across North Queensland, in Cairns, Townsville and even down in Mackay.

Rabbi Ari is the personification of light. I've known him for many years. He has invited me many times to celebrations and given me the chance to speak. He personifies what it means for light to conquer over darkness. He held a vigil, attended by more than 400 people, in Cairns. We know there's not a single community that was not affected, and that did not grieve, but on that day people from all over the Cairns community came together to support their Jewish friends. Jewish Australians should know that we stand with them, that this parliament stands with them, just as every Australian stands with them today and every single day going forward.

Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today alongside my colleagues, with a very heavy heart, to support this motion. I rise to remember the 15 innocent lives that were taken from us far too soon: Boris and Sofia Gurman; Rabbi Eli Schlanger; Edith Brutman; Boris Tetleroyd; Adam Smyth; Marika Pogany; Dan Elkayam; Peter Meagher; Tibor Weitzen; Reuven Morrison; Rabbi Yaakov Levitan; Alexander Kleytman; Tania Tretiak; and the beautiful Matilda. We mourn these lives lost, and we stand with every family whose world was shattered at the hands of hatred.

What unfolded at Bondi on 14 December was a terrorist attack, a hate fuelled attack driven by radical Islamic ideology. Families who had gathered to enjoy this special occasion of Hanukkah, children who had come to play and friends who had met to share an afternoon together suddenly found themselves confronted with unimaginable horror. And yet, as we reflect on this tragedy, we remember the meaning of Hanukkah—the festival that speaks of dedication and light prevailing over darkness. So, too, we must stand united against violence and hatred and safeguard the foundational beliefs on which Australia was built.

We also witnessed extraordinary courage of everyday Australians, civilians, police officers and first responders. They shielded strangers, aided the injured and ultimately neutralised the threats to prevent further loss of life. Their actions embodied the very best of our national character, courage, compassion and an unwavering commitment to protecting others. Bondi Beach is not just a stretch of sand; it's a symbolic location in Australian life. On that day, that tranquillity was snatched.

As we reflect on this tragedy, we must also confront the deeply troubling reality that has been growing in Australia, the unacceptable rise of antisemitism. Antisemitism has no place in Australia, and as political leaders we must be unequivocal. Antisemitism is an ancient hatred that must be confronted wherever it appears. It is a moral imperative. This is not a problem that will resolve itself. It requires national coordination, strong messages, moral clarity and, importantly, strong political leadership.

The Bondi Beach attack must be a turning point for Australia. We must ensure that no community, especially our Jewish community, in Australia feels abandoned or unprotected. We must reaffirm that every Australian, regardless of their faith, ethnicity or background, has the right to live without fear. As we honour the victims of this tragedy, we must also commit ourselves to building a safer, more cohesive nation. Our strength has always come from our unity. It is a nation where people come from every ethnic and cultural background and we recognise a shared identity and a shared future. Our anthem speaks of who we are joined together by a hope filled future. These aren't just lyrics; they speak to the heart of our nation. It is a nation strengthened by our unity, enriched by our diversity and spurred on by our shared commitment to its future.

Every Australian now has a role to play, and strong national leadership is essential to steer our nation back on course. That means educating our children on the beauty of our rich national history. It means supporting our police and bolstering our national security framework, it means confronting antisemitism and extremism in all its forms, and it means ensuring that the voices of vulnerable communities are heard, respected and acted upon.

There is a temptation in times like this to respond to such darkness with the same bitterness that it unleashes. But, as Romans chapter 12, verse 21 says:

Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

The good that our nation needs is the same good that we saw in response to the evil that we saw on 14 December—the good in Ahmed al-Ahmed, when he wrestled the gun from the armed terrorist; the good in Boris and Sofia Gurman, who also courageously attempted to do the same; the good in 14-year-old Chaya, who used her own body to shield two children from the attack; and the good that we have witnessed in the kindness and the strength shown by the Jewish and local Bondi community, who have redeemed that beautiful beach, attending in the days and the weeks after that terrible day. This is who we are as a nation—a nation of love and a nation of courage.

Today in this place we stand with the Jewish community. We condemn unequivocally antisemitism in all its forms, we honour the courage of those who responded, we acknowledge the grief of families whose lives will never be the same and we commit ourselves to ensuring that such a tragedy never happens again. We remember the 15 innocent lives lost. May their memory always be an incredible blessing.

Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My heart goes out to all the family and loved ones of those lost on 14 December, when we saw Australians, most of them from the Jewish community, being massacred by extremist violence—extremist violence, I may say, that was heinous, cruel and cowardly. I said at the time, in the days followed this awful atrocity, that words failed me. What words can you say to people who've lost loved ones to such a terrible act of violence? What I can do today is offer their families, their friends, their loved ones and, in fact, all of those impacted in the community—the locals at Bondi, the surf lifesavers, the first responders, the police and the Jewish community right around the country and indeed internationally—this: I can offer you my deepest sympathy and respect and love and compassion. I can offer you that. I know a lot of people in this chamber are feeling exactly the same way.

I was surprised at how long it took me to process this. I reflected on it at the time I had arrived back from an international flight. The morning after, I was at Melbourne airport, and I bumped into Mr Dreyfus, who was on his way to Sydney. We only had a few very brief words, and I offered him my condolences. I do want to reflect on what he said to me. He said to me, 'This is what we had feared might happen, or would happen.' So I do want to say today, very clearly, antisemitism in any form is completely unacceptable. Any kind of racial hatred is completely unacceptable and has to be condemned, and we have to find all sorts of ways to combat that. We have to throw the kitchen sink at this problem.

I struggled to process this because, like other Tasmanians, as we're very close to the 30th anniversary of the worst massacre in Australia's history at Port Arthur, I remember the deep distress and trauma and sorrow in my community when that happened. I also had personal connections to the Hoddle Street massacre. On many levels, it is really difficult to understand how two human beings—a father and a son too—could commit such a terrible crime. But we have to try and understand if we're going to stop it happening again.

I wanted to say two other things today. While I was trying to understand, like every other Australian, how this could happen, how two human beings could inflict such cruelty and horror, unspeakable horror, and fear on other human beings, I was also trying to understand why there were other people in our country and around the world who were exploiting this terrible tragedy. At a time of national distress and mourning and shock, within hours, disinformation was being spread like wildfire on social media. I'm not just talking about people talking bullshit on the internet; I'm talking about manufactured AI generated content on social media platforms. We can only guess the motivations of these people, trying to sow more fear, more hatred, more uncertainty, more anxiety and more confusion. We've got to get on top of this. This went on for weeks. Luckily, there have been some fact checkers out there working on this stuff, because it makes life hell for authorities and those who are trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together.

I was also asking myself how it was that other fellow politicians, within days of this tragedy, at a time of national distress, could be politicising this for their own political ends, blaming, simplifying this extremely difficult and complex problem that we all have to tackle, making the situation worse, in their own way spreading misinformation. Before we even had any facts about these two cold-blooded murderers, these two extremists, before we knew anything: 'It was the government's fault! It was the Prime Minister's fault! It was the Greens's fault!' Terrorism experts were saying, 'We will find out in due course what radicalised these two men'—and it was men, I'd like to point out. Funny how it's never women; it's always men. What radicalised these two men? Look at the Christchurch massacre; it took months to piece together the process that led to the radicalisation of a young Australian man, a Neo-Nazi, who took 51 lives in a mosque in Christchurch. Yet, no, the LNP didn't want to wait for answers; they were out there simplifying this debate, trying to control the narrative to suit their own political agendas. I was horrified—and, you know what, I reckon a lot of Australians were, too. It hasn't done them any good, but it's dangerous. It makes our life a lot more difficult if we are truly going to get to the bottom of how this happened and what was behind it.

If we really want to stop this happening again—and we owe that to the Jewish community, and we owe it to all Australians to protect them; that is the No. 1 role of government—then, please, take this seriously and put the bullshit politics aside and focus on what needs to be done—I withdraw that.

Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Whish-Wilson.

Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Focus on doing our job and getting to the bottom of this so that we can stop this happening again. We owe that to the Jewish community in Australia and to the families and loved ones who will be forever grieving because of this violence.

Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to offer my heartfelt condolences to the families and communities affected by this horrific attack in Bondi. I acknowledge those who lost their lives in this tragedy that should never have occurred—15 innocent lives lost and many more changed forever. This was an appalling act of antisemitism that marred what should have been a day of celebration for our Jewish community. Antisemitism has no place in Australia. Hatred has no place in Australia. Extremist violence and terror have no place in this country. My thoughts continue to be with the Jewish community in Bondi and beyond.

On 16 December, two days after the massacre, I made my way to Bondi. I went there to lay flowers, to grieve, to listen and to reflect. Hundreds of mourners were there to do the same. We gathered around the growing floral tribute at the pavilion. During that late afternoon, the spirit of the moment was solemn and respectful; I'll never forget it. Community members and leaders alike were sharing their grief. They were also sharing their thoughts on how to move forward.

I had the opportunity to listen to a man who addressed the growing crowd, and he had the full attention of those who gathered. He identified himself as the brother-in-law of one of the victims; it was Rabbi Mendel Kastel, brother-in-law of Rabbi Eli Schlanger. To lose a loved one in these circumstances is unimaginable. To then stand before your community and share that grief is courageous—and it was also inspiring. He began by saying that it was good that people had come to Bondi to gather in community. On behalf of his family, he thanked everyone for being there. But he also said that it wasn't enough. He said that, to counter the evil that had occurred on that day, we needed to commit to do good things in the world not just once but again and again. Being there together was a good act, he said, but he urged everyone to do more good after that day and every day. This is the task ahead of us all now: to do good, to grieve together, to reflect respectfully and to commit to act with these values at our core—values of kindness, community and goodness, values that must persevere in times of hardship like this.

As the Prime Minister has said, Australians have responded with the best of our national character by working together and looking after each other. That is a collective good, and we can continue to work together and look after one another in our everyday lives. We can continue to work together and look after each other in this parliament and around our nation, and it is in the spirit that I attended the first meeting of our antisemitism education taskforce last year. Our minister for education, Jason Clare, said recently that our education system is the most powerful force for good, and I couldn't agree more: teaching our children compassion, kindness and understanding; making sure they know the evils of antisemitism and never forget the tragedy of the Bondi massacre; and showing the next generation how to do good each and every day. I know this taskforce will help us do just that—instilling kindness, community and goodness in our early education centres, our schools and our universities so Australia's students can take those values and that knowledge into the world with them and do good things not just once but again and again.

My thoughts today and every day are with those who are still recovering. We stand with you during this difficult time, and I thank the first responders and the everyday Australians who showed strength and kindness in the face of such a confronting scene. Finally, to the Jewish community, to the Bondi community and to the friends and the families of victims I once again extend my deepest, heartfelt condolences, and I stand with you.

James Paterson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Every Australian will remember where they were when they first heard about Bondi, just like every American can tell you where they were on 9/11, just like every Israeli can remember where they were on 7 October. I was on the way to the Melbourne Chanukah event when the news first started filtering in. I'd been invited to help light the Hanukkiah to mark the first night of Hanukkah, as I've done for many years since I was first elected to the Senate. It is a beautiful, joyous event. It's always had a security presence and particularly so in the last two years, but it's remained a friendly, welcoming celebration where non-Jews like me are embraced as friends of the community. There's a religious side to it, but it's also a time when families in the community get together to mark the end of year and beginning of the holidays with face painting, rides, food and lollies. For the first time in two years many in the Australian Jewish community were beginning to feel cautiously optimistic. Some felt that the worst was surely behind them, that life was slowly returning to normal. They were still apprehensive about their security and safety but, with the return of the hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza, they hoped that things would gradually get better.

That sense of safety and security was totally shattered at Bondi. It is our solemn task now to rebuild it. This was an attack on the Jewish community first and foremost. The terrorists did not choose their location, their targets or their timing by accident. They were motivated by an Islamist ideology that at its core is about the hatred of Jews. But it was also an attack on Australia, on our way of life and on our values, and unless we recognise this and respond to it as the national civilisational crisis that it is, it will change our country forever, because what starts with the Jews never ends with the Jews. As Jonathan Freedland has argued, Jews are society's canary in the coalmine. Attacks on the Jewish community are not just morally repugnant in their own right; they are also a warning to everyone, because the enemy of Jews is also the enemy of Western civilisation. If a society becomes unsafe for Jews, it will very soon become unsafe for all of us. I don't want to live in a country that is not safe for my Jewish friends, and I don't want to see what we become if we allow that to happen.

Today we are dangerously close to that point. This debate today in the Senate is an important opportunity for us to express our deepest condolences to the victims, to their families and to the Jewish community for what they have suffered; to recognise the heroes like Ahmed al-Ahmed, Reuven Morrison and Boris and Sofia Gurman, who put themselves in danger selflessly to protect others; and to mourn this national tragedy. But they all also deserve much more than that. They deserve honesty, they deserve the truth, and they deserve action.

Over the last two years, as antisemitism has exploded in this country, there have been many well-meaning but, frankly, hollow things said about it—like, for example, 'Antisemitism has no place in Australia,' or, 'This is not who we are,' or even, 'We won't let it find a foothold here.' I wish that were true, but, sadly, we know it is not. There has been a place for antisemitism in this country over the last two years. It is who some of us are, and it has been allowed to gain much more than just a foothold in Australia. Until we recognise that, we will be utterly hopeless in confronting and solving this problem.

Antisemitism is an ancient hatred. It is the oldest and deepest sickness of humanity, and it has been a feature at the margins of Australian life throughout our history. But it has been turbocharged and emboldened in this country over the last two years in a way we have never seen before. A murderous Islamist ideology and other dangerous forms of antisemitism, like Neo-Nazism, have been empowered and inspired by events overseas and a permissive environment at home to spread their toxic ideas.

Jews who can trace their ancestors back to the First Fleet and others who sought and achieved refuge here after the Holocaust say that they have never felt less safe or less welcome in this country than they do today. Shabbat dinner-table conversations about leaving Australia, which have been had in many Jewish families over the last two years, have resumed. Of the many tragedies of Bondi, one of the worst is that many in the Jewish community were not surprised. Shocked? Yes, but not surprised. It is the culmination of their worst fears over the last two years. It is what many had warned would happen if antisemitism continued to be allowed to fester.

In a perverse and terrible way, they feel vindicated—vindicated and outraged that their warnings weren't heeded, that greater action was not taken, that the cancer of antisemitism wasn't recognised as the emergency that it was from the very start. They are angry that other terrible events, like the firebombing of the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne, which we now know was an act of state sponsored terror by the Islamic Republic of Iran, weren't a sufficient wake-up call for our country to take this seriously. They are furious that their reasonable requests that the law should be enforced, that there should be consequences for actions, that the time for platitudes was over have been ignored. They are exhausted that, even after Bondi, while grieving our worst-ever terrorist atrocity, they had to fight so hard and so long to get the bare minimum that they and every Australian deserve: a proper national inquiry to get to the bottom of not just this tragedy but everything which has led us to this moment.

The debate about whether or not to have a royal commission into Bondi was unedifying. But one good thing did come out of it. The groundswell of non-Jewish Australians standing up and demanding action was heartening and, frankly, overdue, because, at many points over the last two years, whether at the opera house, the harbour bridge or in our cities on most weekends, where violence was incited against our fellow Jewish Australians and terrorism was glorified, many Jews felt alone and abandoned. After Bondi, Australians from all walks of life said, 'Enough is enough.' In their thousands, prominent Australians from the law, the business community, sport, medicine, religious leaders and many other professions rallied in support of the Jewish community. Now we must harness this goodwill into action—action from this parliament, action from the government and action from our businesses, our universities, our arts and cultural institutions, and our sporting codes.

All of us have a responsibility to stop tolerating the intolerable. We owe that to the victims and the families of Bondi, and we owe that to ourselves, because nothing less than our national character is at stake.

Tyron Whitten (WA, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to express my deepest condolences to the innocent victims of the Bondi shooting and their families, especially those that lost their lives during this horrendous violent attack. All Australians grieve with the families of those that have lost their loved ones, because nobody in this country should wake up thinking that today they might lose someone to targeted, hateful terrorism. Bondi Beach, a shining icon of Australian life, has been forever dulled. The only light there now is the memory of those who lost their lives on 14 December. I will never forget visiting the site in the aftermath of the attack. Words cannot describe the sorrow and the grief that hung in the air. It is a stark and brutal reminder of just how fragile our peaceful way of life is in Australia.

Our beautiful country was built on the idea that all life is sacred. It is an ideal that Australian people hold dear. Many brave young men and women have gone to war and made the ultimate sacrifice for these ideals, for our freedom, but we have neglected our duty to keep the people of Australia safe from those who hold ideologies that would see the taking of another life as righteous. Those that hold these views have no place in our society yet they have been allowed in.

Radical Islam has been tolerated for too long in this country and it is an affront to the victims of this attack but it is not mentioned once in the bills that were proposed to be introduced in response to this tragedy. It was not gun control that caused this, not a lack of hate speech laws that caused this; it was radical Islamists, people who had their heart set on the elimination of Jewish Australians, peaceful Australians. But they not come to the point of bloodshed of their own accord. This ideology is taught by the extreme sects of Islam all over the world and, sadly, now here in Australia. We've seen them chanting in the streets, in front of the Opera House, on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, threatening to kill Jews, to destroy the West. Our suicidal empathy has blinded our leaders to the dangers that were hiding in plain sight, who, instead of putting their finger on the problem, have used this crisis to try and limit freedom of speech.

The cure to bad speech is more and better speech. Australians have had enough of giving up their rights. They want action, not more laws. Now, we get called racist, right-wing extremists and divisive, not because we are any of these things but because we have the courage to say what so many Australians are thinking, to stand up against evil. We will not apologise for fighting for Australians, no matter where you are from and no matter the colour of your skin. The only condition to being Australian is loving this country and its people above all else. That is it. If you can't do that, you are the problem. You are the division. You are one not honouring the people who lost lives at Bondi or the brave men and women who serve and give their lives and whose shoulders we stand on today, who gave us this beautiful country and magical way of life.

There are too many people in this place who are more interested in what is happening in another country than in their own. To the victims of this atrocity, the dead and the scarred, I am so sorry. More should have been done before it ever got to this point. The tacit endorsement of these extremist ideologies can only lead to what we've seen unfold.

To the families left behind, your lives have been touched by true malice, and I'm certain you will be changed forever. I pray your faith will carry you through. While nothing that anyone in here can say will bring back those that you love, please know that I am truly sorry for your loss and that I will fight to ensure that those who seek to hurt good Australians are exposed before it is too late.

This country will not waver. We will not be cowed by terrorism. This is a country that will fight to defend its people against those that wish to harm us. We have the tools at hand; we have only to find the will to act.

The victims of Bondi will never be forgotten, nor will this stain on the Australia that we hold dear. For the sake of our children and our grandchildren, let us never forget the lessons learned. Let us never forget those Australians.

Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too rise today to mourn the innocent lives lost during the terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community at Bondi Beach on the Sunday 14 December 2025. I extend my deepest sympathies to the families, friends and loved ones of all victims.

I wish to convey thanks and gratitude for the bravery shown by those who risked their lives in aiding the victims—from the first responders, who displayed incredible courage, to the local community groups, members of surf lifesaving clubs and members of the public. I offer my thanks for the courage and selflessness of the Australians who, in a moment of incredible danger, did not hesitate to run to the aid of strangers.

I recognise the astonishing bravery of Ahmed al-Ahmed, who disarmed one of the gunmen, as well as those who risked their lives to help others. Their actions saved lives and reminded us of the very best of the Australian character.

For Jewish Australians, 14 December is a day ordinarily marked by peace and a chance to reaffirm their faith's message of light over darkness. An act of violent Jewish hate has instead left a devastating mark on the fabric of our country. Fifteen innocent lives were cruelly stolen from us that terrible evening. We mourn the lives they lived, the love they gave and the good they shared with us and the world.

Australians will never forget those 15 victims from the deadliest terror attack on our soil, just as we must never forget in the days and weeks that followed the unity, love, courage and kindness the Australian people have shown in rising above those who seek to divide us. This was on full display at St Stephen's Cathedral in Brisbane on Tuesday 20 December, when hundreds of Queenslanders gathered for a mass of peace. There we united to pray for peace and unity, to wrap our arms around the Jewish community and to reject hatred and antisemitism in all forms.

I acknowledge the significant contributions the Jewish community makes in my home state of Queensland. In November, the Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies and the community celebrated the 160th anniversary of Jewish life in Queensland. Since the establishment of Brisbane's first official congregation in 1865, Queensland's Jewish community has made lasting contributions in commerce, medicine, law, arts, education, philanthropy, sport and public service. Jewish Queenslanders have enriched our civic and social life and display an ongoing commitment to building a diverse, inclusive and vibrant state—as the Jewish community has right across the country.

I stand here today in solidarity with our Jewish community and commit to supporting them through the months and years ahead as we confront antisemitism across the country.

To the Jewish community today and always: you do not stand alone; we stand with you. You have every right to worship, work, study and live in peace and safety in our country. Our nation is stronger because of you, and it is this strength and unity that will guide us through these difficult times. May the memories of those who have been lost be a blessing, and may our commitment to unity, compassion and justice honour their lives always. As always, light will win.

Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this condolence motion. In doing so, I rise to tender my heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the 15 innocent people murdered on Bondi Beach, to acknowledge the trauma of all of those impacted, to honour the bravery and courage of the police officers, the first responders and the everyday Australians who ran towards danger to help their fellow Australians, and to stand in solidarity with our Jewish Australian community who have given so much to our beautiful country.

Since the events of 7 October 2023, I have spoken in this place about the explosion of antisemitism, including in my home state of Queensland. I've sought to put on the record of this Australian parliament the fears and concerns of the Jewish community in Queensland. I've sought to express those fears and concerns in their own words and place those words on the record of this Australian Senate. So, in this contribution on this condolence motion, I seek also to quote the words of our Jewish community. I'll quote the words of a Jewish community leader, the words of one of the innocent victims and the words of his daughter. Following the Bondi atrocity, it is important to make sure that those words are placed on the record.

One week after the attack, there was a Queensland solidarity event convened by the Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies. I want to place on the record the words of Mr Jason Steinberg, President of the Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies. Again, these are his words, the words of the Jewish community:

Before I share my reflections, I want to let you know how difficult it is to stand here. I feel a profound responsibility to find the right words, even when my heart is broken and feels empty and my eyes are full of tears.

The 14th of December, the first night of Chanukah, changed the lives of Australian Jews forever. The loss of 15 innocent, incredible people is a wound so deep that we wonder if we will ever truly recover. And, to be honest we are holding our breath to see what happens next.

The event has also changed Australians forever.

To our non-Jewish friends: every flower, every text, every hug and shared tear has meant so much to us—thank you.

Antisemitism is a social virus that has attacked civilisations for more than 3,000 years. We know its worst expression was the Holocaust. But we must remember: the Holocaust did not start with the Final Solution in 1941. It started with words, slogans, and street marches in the early 1930s.

History is our best teacher. Since the horrific Hamas attacks of October 7 2023 killing innocent Jews, Australian Jews—thousands of kilometers from a conflict in the Middle East—have felt a tsunami of dehumanisation.

Antisemitism mutates. In Germany we were sub-human. Today in Australia we are evil Zionists.

We have seen synagogues burned, businesses boycotted, students targeted and been made to feel like 'the other'.

And, one week ago today, we saw the ultimate harm that we've been warning about: Jews at a peaceful, public and open celebration, gunned down on the iconic Bondi Beach—15 dead and many still in hospital.

Jews have seen hatred before. We know what it looks like and across generations we've been here before.

We are gathered today in solidarity.

In this beautiful auditorium in the heart of our State's capital.

But I want to share a historical artefact that highlights why now—more than ever—right here, we need your commitment for action.

When I say we have been here before, I mean it—literally.

In our incredible Holocaust Museum, we have this original pamphlet from an event held right here, in this very room, on August 12, 1933.

At that point, Jason Steinberg, in his speech, refers to the fact that on 12 August 1933 there was a gathering in Brisbane, including the Premier, the leader of the opposition, the right honourable the lord mayor and the lady mayoress. They gathered in Brisbane City Hall on 12 August 1933 for a gala charity concert in aid of the German Jewish relief fund—in the year that Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, in the year the Reichstag was burnt down, in the year that all civil and political rights were suspended in Germany. They burnt the books and were soon to burn the people.

Jason Steinberg continues:

… today, the evil has changed. We are no longer looking across the ocean for a crisis to help Jews escape—the hate, coupled with ambivalence, is in Queensland schools, universities, workplaces, and on our streets.

So, I ask you: where do we go from here?

Eighty years ago after the Holocaust, the world united to say: Never Again. Today, we must ensure we are never here again—in this auditorium or any other to talk about the plight of the Jews because what starts with the Jews never ends with the Jews.

In the memory of those who perished in the Bondi attack, I pray, I hope, and I implore you: no matter your station or your role, which neighborhood you live in, your family or your friends, use whatever strength you have to make sure that "Never Again" is not just a platitude.

Let us all work together to make "Never Again" Queensland and Australia's reality.

Those are the words of Jason Steinberg—who is the President of the Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies—given in a speech on 21 December 2025. I do want to sincerely thank Mr Steinberg and his committee for all the hard work they've been doing over the last few years in a very difficult situation.

I next want to quote from one of the innocent victims. When I saw the footage of the attack, and the photographs, I saw images of a man who was facing the terrorists with unbelievable courage. I subsequently found out that man was Mr Reuven Morrison, one of the innocent victims of the Bondi attack. Just 12 months before, on the very same day, 14 December—one year before the Bondi massacre—after the firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue, he'd been quoted in an article, and I want to quote from it:

Reuven Morrison, 61, migrated to Australia from the former Soviet Union in the 1970s as a teenager and now lives in Bondi, in Sydney's east.

He knows what it is like to be persecuted.

These are his words, one year before the attack where he lost his life:

"Walking around the streets in the USSR we always looked back, we were aware of our environment, and we expected the unexpected." Mr Morrison said.

He said Jewish people who emigrated from the USSR, especially the older generation, had lived through intimidation coming from both the Soviet establishment and the general population.

"It is nothing new to us."

But he said the community was shocked that was also now happening in Australia.

"We came here with the view that Australia is the safest country in the world and the Jews would not be faced with such anti-Semitism in the future, where we can bring up our kids in a safe environment."

Mr Morrison said it was hard for some of the younger generation.

"There is a feeling of being scared, when people are taking their kids to kindergarten and school, they do not know what kind of events can take place. It is unpredictable.

"They have not experienced this before."

However, Mr Morrison said so many in the community had been very supportive.

"They understand the beginning of anti-Semitic feelings in any shape or form should not be acceptable because it really is a fertile ground to grow something else."

We saw that 'something else' 12 months to the day that Mr Reuven Morrison was quoted in that ABC article. Twelve months to the day he lost his life.

I now want to quote an article from 7 January 2026 by Sheina Gutnick, daughter of Mr Reuven Morrison. She writes:

A little over three weeks ago, my father, Reuven Morrison, was murdered in cold blood for being a Jew.

My father was celebrating Hanukkah with his Chabad community on Bondi Beach, an event he'd been to every year since 1996. Every year, this Hanukkah event took place on one of the most famous beaches in the world. Holding a Jewish event at a place that every Australian knows meant something to him, to all of us.

That night, Bondi Beach was turned into the scene of a massacre. Blood stained the ground where just moments before people were standing, celebrating the Jewish people's triumph over oppression. Prams were scattered across the grass. White sheets covered the bodies.

Along with 14 others, my father was gunned down. He faced the terrorists and bought others time to get away. He took over 10 bullets while shielding others. He saved the lives of innocent people.

I'm quoting here from the daughter of Mr Reuven Morrison. She writes:

In the last few weeks, time has stopped making sense. The days blur into one other and the world without my father feels wrong. Our grief is all-encompassing, an ache so strong it is hard to breathe. I feel as though I have been thrown into an alternate reality. In his final moments, my father was exactly who he had always been. When the shooting began, he did not freeze; he did not run. He stood his ground, throwing bricks at the terrorists, furious that they would dare attack Jews celebrating Hanukkah on his favorite beach. He protected his community until the very end.

The words of the daughter of Mr Reuven Morrison, who showed such unbelievable courage on 14 December last year.

When I read the story of Mr Reuven Morrison, I thought back to the Jewish Warsaw uprising. In the summer of 1942, the Nazis had deported 265,000 Jews from the Warsaw ghetto to the Treblinka concentration camp. In April 1943, they came for the remaining Jews. Those Jews fought back. They fought back against overwhelming odds. They fought back knowing that they would lose, but they still fought back and displayed such unparalleled courage and defiance in the face of evil. When I learnt about what Mr Reuven Morrison had done at Bondi on 14 December, I thought of the courage and the defiance of the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto uprising—courage and defiance in the face of evil.

This condolence motion contains a vow. It isn't just a condolence; it contains a vow—a pledge, a promise, a covenant. It unequivocally condemns the evil of antisemitism and vows new action to eradicate it. From my perspective, we will only be successful in meeting our vow as an Australian Senate when we pass this resolution—when Jewish children can go to school without walking past security guards with machine guns; when Jewish children at school do fire drills, not lockdown drills, in response to future terrorist attacks; when Jewish students can go to campus without being harassed, threatened and abused; when Jewish members of the creative arts are respected and welcomed in our arts festivals, not excluded and doxed; and when the Jewish community can live in safety, without fear, and hold their community events in public places like they have every right to. Perhaps more than anything, we will only be successful when members of the Jewish community aren't talking about leaving this country because they do not feel safe.

Reflect on this. Between 1933, when Hitler was elected and took over Germany, and 1939, there were 8,200 Jewish refugees who found safety in Australia. After World War II, between 1945 and 1960, there were 25,000 displaced Jews who found safety in Australia in the aftermath of the war. Now, when I attended Bondi Beach on Tuesday after the terrorist attack, after the massacre, I spoke to members of the community who were telling me about leaving Australia. That is the situation we now find ourselves in. So this is not just a condolence motion; it contains a vow—a vow to eradicate antisemitism. We will only discharge our vow, we will only meet our commitment, we will only meet our promise, we will only carry our obligations with respect to that covenant, when all Jewish people can live in this country safely, without fear, and in harmony with their fellow Australians.

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What a horror we witnessed in Bondi on 14 December last year. What should have been a beautiful celebration of faith and joy was turned into an utter tragedy by a gutless and brutal attack on Jewish Australians who were gathered to celebrate Hanukkah. It was an attack driven by intolerance. It was an attack driven by antisemitism—sentiments that have no place in our country. The events of 14 December have shaken our country to its core, understandably so.

I want to join with many other senators who have expressed our deepest sympathies and condolences to everyone affected by this tragedy, to the people who had their lives so brutally and so swiftly snatched away, to their families and their loved ones, to the people who witnessed the horrors firsthand and to everyone who was affected from afar. To the first responders, whether in uniform or not in uniform, whether official or whether they were Australians who just happened to be passing by, or whether they were gathered there as part of the celebration of Hanukkah: thank you for your courage and thank you for your heroism. You have undoubtedly saved lives and prevented this tragedy from being even more impactful and more horrific.

Of course, we have to respond head-on to the scourge of antisemitism in Australia and ensure that people of Jewish faith can be safe not just as they celebrate their religious beliefs but as they go about their ordinary day-to-day lives in this country. But Jewish Australians won't be safe from the scourge of antisemitism until Muslim Australians are safe from the scourge of Islamophobia, and neither will be safe until all Australians are safe from racism and from religious intolerance, and until we reckon with intolerance and discrimination based on any attributes and until we reckon with the brutality and the underlying violence of the colonisation of this continent based on the lie of terra nullius. Truly, no-one is safe until we are all safe, just as no-one is free until everyone is free.

We need a reckoning in this country, a reckoning about intolerance, a reckoning about hatred and a reckoning that includes a conversation about how we are going to address hatred and intolerance and respond to the hatred and to the vilification of people based on a range of attributes—of course including race, of course including religion, but also attributes like gender, sexuality and disability. We need to build a safe, more respectful society for everyone in this country. That is the challenge, and that is the opportunity before us.

Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Most Australians will have the moment they first learned of the terror attack of 14 December 2025 forever etched in their memories. I was away from my children that evening, and as the news started to come through I felt an overwhelming and deep urge to pull my children close, to hold them and to hear their breath. Such acts shake all of us to our core. They make us want to connect to the things that ground us, the things that we love and the things that we fear losing the most.

Terrorism is, by design, intended to make us feel less safe and less secure, but we must not let it. We must not let these acts of evil divide us. We must not let them frighten us into a course of disunity and division which corrodes the very values of our nation that terrorists seek to disrupt and overturn through their evil acts, and we must stand firm against antisemitism in all of its forms because too many members of our Australian community have been carrying the toll of these fears and feelings each day for years. These fears are layered on top of intergenerational trauma and acts of brutal antisemitism throughout our global history that carry on in the losses and fears of generation after generation.

What happened on 14 December was an act of pure evil. It was an act of antisemitism and was an act of brutal violence and of terror. Our nation is now mourning the lives of 15 innocent people taken from us, including a child—taken while celebrating the first day of Hanukkah, a celebration of the festival of light.

Every Australian, no matter their race or religion, should be able to enjoy their life, practice their faith, celebrate with family and be free—without fear, prejudice or discrimination and certainly without violence. This was an attack on Jewish Australians, but it was also an attack on every Australian, because it was an attack on our values and our way of life. There is no place for hate, violence or terrorism here, and, as we come together here to offer our condolences to the families of those who lost their lives during this horrific attack, unity must triumph over division and light must triumph over darkness.

As we stand here today to offer our condolences for the lives lost, I want to take a moment, as my colleagues have, to name the victims that we mourn: Marika Pogany, Dan Elkayam, Alexander Kleytman, Reuven Morrison, Peter Meagher, Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, Tibor Weitzen, Rabbi Schlanger, Boris and Sofia Gurman, Edith Brutman, Adam Smyth, Boris Tetleroyd, Tania Tretiak and Matilda, at just 10 years of age.

South Australians grieve for the loved ones, who are carrying such an unimaginable loss, of all those lost, and we will always remember and praise their bravery and courage. Their acts of bravery in these moments of darkness are what we must remember, the courage they showed to protect their own family members and to help and provide assistance to others—showing courage through danger and showing light through darkness.

We also acknowledge all of those who sustained injuries—41 people hospitalised, including Ahmed al-Ahmed, who risked his own life to remove the gun from the gunman and endured serious injuries as a result. This was an extraordinary act, admired by all Australians and, indeed, by people across the world. We recognise those who witnessed the attack and carry deep psychological pain and trauma as a result.

And, of course, we commend the bravery of first responders. I thank, in particular, the New South Wales police officers, who acted heroically in shocking circumstances, including the two police officers who suffered gunshot wounds. I thank the paramedics too, who transported the injured in the face of danger, as well as our doctors, nurses and emergency services teams who assisted them. It takes an absolutely extraordinary person to run towards danger to help others. We thank you all, and we thank and acknowledge the courageous and compassionate bystanders who assisted others in moments of immense fear and terror.

The day 14 December will forever be etched in the memories of Australians as one of the darkest days of our history, but it must not become the day that divided our country irreparably. There is a great national effort required now to eradicate antisemitism, protect ourselves from terrorism, strengthen social cohesion and stand up against hatred. Some of that work will take place in the parliament this week, as it rightly should, and I don't intend to use this condolence motion to debate the specifics of that, but I will say that we must move fast and that this is deeply urgent work.

On behalf of South Australians, who I represent, I offer my deepest condolences to the victims, their loved ones and the entire Jewish community in Australia. We stand with you, united against hate, for light over darkness.

Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Now, 14 December is going to be one of the dates that the nation will never forget. We come together as leaders in our country to offer our condolences. I happened to be on that beach at the beginning of that day. I collected some shells, walked along the beach and hours later, of course, could hear the sirens wailing and our sense of our country's safety completely evaporating. I think it is just so shocking to hear that so many Jewish Australians now would say that they feel safer in a war torn country than they do in our country. The fact that we have failed these people is very hard to take. I would say that there are few other communities that have given more than they have received from Australia.

The thing about the eastern suburbs of Sydney is that it is a very open and very strong community. It is very accepting and it is also a very diverse community. It has had Jewish Australians at the centre of it for 200 years or more. So the attack on Jewish community has been felt greatly across the eastern suburbs—every community group, every school, everyone. Of course, it transcends the eastern suburbs, but that is the epicentre. I feel so sorry that we have let a community down that has done so much for our country. That's why it is so regrettable that, I believe, it was avoidable.

In terms of the 15 people that we lost—I do want to mention a few of them today. Many have mentioned already Alexander Kleytman, who was a Holocaust survivor. He, of course, survived the Holocaust but was murdered in Australia. Reuven Morrison threw a brick at the terrorist. He said, a year ago:

We came here with the view that Australia is the safest country in the world and the Jews would not be faced with such antisemitism in the future, where we can bring up our kids in a safe environment.

That's what he said. And then there is Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who was a servant of the community, much like the rabbis that are well known to me—Slovan, Wolff and Kastel. And then there is Matilda. Her parents described her as a softie who loved animals, practised judo and rarely wanted to be away from her sister. As it was widely reported, she was called Matilda because she was the first Australian in the family. Of course, her parents, who had fled Ukraine, wanted to raise their child in a safe country—the same country that Mr Morrison had described he believed he was immigrating to many decades ago. But the truth is that we ruined their lives. We destroyed their freedom and their happiness. At the Bondi vigil, which was conducted about a week after the attack, David Campbell led a rendition of 'Waltzing Matilda', which was very moving, as was their rendition of the famous Seekers song. I have to say, I said to myself, 'How terrible it is that these people who love our country so much have been so hurt.'

And then there were the heroes: Sofia and Boris Gurman, driving past and trying to relieve a terrorist of a gun; Ahmed al-Ahmed, well documented today—incredible. Then there was Tash Willemsen, who was working at the petting zoo, and she shielded Matilda's sister, Summer. The community stepped up—the surf clubs, Bondi and North Bondi, members and lifesavers, just as they did during the bushfires, when the Bondi surf club became a hub for transmitting goods down to southern New South Wales, where there were significant fires.

I want to make special mention of Josh Farquhar, who is the president of the North Bondi RSL, and they did an incredible job. They set up the community hub, where you had Lifeline, St John Ambulance, Red Cross and chaplains meeting on a daily basis. Some of the members of the RSL, in particular Max Streeter, Henry Jamieson, Kia Mehr and Oliver Carleton, actually ran into danger and supported some of the victims on the day. There was first aid administered to gunshot victims. As the largest RSL in New South Wales, with many recently active servicepeople, they were well positioned to support in that incredibly stressful environment. The club remained a hub over those weeks, and I want to acknowledge Mr Farquhar's incredible leadership.

Rabbi Yossi Friedman for 30 days in a row conducted memorial services where he read all the names. Rabbi Friedman conducted 118 memorial services where he read the names. Unlike me, I don't think he cried once. He must have a much stronger constitution. Anyone who was able to be present at Bondi after those attacks would have seen the rabbi's presentation, and that gave the community something to coalesce around. I think he showed incredible poise and dignity, and he showed leadership. He provided people with an outlet when they needed something, and I want to acknowledge the rabbi's service.

Police, emergency service workers, the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies and David Ossip, CEO Alex Ryvchin from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry—I am loath to mention politicians in a condolence motion, but I do want to mention Will Nemesh, who is the mayor of Waverley. Cr Nemesh said in the immediate aftermath:

This is part of our history now, and I think what we do next is extremely important. For our community, 'never again' can't just be words, it needs to be action.

In my mind there were effectively three things that happened here. We have extreme views where people had become adherents of a mutation of a religion, where they became desperate to kill Jews, a father and son who were inspired by Islamic State, and if they hadn't been able to get guns they would've got bombs. The fact that they were radicalised here in Australia as Australians—a migrant, naturalised man and an Australian-born man—means they are our citizens. It happened on our watch, and now this is our problem to fix.

The failure to rein in antisemitism over these last few years—the community knew that they were sitting ducks. We would try and get information, we'd try and get briefings and we'd try and warn that there was no equivalence here. The frustration I have is that every time we talked about antisemitism, someone else would say Islamophobia or someone else would say there's some other group in great danger. The truth is that the only people who live in cages in this country are Jews. Australian Jews live in cages. That is the truth. Unfortunately the moral fog here has, sadly, created an Australia now that is one of the most antisemitic countries on earth. It is commonplace now to hear in the Jewish community that they feel safer in Israel than they do in Australia. This is our great shame. The false equivalence between the actions of Israel and Australian Jews is a disgrace. There was a cartoon in the papers last week. It's a disgrace. Imagine if you said, 'I'm going to blame Australian Muslims for the views of the government of Pakistan.' You'd be run out of the country. We've got to get serious about this. We have become one of the most antisemitic nations on earth. It's happened somehow, and we've got to address that.

The third piece is, of course, the failure of law enforcement and the failure of intelligence. In our Westminster system of government, the elected officials have to take responsibility, but I do think that, in this case, the people who are leading the agencies need to consider their positions. We have had a religious massacre in this country. We've never had one before. I'm so over hearing people talk about Port Arthur and other things. There is no equivalence. This was an attack. This was not some random killing; they were killed because they were Jews. That's why they were killed.

Those are the three things: an extreme mutation of Islam, a failure to provide leadership on antisemitism and the issue of a massive failure of intelligence and law enforcement. Of course, the inquiry should look at these failures. Of course, it should. We look forward to seeing exactly what it comes back with. But we've also got to look at other economic sanctions that we can apply, frankly, against our own citizens. If we can't deport people, then we need to look at how we could turn off the financial taps. It's very important.

I would just say that you can have as many laws as you want on the books here in Canberra, but no-one gives a rats if they're not enforced. In New South Wales, we have a law that says that it is illegal to incite violence against people based on their racial heritage. That law has been on the books for years. Sure, it was tweaked a bit last year, but that's a law on the books. The answer here isn't necessarily having more and more laws. The answer is being honest about the problem and getting better at law enforcement. Law enforcement is porous in this country and not just relation to this issue. It is, unfortunately, a problem that we all have.

I regret very much that, in a condolence motion, these matters have to be canvassed, but I think we owe it to the victims of this attack to be honest and frank and to try and work together to find solutions to this problem that, as Australians, we all have now because there is no equivalence between antisemitism and other issues right now in Australia. These are the only people that are living like this. All forms of discrimination are abhorrent, but right now this is the priority. The risk is that we will lose these people. They have the right of return. We could lose some of the best Australians that we've had in the past 250 years if we fail to take this seriously.

I want to, again, say that I can't believe this happened in our country. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry to all the families, and I want to work with everyone here to make sure that it never happens again. This is not Australia if we fail to protect minorities. We've always done a good job of protecting minority interests. That is going to be the mark of a good society and our country's safety and prosperity in the future.

Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I add my voice to this condolence motion for the 15 people who were murdered in an antisemitic act of terror on 14 December at Bondi Beach. For those of us from the west, our connection to the golden sands of Bondi beach is often shaped by television shows and photographs, with images of rolling surf, glistening pools and endless summer days. While I've never been to Bondi Beach myself, those of us who've grown up on the coast know its sounds and rhythms well: kids laughing as they run into waves, the sound of a sandcastle being knocked flat and the quiet peace of a stroll and dinner by the water as the sun goes down. This place, cared for by traditional owners for tens of thousands of years, reflects something deep in the Australian story—a promise of belonging, of freedom and of shared space that is meant to be safe for everyone. On Sunday 14 December that promise was shattered.

At 6.42 pm, during a Hanukkah celebration, two men brought hate, violence and weapons to a place of joy and community. Fifteen people were murdered and more than 40 physically injured. Countless others witnessed and were traumatised by unimaginable horror. The pain that friends and families feel right now—what they are experiencing—is beyond words. To lose someone that you love in such a senseless and brutal way is a grief that no-one should have to carry. I extend my deepest condolences for those who were killed to their families and their friends and to all those who will live with the physical and emotional injuries for the rest of their lives.

In the darkness of that night, extraordinary courage began to emerge. There were stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. To me, they are simply the best of us—strangers shielding children on a beach, surfers helping people paddle to safety, lifeguards carrying the injured, first responders acting before emergency services arrived, members of the public confronting the gunmen, hospital staff working through the night and people thousands of kilometres away lining up to give blood.

I watched this horrific antisemitic attack unfold on my phone, as so many across our country did, with shock and grief and disbelief. This hatred does not belong here. It does not belong in our streets. It does not belong on our beaches, in our schools or in our places of worship. Violence is never acceptable, especially when it is directed at people because of who they are and what they believe. On that day, the fabric of our community was torn. Trauma and grief affect us all differently. Some feel anger; some are afraid; some are numb; some withdraw. Others build walls. But we cannot allow hatred to decide who we become.

We must refuse the 'us and them' stories that are being seeded to divide us. In the face of hate, we must choose love. In the face of violence, we must choose peace. In the face of fear, we must choose connection. And we must build a community where, regardless of your faith, culture or background, everyone can live freely and safely. As politicians, we have a responsibility to act. We must strengthen laws so that what happened on Sunday 14 December can never happen again. We must do more to counter racism and hatred in all its forms, and we must be shoulder to shoulder with one another in this moment of profound grief.

Corinne Mulholland (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this condolence motion before the Senate. Today we meet in the dark shadow of a profound moment of national grief and sorrow. We come together to honour the 15 innocent lives that were taken from us in a brutal act of terrorism on 14 December 2025. Today I bring with me the heartfelt condolences of the people of Queensland, and I extend our thoughts and our prayers to the families, the loved ones and Australia's Jewish community. While no form of words will ever take away the pain and suffering you have felt, it is only right that this Senate places on record our shared sorrow, our love for Jewish Australians and our resolve to meet this moment with strength and unity.

We have heard it said before that Australia is indeed the lucky country, and that is why we say:

Australians all let us rejoice,

For we are one and free;

We've golden soil and wealth for toil;

Our home is girt by sea …

Those are the words of our national anthem, and it is fair to say that there is nowhere more iconically Australian than the golden sands and salty air of Bondi Beach. It represents everything that we cherish about our Australian way of life—the red and yellow flags, fish and chips on the beach, children making sandcastles and families having fun. But on that balmy Sunday afternoon, Australian families were doing what they've always done down at the beach. They were enjoying the warm weather, eating a salty chip or two and, for thousands of people at the Chanukah by the Sea event, they were celebrating their culture and their faith. And in an instant, this place of joy, laughter and family fun became a place of terror and unimaginable loss. That day, hundreds of Jewish families gathered peacefully to celebrate Hanukkah, to bring life and love to this world, to affirm their faith and to celebrate hope. Instead, they were murdered while practising their faith.

Jewish Australians have the right to live, to worship, to gather, to celebrate, and they have the fundamental right to do this in peace and safety in our country. Jewish Australians are a proud part of our rich Australian history. They have contributed to every part of our lives as military leaders, political leaders, judicial officials, doctors, medical researchers, journalists, media personnel, thousands of our biggest retailers and gold-medal-winning sportspeople—just to name a few—and they should never be made to feel unsafe in a country they call home. We stand with them, not only in our words but in our resolve to protect their safety and our way of life. This is an obligation that sits on the shoulders of every person in this chamber, to meet this moment with unity and action, not division.

This terrorist attack unfolded not only on the foreshore of Bondi Beach but on millions of mobile phones and television screens across our nation. Australians watched on in horror as these events unfolded in real time, with video footage seemingly live streamed to us on social media from hundreds of vantage points, and from every corner of this country we witnessed the terror, the panic, the violence and the bloodshed that occurred that afternoon. The horrors we watched unfold on shaky mobile phone footage will haunt this nation for decades to come. This is a harrowing moment that no-one in this nation should turn away from; we must confront it head-on.

But in the midst of the absolute terror, we saw some amazing acts of courage and humanity. Festival-goers, beach-goers, passers-by—people with no duty to act—ran towards the sound of open gunfire and screams. They ran towards danger to help their fellow Australians—people they did not know, but they knew they needed their help. They shielded children, they tackled gunmen, they carried the wounded and they rendered first-aid. They were people from all backgrounds and all faiths, new Australians, like one of the heroes of the tragic event, Ahmed al-Ahmed, a Muslim man who reportedly immigrated to this country in 2006 from Syria. He went on to become an Australian citizen, a fruit shop owner and an Aussie hero. In one of the darkest hours, passers-by like Ahmed showed the very best of what it means to be Australian—mateship in times of adversity. Despite the best attempts of those two gunmen to strike fear into our hearts, to drive a wedge into this country, to divide us, the Australian spirit was alive and kicking that day, in the surf lifesavers who sprinted barefoot along the hot pavement towards danger, in the quick-thinking cafe owners and shopkeepers who locked their doors and shielded customers from danger.

We also must recognise our first responders who put their lives on the line, the paramedics, doctors and nurses, who worked around the clock to save lives, the blood bank workers at Red Cross, who managed an overwhelming response of Australians queueing up to donate blood. We thank all of them for their service and we acknowledge the heavy toll that these events have on first responders.

In times like this, we turn to the things that anchor us—our family, our values, our faith. In the Christian faith, we are taught to love thy neighbour—to love thy neighbour not only when it is easy, not only when you agree with them, not only when you worship the same god—always. Just like love, we must know that hate is also a choice. But love alone is not enough to stand against hate. We must take action, and this Senate has that opportunity to take action tomorrow. I implore senators to join with us tomorrow in taking action.

Leah Blyth (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Stronger Families and Stronger Communities) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to offer my deepest condolences to the families, friends and loved ones of the 15 innocent people who were murdered in the horrific antisemitic terrorist attack at Bondi last month. No Australian should ever be made to feel unsafe for gathering peacefully, for observing a religious holiday or for simply being who they are.

I join colleagues across this chamber and Australians across the nation in standing in solidarity with our Jewish community. The attack occurred during Hanukkah, the festival of light. Hanukkah commemorates the survival of a persecuted people and the triumph of faith and religious freedom over tyranny. It reminds us that, even in the darkest times, light can endure and that identity, belief and conscience are worth defending.

It is one of the most confronting truths of our national history that the largest loss of Jewish life outside of Israel since the 7 October 2023 attacks occurred here in Australia at one of our most recognisable and beloved public spaces. Bondi Beach, known worldwide as a symbol of openness and community, became the site of the deadliest terror attack on our soil. That is a national wound. Australians have long taken pride in believing such violence does not happen here. That belief has been shattered.

We have not only lost 15 innocent lives. We have lost the measure of our sense of safety and of what we thought Australia was immune from. But, when hatred is allowed to fester unchecked for years in our schools, in our universities and in our institutions, we should not be surprised by the consequences.

Tolerance of intolerance corrodes the moral foundations of a society. When extremist ideas are excused, normalised or left unchallenged, they do not remain abstract; they metastasise into action. A nation committed to freedom must also be committed to moral clarity. That means confronting hatred early, consistently and without equivocation wherever it appears. We remember those who were taken not as statistics but as people.

We remember Edith Brutman, aged 68, a deeply respected community leader, remembered for her heart of gold and a life defined by moral courage and service.

We remember Tibor Weitzen—who died shielding his wife and close friend, Edith—a great-grandfather whose final act reflected a lifetime of devotion to family.

We remember Dan Elkayam—who was just 27 years old and building a life in Australia—as adventurous, loving and full of joy.

We remember Boris and Sofia Gurman, whose instinctive bravery in the first moments of the attack likely saved dozens of lives. Their courage delayed the gunmen and allowed others to flee. Both, tragically, were killed. Their bravery should never be forgotten.

We remember Alexander Kleytman, an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor who rebuilt his life in Australia only to be murdered for being Jewish decades later in a country that should have been safe.

We remember Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, a father of four and central figure in Sydney's Jewish community.

We remember Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a man devoted to faith, service and compassion who walked toward the attacker with his hands raised, pleading for the violence to stop and drawing attention away from fleeing families. He was fatally shot; his self-sacrifice saved lives.

We remember Peter Meagher, a retired police detective sergeant and much loved rugby club volunteer.

We remember Reuven Morrison, who fought back against the attackers—which allowed others to escape—and was killed while intervening.

We remember Marika Pogany, aged 82, who fled fascism and communism and devoted her life to caring for others.

We remember Adam Smyth—husband and father of four children.

We remember Matilda, just 10 years old, bright and joyful—murdered simply for who she was.

We remember Boris Tetleroyd, a husband and father and Tania Tretiak, a grandmother who made Australia her home.

Each name represents a life stolen and a wound carried by our nation.

We must also be honest about the context in which this attack occurred. Antisemitism is rising, both globally and here at home. It is increasingly driven by radical Islamist ideology that rejects pluralism, despises Western democratic values and targets Jewish people simply for existing. To deny that reality is to abandon our responsibility to protect vulnerable communities.

Australian Jewish Association CEO Robert Gregory observed that, while the attack itself was not a surprise to him, what followed matter deeply. He said that he was profoundly moved by the support of Australians from all walks of life—messages from across the country from faith leaders, community leaders and ordinary Australians. After two extraordinarily difficult years for the Jewish community that outpouring of solidarity restored hope for him in his fellow Australians.

Even in immense darkness, we saw the very best of Australia. We honour Ahmed al-Ahmed, who confronted a gunman with his bare hands, disarmed him and saved lives, sustaining multiple gunshot wounds in the process. We honour Boris and Sofia Gurman again here not only as victims but as heroes. We honour Reuven Morrison, Geffen Bitton, Tash Willemsen and Chaya Dadon, whose courage protected others. We honour the bravery of the NSW Police officers, paramedics, doctors, nurses, surf lifesavers and first responders who ran toward danger and prevented even greater loss. These were ordinary Australians who, in extraordinary moments, chose courage.

The Jewish community has given so much to this country. Many families came here as refugees seeking safety, freedom and the rule of law. We cannot allow hatred to take root here. History teaches us that what starts with the Jews never ends there. Antisemitism is a warning of deeper societal decay. If we do not act with clarity and resolve, every Australian is at risk.

Hatred has no place in Australia. Those who choose to live here accept not only the protection of our laws but the responsibility to respect and uphold the values that underpin our society. Our nation is built on tolerance, pluralism, the rule of law and the equal dignity of every person. Ideologies that reject those principles, glorify violence or seek to divide Australians along religious or ethnic lines are incompatible with our way of life. Australia must remain a country where freedom of belief is protected, where differences are resolved peacefully and where loyalty to our shared civic values is not negotiable.

In this chamber our responsibility today is to honour the dead not only with words but with resolve, by confronting antisemitism wherever it appears and defending the values of our Western democratic tradition without hesitation. May those who tragically lost their lives never be forgotten, and may they serve as a reminder to ensure that the country that they believed in and loved never sees a terrorist attack motivated by extreme Islamist ideology ever again on our soil.

Penny Allman-Payne (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Like my colleagues who have spoken before me, I rise today to pay my respects to the 15 people who tragically lost their lives in the horrific terrorist attack at Bondi Beach on 14 December 2025 and extend my deepest sympathies to their families, friends and loved ones who are now carrying an unimaginable grief. I also wish to extend my sympathy and solidarity to Australia's Jewish community, who were deliberately targeted in this antisemitic act of terror while gathering to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah, a time that should have been marked by light, faith, community and hope. Instead, an evening of celebration was turned into one of fear, devastation and profound loss. That violence was intended to not just take lives but intimidate, terrorise and tell a community that they do not belong. Jewish Australians do belong, and they have every right to live, worship, celebrate and gather in safety and peace in this country.

My thoughts are also with the many people who were injured and with those whose wounds may not be visible but will endure for years to come—the witnesses, the survivors, the children and families whose sense of safety was shattered that night. Trauma does not end when the headlines fade, and our responsibility to support those affected must not end either.

In the midst of this unspeakable horror, there were also extraordinary acts of courage and selflessness. Boris and Sofia Gurman, two North Bondi locals, tried to stop one of the attackers before a single bullet could be fired. Ahmed al-Ahmed disarmed an attacker just metres away from where the Gurmans were killed. Their bravery and the bravery of countless others who shielded loved ones, protected strangers or tried to intervene undoubtedly saved lives. These people stepped up in extreme circumstances and chose compassion and courage over fear to save and protect their fellow citizens. I also want to thank the police officers, the first responders and healthcare workers who ran towards danger, who acted with professionalism and composure under unimaginable pressure and whose quick actions saved lives. We owe them an enormous debt of gratitude.

Condolence motions are about remembrance, but they must also be about resolve. If we truly wish to honour the lives lost at Bondi, we must have the courage to confront the hatred that made this attack possible. That means unequivocably condemning antisemitism in all its forms wherever it appears. But it also means recognising a deeper and more uncomfortable truth: this act of terror did not occur in a vacuum. Racism and hate do not emerge overnight. They are enabled when prejudice is minimised, denied or treated as an aberration rather than a systemic problem. This is why I again renew the call for urgent funding and full implementation of the National Anti-Racism Framework developed by the Australian Human Rights Commission. This framework provides a clear, evidence based road map, tackling racism at its roots—in our institutions, our laws, our media and our everyday interactions. As the Race Discrimination Commissioner says in the introduction to the framework:

Stan Grant wrote, 'Racism isn't killing the Australian dream. The Australian dream was founded on racism.'

The commissioner goes on:

It is beyond clear that racism has been entrenched in the systems, structures, and institutions of Australia since colonisation. It is pervasive and causes real harm to people every single day. But it is a concerning reality that racism is treated by many in Australia as an anomaly, an aberration, or something to be outright dismissed or denied. This is despite a weight of evidence dating from 1788 from people with lived experience of racism that clearly shows us otherwise.

If we continue to deny that reality, we guarantee its continuation.

Confronting racism also means recognising that hatred and violence are experienced by many communities in Australia. We must address violence and hate directed at members of the LGBTIQA+ community, and we must address violence, abuse and dehumanisation experienced by people with a disability. We must confront Islamophobia, antisemitism, anti-black racism, anti-Asian racism and the ongoing racism faced by First Nations people. Solidarity cannot be selective, and safety cannot be conditional.

National unity is not built by silence or symbolism alone; it is built by action, by honesty and by the courage to change systems that harm. Let us ensure that this tragedy does not pass us by without meaningful action. Let us honour those who died at Bondi by committing to a country where hate has no refuge, where difference is not a target and where everyone, without exception, can live free from fear. That is the responsibility that this moment demands of us.

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the condolence motion in memory of those tragically killed at the massacre in Bondi on 14 December last year. To the families who lost their loved ones in the most tragic of circumstances on that terrible day and to the Australian Jewish community: I would like to offer my heartfelt condolences to you as you grieve. That such tragedy could come from what should have been a peaceful community gathering to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah is just so devastating. Children, families, husbands and wives, grandparents and Holocaust survivors—innocent and peaceful Australians—just being with each other and enjoying a Sunday afternoon by the beach were targeted for simply being Jewish. Never did I expect that such hatred and evil could come to our shores and that such a massacre could ever happen in Australia, but it did—an utter tragedy. It should have never happened, and we cannot ever let it happen again. This is on all of us in this place. We owe it to each of those who tragically lost their lives on 14 December and to their families, who now have to navigate life without them—never again.

I have watched in disbelief and disgust at how the Jewish community has been treated in this country since 7 October 2023. There is no place in this country for antisemitism, and it is a national disgrace how accepted it has become in some sections of the community. Stirring hatred and division in our communities must be stamped out, and it starts with us in this place.

Discourse in parliament and in both chambers should absolutely be robust. Debate and the contest of ideas must always flourish in this place. That is the point of a parliament. But how we do that, both inside and out of this building, matters. Some of the behaviour I have seen recently, especially in here, has been nothing short of disgraceful. We are privileged to represent our states and our communities in this place. People look to us for leadership. Our privilege, however, and our status as senators do not give us a right to sow division and hatred, some of which has come from overseas, into the debate, because, when people see us behave in a certain way in here or use certain language, it gives licence to others to do the same. When I was young, my mother said—and I remember it vividly—that, if you've got nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all. I don't know how others in this place were brought up, but it's clear that, to some in this place, that sage advice was not passed on. Persistent references by members of this Senate to slogans that are found to be offensive to the Jewish community must stop. As I said earlier, it starts with us.

As Dvir Abramovich, chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission, said last week:

You can stand for Palestinian rights without importing the language of past massacres. You can demand justice without invoking slogans that have already written their meaning in blood. Words have consequences. Especially after Bondi.

That is what we must all be conscious of. Words have meaning and, as Mr Abramovich says, words have consequences. I plead to others in this place and to all Australians: now is a time for national unity, for compassion, for understanding, for friendship and for us to reach out to the Australian Jewish community and let them know we stand with them.

In closing, I want to also acknowledge the heroes and everyday Australians who showed tremendous courage in the face of such terror. I extend that acknowledgement to Wayne and Jessica, who selflessly used their bodies as shields to protect children from flying bullets; to Ahmed al-Ahmed, the hero who wrestled the gun off one of the terrorists, undoubtedly saving countless lives; to Gefen Bitton and Reuven Morrison, who, in the face of terror, helped Ahmed and threw objects at the terrorist Ahmed disarmed to push him back and force him to retreat; to Boris and Sofia Gurman, who were also seen grappling with one of the terrorists before they were tragically murdered; to Chaya, only 14 years old, who was shot in the leg while shielding two young children from gunfire; and, finally, to the first responders—police, lifeguards, healthcare workers and everyday Australians who selflessly came to help, many of whom put themselves in danger in the process. It has been said by others today that in such tragedy we saw the best of many Australians. I'd like to pay my respects and give my thanks to everyone who responded as well as supported the families who lost loved ones in the days and weeks after the attack.

May the memories of all who were tragically taken on 14 December be a blessing.

Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to contribute to the condolence motion and pay my respects to the victims, their loved ones and all those who were involved in the horrific events that took place on beautiful Bondi Beach on Sunday 14 December 2025.

The events of that day are a tragedy. This is not the Australia we love. No-one should lose their life or be injured because of their beliefs, and no-one should lose their life or be injured attending a community event. There would have been hundreds, if not thousands, of people on Bondi Beach that day. It was a typical Aussie summer evening, and all were impacted in some way and will bear the scars for life. We especially remember the families and loved ones of those 15 innocent people who lost their lives and the 41 others who suffered life-changing injuries. To the police, ambulance and emergency service workers, the lifeguards and health professionals, as well as members of the public who came forward to assist: thank you. We also acknowledge the impact this incident will have had on you.

Since 14 December, there have been many debates and scenarios considered in the media and throughout the community about why this tragedy occurred. As the criminal and civil investigations, including the Commonwealth royal commission, undertake their important work, I have no doubt that there will be more public debate and discourse on that very topic.

Despite the horror of that day, many positive stories have also emerged. We've heard many of them today. There were significant acts of courage from people facing atrocities and overwhelming violence, ordinary Australians risking their own lives to try and save others in their community. That's a clear testament to the Australian spirit that defied the violence they faced. There were examples such as the actions of Ahmed al-Ahmed, who risked his own life to disarm one of the offenders. Ahmed did what was necessary and placed himself in harm's way in an attempt to stop the attack. Because of him, many more lives were saved. And we mustn't forget Boris and Sofia Gurman, who, sadly, lost their lives in this incident. They are thought to be the first victims of this tragedy. Sofia and Boris grappled with one of the attackers in an attempt to disarm him. They succeeded, but, sadly, were still killed. There is also the injured woman Jessica, who sheltered a little girl, Gigi, with her own body after Gigi was separated from her family.

These are just three of the many, many examples of heroism evidenced that day. Each of them demonstrated incredible courage in the face of unimaginable horror. As the violence was unfolding around them, they thought of others before their own safety. They thought of the children who had gathered for Chanukah by the Sea. They thought of the swimmers who were forced into the ocean in the chaos and who were struggling to stay afloat, and they thought of their families. Hanukkah is an important religious date on the Jewish calendar. It celebrates, of all things, freedom, resilience and the triumph of light over darkness.

The two terrorists who opened fire on this community event sought to sow fear, division and darkness among the Australian Jewish community, but the brave actions of these ordinary Australians show that they failed. The events at Bondi were the culmination of the escalation of the antisemitism we have seen over recent years. Jewish Australians have being living each day in fear of this type of violence. They have needed to be brave in the face of antisemitic attacks and to protect their community, to the extent of having armed guards at preschools. It is now our turn, as elected leaders and representatives in this place, to ensure that the lives lost were not lost in vain.

It is important now that we strengthen our systems, laws and processes to send a message that this kind of violence and extremism has no place in Australia. We are a welcoming, multicultural country and value the richness that other cultures bring to our communities. We do not condone antisemitism or extremism of any type in this country. That is not the Australia I know and it's not the Australia we want to see our children and grandchildren grow up in.

As a senator for Tasmania, I'm aware of the impact that a massacre like this has on communities. The Bondi attack is considered the worst mass shooting event to occur in Australia since 35 people were killed at Port Arthur in my home state in 1996. I have a clear memory of that day and the days that followed, as I was married to a police officer at the time who was sent to guard the bodies while the evidence was gathered. Tasmanians, and particularly those involved, have had a long and slow journey of recovery since the 1996 massacre. In some ways we have not recovered from it. Victims and loved ones are still dealing with the trauma of that event 30 years later, and it remains a dark shadow that looms large in our state's history.

But with tragedy comes growth, even when that's difficult. It was following the events at Port Arthur that then prime minister John Howard developed and implemented strict new gun laws to protect Australians and to create a safer environment for us all. While it is tragic to think that, even under these legislative conditions, the Bondi massacre still occurred, it demonstrates the incredible importance of continual improvement and review of legislation. We need answers as to why the Bondi attack occurred and what steps could have been taken earlier to prevent it. This is why I supported the establishment of a Commonwealth royal commission into these events and the rise of antisemitism in Australia. The coalition was resolute in its resolve in calling on Labor to establish a royal commission into antisemitism and the massacre to ensure that we can fully examine the circumstances leading up to this tragedy. This is about accountability, truth and keeping Australians safe.

While people lost their lives in this attack, there were also countless others who were injured, many with life-changing injuries such as the young police officers who, despite being only relatively new to the force, ran directly towards the danger instead of away from it; the lifeguards who ran with their kits to provide first aid to those who were injured; and others who protected the vulnerable, often with their own bodies. Everyone who survived the Bondi massacre will live with life-changing injuries. Some will be physical, but all of them will live with the mental scars that this type of trauma brings. Recovery will be nuanced and it will not be linear, but ensuring that justice is served and safety is improved is the least these survivors expect from us.

It is our responsibility to be fearless in examining how this incident occurred and what we can do as elected representatives to change conditions and make things safer for everyone. We need to be courageous and bold, and work cooperatively across the political spectrum to shine a light on all the issues that led to this terrible incident. Those who lost their lives, their families and friends, and those who were injured deserve nothing less. They deserve justice. They deserve to see their government and elected members make bold decisions that will make their lives safer—the families of victims like beautiful 10-year-old Matilda, described by her father as just a regular, awesome Aussie girl, whose life was tragically cut short because of the violent actions of others. Matilda had her whole life ahead of her and was a smiling, carefree little girl enjoying her afternoon at Chanukah by the Sea with her family. She did not deserve this.

For the family of Boris and Sofia Gurman, an honest and hardworking couple who were killed doing what came naturally to them—trying to protect others—they did not deserve this. Neither did 41-year-old rabbi Eli Schlanger, a loving father who had just welcomed a newborn son into his family. As we heard earlier today, the father of five children was a highly regarded and much-loved leader in his community.

On 14 December 2025, Australia changed forever, and now we must seriously confront the issues leading up to the event and ensure antisemitism and Islamic extremism is extinguished within our communities forever. We will remember the 15 innocent victims of the Bondi massacre who lost their lives. Their names will be a constant reminder that we must not—we cannot—ever allow this type of tragedy to occur again in Australia. Boris Tetleroyd, Boris and Sofia Gurman, Reuven Morrison, Edith Brutman, Marika Pogany, Dan Elkayam, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, Peter Meagher, Alexander Kleytman, Tibor Weitzen, Adam Smyth, Tania Tretiak and, of course, 10-year-old Matilda—may they all rest in peace.

Barbara Pocock (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today, like so many others in this place, with a heavy heart, to speak on behalf of my community and my conscience about the tragic events that unfolded at Bondi Beach on 14 December last year—on what should have been a beautiful night of celebration, the first evening of Hanukkah, a horrific and senseless act of violence against the people gathered at Bondi. Fifteen innocent people were killed, dozens more were injured and the lives of so many families, friends and loved ones were forever changed by grief. This was an attack on Jewish people and on a Jewish community gathering, an attack on a community, so many of whom came to Australia and have come to Australia seeking refuge—including, in my own family, Selene Malefsky, who, like so many Jewish Europeans, sought refuge from antisemitic pogroms and the Holocaust and including, so tragically, Alex Kleytman, amongst those killed at Bondi, having himself survived the Holocaust.

It was, at the same time, an attack on the very values that define us as Australians, an attack on our safety as a community—something we all value, we all need and we must protect for the future of our children and generations to come. We mourn those who were robbed of life, of laughter, of a future—a future that can never be reclaimed. We hold in our thoughts and in our hearts their families and friends, those who will carry this loss with them forever. I extend my deepest condolences to the Jewish community, who face unimaginable pain and fear as a result of this horrendous attack. Antisemitism has no place in our country. Our Jewish communities, schools, events, celebrations and homes must be safe. We stand united in rejecting hatred and antisemitism absolutely and hatred in all of its forms. We are not safe unless all of us are safe.

In the wake of this violence and amidst our great, shared grief, our nation has witnessed something powerful: the extraordinary capacity of our communities to care for one another in moments of such profound loss. I want to acknowledge the courage of those who ran towards danger to protect others and the courage and care of the first responders, people who threw their own bodies at the outrage to protect others. We have seen neighbours open their doors, communities gather in vigils and countless acts of compassion. This response—not fear but courage, kindness and care, and not division but solidarity—is the true measure of our nation.

This tragedy reminds us painfully and unforgettably that violence has no place in our community, that antisemitism has no place in our society and that racism, prejudice and hatred directed at a group or individual cannot be tolerated. Our response must be rooted in compassion, in justice and in a commitment to ensuring security for all Australians, especially our most vulnerable.

To the Jewish community here in Australia and to Jewish communities around the world who share in this sorrow: we stand with you. In offering our condolences today, let us recommit ourselves, as legislators and as fellow human beings, to healing, to unity, and to confronting hatred wherever it arises. In remembering the lives lost at Bondi, may we choose a path forward that embodies care, humanity and the steadfast refusal to let fear define us.

I want to acknowledge the pain of the families and honour the courage of those who acted to save others and convey, on my behalf and that of the Greens and my community, especially the many South Australians who have shared their horror and pain with me, my deepest sympathy for the victims and their loved ones.

Richard Dowling (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There are moments when words feel utterly inadequate. This is one of those moments. Today we come together in grief to mourn lives taken in an act of shocking violence, to honour courage in the face of terror and to stand in solidarity with a community that was deliberately targeted simply for who they are. What happened at Bondi was not only an attack on innocent people; it was an attack on families, on children, on faith and on the shared sense of safety that underpins life in this country.

This was not just senseless violence; it was a terrorist attack deliberately targeted at Australia's Jewish community as they gathered to mark the first night of Hanukkah—and we should name that honestly. Antisemitism is not an abstract idea to be debated or explained away. It is a belief that Jewish people should be feared, excluded, blamed or punished simply for being who they are—and when that belief is tolerated, it doesn't just stay as words; it becomes intimidation, violence and terror. It has no place in Australia—not now, not over.

Bondi is one of those names that carries a particular kind of Australian happiness—sun, surf, sand, families gathering, people from everywhere sharing that same stretch of coastline. It is Australia's public square that belongs to everyone, and when the first reports came through on the evening of 14 December, many Australians had the same instinct: this sort of thing doesn't happen here—not in Australia. But it did.

The first emergency calls came in at 6.47 pm. The violence itself was measured in minutes, but the harm will be measured in years: 15 innocent people murdered, 42 people taken to hospital. And beyond those numbers were the parents, the children, the friends and the witnesses who would carry the shock and the trauma long after the crime scene tape was removed. This is one of those moments people remember with unwanted clarity—where they were, what they were doing, who they called and what they feared might be true.

For me, the last time a moment landed with the same force was Port Arthur in my home state of Tasmania, when the nation collectively realised something fundamental had been shattered. Bondi now sits alongside that moment in our national memory, and it tests us in the same way—whether we respond with seriousness, resolve, action, decisiveness and unity.

Today I rise to honour those who were lost and to stand with their families and loved ones in their grief. I honour the parents, partners and children now living with an absence that cannot be filled. I honour the friends and communities whose sense of safety was violently shaken in a single night. And I acknowledge those who were injured physically and psychologically and who will carry the weight of that night long after the attention has moved on.

In the midst of horror, we also witnessed extraordinary courage. I honour the police officers, first responders, healthcare workers who ran toward danger with calm, skill and determination and whose actions saved lives. And I honour the everyday people who stepped forward to protect others, including those who were wounded and those who lost their lives doing so. Their actions remind us of something deeply Australian: even in our darkest moments people instinctively looked after one another.

We cannot undo what happened that night, but we can decide what follows. Here in this place, we must honour the victims by refusing to let hatred divide us and taking action to make never happens again. We honour them by standing clearly and unequivocally against antisemitism and by affirming the right of every Jewish Australian to live, work, worship and gather in peace and safety. This is a moment that carries responsibility not just to mourn but to act, to ensure our laws, our institutions and our national resolve protect all communities now and into the future.

But policy alone will never be enough. It is families, friends and strong communities that carry people through grief. It is solidarity across difference. It is simple human decency showing quietly, consistently—and together. We stand together in resolve, determined to confront hatred, to protect one another and to hold fast to the values that define us as Australians and define us as decent people. I honour the victims. I stand with their families in solidarity and in sorrow. I commend the motion.

Dave Sharma (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A little over a month ago, Australia changed irrevocably. When the sun shone its first rows on Bondi Beach that morning of Sunday 14 December, it greeted the Australia that we knew and we loved. But, when the sun set on that same day, it did so to the cries of grief, to the wailing of sirens, to the frantic agony of families. It set on a nation transformed by a shock and a distress that we are still struggling to understand.

We speak today in this chamber of those whose destinies was stolen: Edith Brutman, a community figure well known for her work B'nai B'rith; Dan Elkayam, a French national who'd made his life and his home in Australia and was celebrating his Jewish faith; Boris and Sofia Gurman, a couple married for over 30 years, who died in each other's arms; Alex Kleytman—a Holocaust survivor, would you believe he survived the Holocaust only to be killed at Bondi?—who died while shielding his wife; Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, a fixture of the Bondi Chabad community, active in the Beth Din, who was the general manager of the main synagogue at Bondi; Peter Meagher, decorated police detective of over three decades in the eastern suburbs, a stalwart fan of rugby and an amateur photographer, whose funeral filled St Mary's Cathedral just last week; Reuven Morrison, who we've heard bravely confronted the attacker and discovered his Jewish identity after immigrating from the Soviet Union a few decades ago; Marika Pogany, who delivered tens of thousands of Meals on Wheels from the COA headquarters in Bondi Junction, even into her 80s, looking after people less fortunate than herself; dear Matilda, who we've heard so much of, who was named by her parents because it was the most Australia name they could think and because they saw her as a gift of their new life here in Australia; Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a close personal friend of mine who I will a little more speak of; Adam Smyth, a father of four, not Jewish himself, who was walking with his wife Katrina on Bondi Beach that afternoon; Boris Tetleroyd, whose son Ya'akov is still recovering from his injuries; Tania Tretiak, a Randwick regular and fixture of the Bondi Chabad community; and Tibor Weitzen, who had one of the best singing voices I know in the Bondi Chabad community. He was also quite a good drinker of scotch.

Each of these people was a universe unto themselves. Each was a biography in the making, defined by dreams, by achievements and by regrets. But they were not just victims; they were people of destiny, and that destiny was snatched away by people with malice in their hearts and with hate in their souls. Their lives were taken by terrorism.

I knew several of the victims personally and others I knew by face and reputation. Many of them were from the Russian-Jewish community centred around the Chabad of Bondi, where Eli Schlanger and Yaakov Levitan served with such devotion. Eli, in particular, was more than a community leader; he was a friend. I shared Shabbat dinners with him. I celebrated birthdays with him. At the time of Passover, as I was a non-Jew, he would arrange for me to buy the chometz and then sell it back to the Jewish community when Passover was over. It was Eli who was the driving force behind Chanukah by the Sea—the celebration that was the scene of this terrible massacre on 14 December. Although he was realistic about the threats that his own community faced, Eli was never willing to hide away his Jewishness. He was never not willing to share the spirit and the teaching of Judaism with non-Jews. He was never prepared to hide who was or what his faith was because of the risks to his community.

Eli's optimism was infectious. His energy was indefatigable. Over the years, I found his belief in humanity and, indeed, his belief in me restorative. We were due to meet just last week, Eli and myself, to discuss Project Noah, which was his latest venture, his latest initiative, to help promote universal values of respect and tolerance. Instead, I met his father-in-law, Rabbi Ulman, to offer my condolences to the family.

The lives of Eli 's family will never be the same. The lives of Matilda's sister, Summer, and her parents, Valentyna and Michael, who spoke so courageously today, will never be the same. The lives of Peter Meagher's widow, Virginia, and his many brothers and the Randwick rugby community will never be same. The lives of Reuven Morrison's daughter, Sheina, and his wife will never be the same. The lives of all those connected to the 15 slain on that day will never be the same. The lives of those wounded and injured on that dark day will never be the same. And Australia, our nation, will never be the same.

Many Australians behaved heroically that day to confront the terrorists, to protect the innocent and to help the wounded, from regular citizens to lifesavers, bystanders, hospital workers and New South Wales police. These heroes deserve our thanks and our recognition, but we must be careful not to use their heroism as a shield. Heroism cannot wash away this stain of national shame. It cannot bring back the dead, and it must not permit us to avoid the searching and the fundamental questions this massacre demands. These are: Why are Jewish people unable to live safely in Australia? Why do Jewish schools require armed guards? Why must a community of faith feel anxious simply for gathering? Why did the worst terrorist attack in our history target a community that makes up less than one per cent of our population—a community that has been nothing but a model of contribution and peace since it arrived here some 240-odd years ago?

Among the victims in Bondi were those who survived the Holocaust, those who fled war and those who fled antisemitism in Europe. They came here for safety. Yet it was here in Australia that the hatred they fled from found them. We've heard many say in recent days that the terrorist attack in Bondi was unthinkable. But it was not unthinkable; it was all too predictable. We've heard many say, including today, that hateful ideology and antisemitism have no place in Australia—but it has found a place. It has a foothold. It has been growing largely unchecked for these past 27 months. We have heard many say, 'This is not who we are,' but, like it or not, this is who we have become. That is the truth we must grapple with.

We cannot claim we were not warned. For over two years, we have witnessed a sustained campaign of harassment, vitriol and violence targeted at one specific community here in Australia, unprecedented in our history. No other form of racial prejudice would have been allowed to fester and grow and ferment and metastasise in this way, but too many of our institutions and too many of our leaders turned a blind eye. Too often the instigators were contextualised or given a pass. Too many leaders treated this as a Jewish problem and not an Australian crisis. It is a tragedy beyond words, beyond comprehension, that it has taken a massacre at Bondi to awaken us to this reality. Let it be clear that, if we cannot guarantee the safety of one community, the safety of every Australian is an illusion.

Many of the victims killed on that dark day were Jewish—not all of them but most of them. In Judaism, they say of the departed, 'zichronam livracha' or 'May their memory be a blessing'. This is an exaltation that the deeds of the dead must continue to inspire those who remain. But we cannot truly honour the memory of those killed at Bondi with words alone. We will only honour them through an honest reckoning with our failings. We'll only honour them by refusing to look away from the hatred that took their lives.

The duty to protect our citizens is the first and most sacred duty of this parliament. We failed that task for the Jewish Australian community and the community at Bondi just last month. We must now spend every day hereafter ensuring we never fail them again.

Steph Hodgins-May (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Like all of us in this chamber today, I rise with a heavy heart. The first night of Hanukkah was meant to be a time of light, reflection and joy. Instead, it has become one of the darkest days in our nation's history and a moment of profound national heartbreak.

We grieve for the 15 innocent people who were murdered at Bondi, for those who were injured and for all of their families, friends and communities affected by this tragedy. Seeing the footage affected us in ways that can't be described. It's sickening, heart-wrenching and tearful when you see a 10-year-old girl, someone's daughter, or someone's father and grandfather—brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, close friends—killed because of what they believed in.

I extend my deepest condolences to the Jewish community here in Australia and around the world who are reeling from the shock and pain of this devastating antisemitic attack. I grieve alongside the strong Jewish communities in my home state of Victoria. Among those killed were people who showed extraordinary courage in the face of terror, including Boris and Sofia Gurman, who resisted the armed gunmen. Their bravery must be remembered alongside the horror of that day.

This was an attack on Jewish people. It was an attack on all of us. It was an act of hatred intended to divide, to instil fear and to undermine our shared way of life—but it is not who we are. Who we are is seen in the first responders who ran towards danger. Who we are is reflected in those who intervened to stop the gunmen. Who we are is found in people of different faiths, backgrounds and beliefs who have come together in solidarity, care and compassion.

The specific targeting of people because of their faith, echoing the atrocity faced by our neighbours in Christchurch, was an act of terrorism aimed squarely at identity and belief. It's deeply disturbing that the terrorism we have seen overseas has occurred here, on our iconic beach, directed at Jewish people. As members of this parliament, we have a responsibility to confront hate and violence wherever it exists, and to make this country safer for everyone. We have a duty to protect Jewish people, just as we have a duty to protect people of the Islamic faith and people of all religions and beliefs. We also have a duty to protect others who experience violence, hatred and discrimination, including the LGBTQI+ communities, First Nations people and the disabled community.

Today, we honour the lives lost in one of Australia's worst terrorist attacks. It is a moment for parliament to stand united against antisemitism and against all forms of violent extremism. We must be unequivocal in our rejection of hatred and resolute in the values that make us strong—diversity, shared humanity and acceptance. I will now read a statement from Jewish advocates for understanding antisemitism, a group committed to confronting antisemitism in all its forms, while upholding universal principles of justice and human rights.

We are deeply shaken by the antisemitic Bondi attack and horrified that 15 people were murdered, and many others injured, while celebrating Chanukah.

We are also resolute that our anguish at Jews is not used to suppress criticism of governments and regimes, both here and overseas, or misrepresent Jewish identity, while real antisemitic threats are overlooked. The Jewish community in Australia is multi-faceted and many of us uphold freedom of speech, democracy and human rights as the pillars of our Jewish identity.

The atrocity at Bondi, the lives lost and the grief we are left with are painful reminders of the type of society that we reject. In our reaction, we must aspire to one that is grounded in our shared humanity and free of all forms of violence and extremism.

And so we urge the government to avoid knee-jerk responses, including laws that will stifle legitimate political critique in the name of 'combatting antisemitism'.

We urge the government to work to ensure that all marginalised people are protected from racism, including Jewish people from genuine antisemitism.

This goal requires long-term, well thought out responses based on evidence and wide consultation.

As I reflect on these words and on the unity shown in the chamber today, I'm reminded that moments like this must be more than symbolic. Our grief must be matched with care, our unity with responsibility and our condemnation of hate with action that is thoughtful, principled and inclusive.

If we stand together in moments of tragedy, we must also commit to working together before tragedy strikes, to protect communities at risk, to confront real antisemitism and racism wherever it appears and to do so without eroding the democratic freedoms and human rights that keep all Australians safe. That is how we'll honour those who were killed, that is how we'll ensure their lives were not lost in vain and that is the Australia we owe to one another.

Charlotte Walker (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today feeling the full weight of the sadness and responsibility that brings us all here today, to honour the lives lost, to comfort those who grieve, and to speak clearly about who we are and who we refuse to become. A few weeks ago, at Bondi Beach, the postcard for joy, community, and the Australian way of life, there was an act of terror that shattered that scene. This attack, deliberately targeted at members of the Jewish community on the first night of Hanukkah, was an act of hate that cuts deeply across our nation. My thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones. No words spoken in this chamber can undo their pain. But it matters that we speak, it matters that we remember and it matters that we stand publicly with those whose lives have been forever changed.

The fact that this violence occurred on the first night of Hanukkah is particularly devastating. Hanukkah is known as the 'festival of light', a time that commemorates resilience in the face of persecution, the triumph of hope over fear and the enduring power of faith, even in the darkest of times. At its heart, Hanukkah tells a story of survival, resistance and renewal—a refusal to allow violence or oppression to extinguish light. The word 'Hanukkah' comes from the Hebrew word meaning 'to dedicate'.

To dedicate is not simply to remember the past but to recommit ourselves in the present, to restore what has been damaged and to claim again what truly matters. In the wake of this attack, I believe that is exactly what we must do. We must rededicate ourselves as individuals, as a parliament and as a nation by reclaiming our power away from terrorist ideologies that thrive on fear and division. These ideologies seek to strip people of their humanity, to turn difference into danger and to convince us that coexistence is impossible. I refuse to accept that future and I know this chamber does too.

What gives me hope, even in moments like this, is the response we have seen from communities across Australia: people of all faiths standing together, vigils being attended by strangers who simply wanted to show solidarity and messages of support being written out of care, not obligation. These moments remind us that hatred may be loud, but it is not dominant, and we will not let it define us. Terrorism aims to isolate and to make people afraid to gather, worship or celebrate. It wants communities to feel alone. Our response must be the opposite: connection, visibility and unity.

To the Jewish community I want to say, clearly and personally, you are not alone. You belong here. Your traditions, your culture and your faith are a valued and inseparable part of our shared story. You should never have to feel fear while lighting Hanukkah candles, gathering with loved ones or walking freely in public spaces.

And to those who seek to intimidate through violence and hate: you will not succeed. You will not dictate how we live, who we stand with or what values we uphold.

As leaders, our duty does not end with condemnation; it extends to action, to challenging antisemitism wherever it appears, to protecting vulnerable communities and to ensuring that freedom of religion, equality and safety are not abstract principles but lived realities. Each night of Hanukkah, another candle is lit. The light grows, not because the darkness disappears but because people choose to add to it. I think we can find that for how we move forward.

May we honour the victims of this attack by choosing to add light through compassion, courage and collective resolve. May we rededicate ourselves to unity over division, equality over exclusion, freedom over fear and acceptance over hate. May their memories be a blessing, and may our response reflect the very best of who we are and who we aspire to be.

Jessica Collins (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to 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.

Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I personally offer my sincere condolences to the victims of the terrorist attack that targeted the Jewish community at Bondi Beach on 14 December 2025. This was an awful event, one that should never have happened in our country. I acknowledge that Jewish Australians are hurting and have been hurting for some time. I wholeheartedly support this condolence motion and extend my deepest sympathies to the victims, to their families and to the broader Jewish community. We mourn with you and we stand with you.

As a nation it is fundamental that we come together united against hate in all of its forms. Australia is at its strongest when we stand together as equals, regardless of faith, background or belief. It is vital that people of all faiths come together to stamp out hatred in our communities. This is not a fight that Jewish people should have to face alone. It's a responsibility that belongs to all of us. Antisemitism has gone unchecked for far too long. We have seen it grow rapidly over recent years, and we cannot allow that trajectory to continue. We must be honest about this challenge, though. We must learn from it, and we must grow from it. That means taking fast but measured action, not actions driven by fear or anger but actions grounded in principle, justice and evidence to stamp out antisemitism and all other forms of hate.

At the same time, we cannot allow this awful attack to further divide us. Nor can we allow action against antisemitism to become misguided or misled hatred against others, including members of the Muslim community. Hate does not defeat hate. Division only weakens us. Yes, we need to look at stronger hate speech laws, and we need them enforced, but laws alone are not enough. People are not born racists. They are not born antisemitic. If we are serious about tackling hate, we must address it at a systemic level through education, through accountability of our leaders and through institutions that actively protect people of all races and faiths.

Changing attitudes is significantly harder than changing laws. It takes time, and it takes bipartisanship not just from the major parties but from the crossbench too. As a parliament, the task before us now is to come together. I recognise that I'm not a Jewish person, nor are many in this chamber. But as leaders and as representatives we have a duty to stand in the face of antisemitism and say clearly and unequivocally, 'Enough is enough.' To the Jewish community, we say this: you are seen, you are heard and you are not alone. We are united in the face of hate.

Ellie Whiteaker (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too rise to express my condolences; to acknowledge the lives lost and the lives forever changed after the antisemitic terror attack at Bondi on 14 December 2025; to express my sorrow at the loss of the 15 people who were murdered, whose lives were cut short in the cruellest of ways; to share in grief with their families, who now face the unimaginable task of life without their loved ones; and to wish strength and healing to the survivors who were injured or who witnessed the attack unfold and who have suffered a trauma impossible to fathom; to say thank you to the first responders and civilians who showed tremendous bravery and ran towards danger to help people when they most needed it; to say to all Jewish Australians, I am sorry for the hurt and the pain you have suffered before and since that terrible day and to say to them, you deserve to be able to live, to work and to worship in peace and in safety.

Whether you were born here, have moved here for a better life or are visiting for a short time, you deserve to feel safe here. You deserve to be safe here. Australian beaches should be safe. Hanukkah should be a celebration, an event where people can come together in public, without risk. Children should be able to visit a petting zoo without fear of being shot at. Terrorists like the two men who perpetrated this act of true evil, those who seek to destroy our social fabric, cannot succeed in breaking the Australian spirit. Those who spread hate and stoke division must not win.

In this time of absolute tragedy, at a time when we have seen the worst of humanity, we must remember we have also seen the absolute best of humanity, too. While that will never make up for the lives that were lost and the families that were shattered, it can give us some hope. Ahmed al-Ahmed, Gefen Bitton, Rabbi Leibel Lazaroff, the Bondi and Waverley lifeguards, first responders, police and ambulance workers, and so many of the Bondi community showed us true courage in the face of unimaginable circumstances. Jessica Rosen, while not knowing where her own toddler was, sheltered someone else's child from gunfire. Many of those who died did so making the ultimate sacrifice in protecting others—Boris and Sofia Gurman, and Tibor Weitzen. First responders Constable Scott Dyson and Probationary Constable Jack Hibbert were injured doing their jobs at work, protecting their community.

Following the attack, vision of floral tributes and gifts at Bondi Pavilion and in other places right across the country, including at Government House in my home state of Western Australia, showed the Australian community coming together in mourning. The Australian community have shown what we can do together in times of need, with record numbers of Australians coming forward to donate blood and to do what little they could to help in the aftermath of this tragedy.

There are so many stories of courage, of bravery and of the Australian spirit—the very best of our country. These stories also reflect the Jewish spirit—kindness, peace and courage. These actions remind us that love and light will triumph over darkness. While there's nothing we can say to ease the suffering of those impacted by this terrorist attack, I hope those affected can see that, today, across this parliament, we all acknowledge your pain, we share in your sorrow, we stand with you and we will not forget. Edith Brutman, Dan Elkayam, Boris and Sofia Gurman, Alexander Kleytman, Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, Peter Meagher, Reuven Morrison, Marika Pogany, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, Adam Smyth, Boris Tetleroyd, Tania Tretiak and little Matilda—we will not forget.

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to make my contribution to this debate, knowing that my words will be small consolation but hopefully some consolation to those of the Jewish community but also to the families who have lost so much out of this brutal event that occurred on what was supposed to be a happy occasion for Australia's Jewish community—the commencement of Hanukkah, on 14 December last year. I offer my condolences to the families of those 15 innocents who were taken so brutally from us and to the broader Jewish community.

The fourteenth of December will forever be a day where this country changed forever, with 15 people murdered in cold blood because they were Jewish—where antisemitism and hate invaded one of our most symbolic locations, while the Jewish community were celebrating light over darkness for the commencement of Hanukkah. We have to acknowledge the confronting nature of this attack, driven by the hatred of antisemitism. This is not the country that I thought it was. This is not what I thought we would see in our communities. But we are now forced to confront that this is who we are, because of those events. Antisemitism and hatred live in this country, in our communities, to our national shame.

We're now forced to confront what we will do and how we will confront and manage this evil of antisemitic hatred that has taken hold in our country. It is an enormous challenge, but we must do that to honour the lives of the 15 who lost their lives, by making and taking the appropriate actions. How are we to make Australia a safe place again? How is it that those who escaped the Holocaust and came to Australia because they thought it was safe were to lose their lives in such a savage and evil antisemitic attack? How do we ensure that the security guards are no longer required outside our synagogues and our Jewish schools, kindergartens and aged-care facilities? That must be our priority if we are to appropriately honour the loss of life that occurred at Bondi on 14 December.

We all say that this is not who we thought we were. This is not the sort of horrific act that we thought would happen in our country, yet a world with global information flow means we are all exposed to the horrors of antisemitism. It is a philosophy that we must all now work together to ensure, for those mown down by the evil events perpetrated by those two humans on 14 December, can be stamped out. We are all going to have to act in that sense. The leaders of our Muslim communities are going to have to decry Islamic extremism. The leaders of our Christian faiths are going to have to decry Christian extremism. And it goes for every other faith and community in the country—for all faiths. We must all eschew the hatred of radicalism and the hatred of evil. It can have no place in our society.

As Australians we all must do what we can to ensure efforts to stamp out antisemitism and all racial extremism in our country. Calls for unity cannot be just words. They must be accompanied by actions that actually bring us together in unity—genuine actions that help us to, together, design and implement the tools that our society needs to oversight our values. Those calls for unity must not be just words used to silence opinions or perspectives of politics or be of one particular view. That will not bring us together in the way that we must come together. We must bring to our country a unity of action in condemning radicalisation in all its forms and to particularly root out antisemitism. As I've said a couple of times, anything less is a betrayal of those 15 innocents who lost their lives in this murderous, evil attack. It is also a betrayal of all Australians who, in good faith, expect that in this country we can come together again and become a place where we all feel safe.

As happens so often in this wonderful country, when we are confronted by evil, our hearts are warmed and gladdened by what is so good. We saw it again at Bondi—in effect, and in the spirit of Hanukkah, we saw light prevailing over darkness. Many have mentioned those who ran towards danger: those who, despite the danger, ran to help others, those who tried to stop the slaughter and paid the ultimate sacrifice and those who put their bodies over others to protect them. Then, of course, there were the police, other first responders, medical teams, counsellors and even those Australians who gave blood.

It is clear that the Australian community spoke very loudly with respect to what they want to see in terms of Australia trying to recover some of what it lost through the tragic events of Bondi. When it comes to those good actions that we saw—something we also should consider when we're thinking about what we do now, in terms of legislating the reforms we might want to legislate and in some of the pronouncements that we've heard, particularly with respect to some cultures in this country, since 14 December—I'm reminded of the words of Ahmed al-Ahmed, a refugee from Syria. If you listen to some of the rhetoric that I have heard in the few weeks since Bondi, and the pronouncements of what some people might like to see occur, you'd wonder how Ahmed might go getting into this country with what's been pronounced. And yet his words speak so much about how he sees his actions as a member of the Australian community. He said:

My soul and all my everything in my organ, in my body, in my brain, asked me to go, and to defend and to save innocent life … I didn't think about it.

Those are the words of a Muslim man who is now, globally, recognised as one of the heroes of Bondi. We all must remember his actions and where he comes from when we're considering what we do into the future. He said:

My target was just to take the gun from him, and to stop him from killing a human being's life and not killing innocent people.

A wonderful Australian individual who we should celebrate—and clearly we are.

The reverberations of this horrible event will continue for some time. We must ensure that those reverberations maintain a determination to stamp out antisemitism and hatred from our community and from our nation. To the families directly affected, we trust that the warm memories of your loved ones that we know you hold so close in your hearts can provide you with some comfort at this time. We know those 15 innocent souls can never be replaced. We owe it to them to ensure our actions are appropriate.

To the families of Edith Brutman; Dan Elkayam, Boris and Sofia Gurman; Alex Kleytman; Rabbi Yaakov Levitan; Peter Meagher; Reuven Morrison; Marika Pogany; Matilda, the innocent of innocents, who was named for this country; Rabbi Eli Schlanger, Adam Smyth, Boris Tetleroyd, Tania Tretiak and Tibor Weitzen, we offer our sincerest condolences at this terrible time.

Fatima Payman (WA, Australia's Voice) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of this condolence motion and to add my voice to the Senate's condolences to the families and loved ones of the 15 innocent people murdered at Bondi Beach on 14 December 2025.

This was an atrocity, a calculated act of terrorism deliberately targeted at Australia's Jewish community as families gathered to mark the first night of Hanukkah. In a country as diverse as ours, no-one should ever fear that celebrating their faith, gathering with their community or simply being visible would make them a target. That is not the Australia we accept, and it is not the Australia we will surrender to. I join every senator in this place and every Australian in condemning antisemitism unequivocally. Antisemitism is real, it is dangerous and it must be confronted wherever it appears, whether in threats, in harassments, in conspiracy theories, in vandalism or in the quieter forms of dehumanisation that allow hatred to grow.

The promise we make today that Jewish Australians have the right to live, work, worship and learn in peace and safety must sit within a bigger national promise. Every Australian of every faith, of every background, must be able to do the same. Our unity cannot be selective, our compassion cannot be conditional and our safety cannot be negotiated.

It is clear that the fabric that holds our society together today is frayed. Global uncertainty, economic instability and international conflicts have exacerbated the anxieties of the Australian people. But I have not lost faith in Australia. If anything, my faith has been strengthened. The actions of regular people on that day that are beyond words. There is a heroism in the Australian character that we should be so, so proud of. Before the attack began, Boris and Sofia Gurman confronted the terrorists and attempted to disarm them. Dash cam footage captured the husband and wife struggling with the attackers by the roadside. They both gave their lives in this noble act of resistance.

The conduct of Ahmed al-Ahmed has been lauded the world over. His brave disregard for his own life, in charging towards one of the attackers and disarming him, was inspirational in the truest sense of the word. His uncle told the ABC:

"He saw the scene before him, he saw people—human beings—lying on the ground.

"You know how Arabs, Syrians are: They carry dignity and a deep sense of honour, and they despise disgrace and betrayal."

Mr al-Ahmed survived despite receiving multiple gunshot wounds.

After Mr al-Ahmed disarmed the attacker, Reuven Morrison was captured throwing bricks to fend off one of the attackers. His bravery saw the attacker retreat to the footbridge. There are people walking around today who are alive because of that. He was another strong, brave individual soul who gave his life that day in the defence of his family and his community.

People used their own bodies to shield and protect children, children who were not even related to them. They risked their lives to protect children who were strangers to them. They comforted and reassured the children as the terror unfolded around them. And so I pay tribute to the bravery and vigour of the New South Wales police and the New South Wales health system. I sincerely thank all Australians who donated blood in the hours and days and weeks that followed.

Those stories matter because they tell us something very important about who we are as Australians and about who we can choose to be, even when the worst is at our doorstep. They remind us that the opposite of hate is not just tolerance; it's solidarity; it's ordinary people deciding, in a split second, that the life in front of them matters.

Tribute alone is not enough, and we've heard from multiple senators today that a motion of condolence must also be a moment of national resolve. So what does that resolve look like? It looks like truth-telling, naming antisemitism as evil and refusing to minimise it. It means rejecting the politics of scapegoating, which is a familiar reflex in times of fear and stress, to pit communities against one another instead of confronting the real causes of insecurity. It means refusing to paint an entire faith with the same brush because of the terrorist actions of two individuals driven by extremist ideology. It means being clear and disciplined in our language, not conflating legitimate criticism of a nation-state, including Israel, with racial or religious vilification of Jewish people. It means political leaders choosing words that heal rather than words that inflame. And it means action that is serious and sustained, stronger prevention of extremism, proper resourcing for community safety and real support for those living with trauma: the injured, the witnesses, the frontline workers and the children whose sense of safety was shattered. It also means that we do not allow this terror attack to be used as a weapon in someone else's culture war.

When violence is targeted at one community, it is a warning to all communities. If we let hatred win in one place, it does not stop there. That is why the unity we're all calling for and that this motion has called for cannot just be a slogan; it has to become a standard we live by. So to all Jewish Australians, I want to reiterate the words I shared on 14 December 2025. You are not alone. You should not have to minimise your visibility or dilute your identity or quietly adjust your life to avoid being targeted. You have the right to live proudly and safely and to participate fully in Australia's public life, just like each and every one of us. And to every Australian watching this moment, including those who have felt anxious, isolated or fearful in recent times, remember that the answer to division is not silence. The answer is a stronger, kinder Australia that refuses to be divided.

We can be a country that is both safe and free, both diverse and united and both compassionate and confident. The terrorists who committed this atrocity wanted Australians to retreat into suspicion and anger. The heroes of Bondi showed us a very different path. They showed us courage, dignity and an instinct to protect life. Let us honour the 15 lives taken by meeting hate with the best of the Australian spirit and by committing together to do the hard work to keep every community safe and our nation whole.

Josh Dolega (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today in support of this motion and to join with my colleagues to send my love and support to those affected by the Bondi terrorist attack. Sunday 14 December marked the beginning of Hanukkah, a Jewish festival of lights and one of the holiest periods of the Jewish calendar. It should've been a joyful day filled with celebration, with love and with peace, when just before 7 pm, out of nowhere, came the most wicked, evil, tragic act of hatred—the worst terrorist attack in our nation's history. Two terrorists, who were driven by antisemitism and irrational hatred, brutally murdered 15 people who were loved and valued Australians and members of the Jewish community.

Boris and Sofia Gurman, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, Edith Brutman, Adam Smyth, Boris Tetleroyd, Marika Pogany, Peter Meagher, Dan Elkayam, Reuven Morrison, Tibor Weitzen, Alexander Kleytman, Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, Tania Tretiak and, of course, 10-year-old Matilda—these are not just names. They are people. They were mums, dads, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters, friends, colleagues, teachers, community leaders and children. They were deeply loved and respected members of their communities and their light will never be forgotten, yet the void that they leave behind will never subside.

At a time of darkness and in the face of true terror, ordinary Australians and first responders rushed towards danger, placing their own lives at risk by trying to save another life. Sadly, some people died or were injured trying to protect others. Their braveness and their selflessness in what was a terrifying and dangerous situation is nothing short of heroic.

To the police, to the paramedics and to everyone who helped save a life: thank you for your bravery.

I can't go without mentioning father of two Ahmed al-Ahmed, who ran into the jaws of danger to disarm one of the attackers. I remember watching the events on TV as they were unfolding and I was astounded by the sheer bravery of that man running in and taking a weapon, ready to take a bullet for another Australian. I've never seen such bravery in all of my life. Ahmed's actions were selfless and he saved countless lives. Mate, you are a hero and you have our thanks.

On Thursday 22 January, we will unite for a national day of mourning under the theme 'light will win'. Flags across the country will be flown at half-mast as we come together to mourn, to remember, to support one another and to support the Jewish community. Tasmanians are unfortunately all too familiar with hatred and gun violence following the Port Arthur massacre in 1996. As a country, we will never forget Port Arthur and we will never forget Bondi.

I extend my most heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the 15 Australians whose lives were taken far too soon. Each and every life that was lost represents a profound loss for Australia and a wound that will never heal. It's incumbent on us as elected representatives and as leaders to set an example of unity, of kindness and of dignity.

Australians must unite, and we must reject the often deliberate, targeted agendas that stoke division. It's time for the hatred and for the dog whistling to stop.

The impact of hate speech disproportionately harms our most vulnerable people, and, in this moment, the Jewish community are the most vulnerable people as well. But we also need to think about our children. Our children are less equipped to process fear, to process anger and grief, and the effects can stay with them long into their life after an incident has passed.

Every single person deserves to feel safe. We deserve to be respected, regardless of our race, of our religion, of our sexuality, of our gender or of our ability. An attack on one of us should be an attack on all of us. We are all equals. We need to reject division. Let's embrace each other. Kindness matters.

Andrew McLachlan (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to speak to the condolence motion that is before the Senate. My thoughts and prayers are with the families that have lost loved ones. We mourn with you. To those that displayed incredible bravery: you have my gratitude.

As we move forward as a nation, we must reflect deeply on what we, as a community, have not done and, now, what we must do. We owe that to those that lost their lives, to their families and to the Jewish community. It is clear we must do so much more, especially in our institutions and their leadership.

I find the words of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in his work The Dignity of Difference offer me—and, I hope, my fellow senators—the compass bearing we need. The quote is:

The greatest single antidote to violence is conversation, speaking our fears, listening to the fears of others, and in that sharing of vulnerabilities discovering a genesis of hope.

As Bondi and its community slowly returns to normal—which is right, as we cannot allow the terrorists to win—I assure the families, their friends and the Jewish community: we will not forget.

Lidia Thorpe (Victoria, Independent) Share this | Link to 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.

Michelle Ananda-Rajah (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sunday 14 December 2025 will forever be etched in infamy in this country—a day when the malignant effects of antisemitism collided with the equally malignant effects of Islamic radicalism. The sounds of song and surf were pierced by screams and gunshots as people either fell to the ground killed, cowered in terror or scattered in multiple directions. I pay my respects to the memories of 15 Australians, the majority of them Jewish, along with at least 40 injured people facing long roads to recovery ahead. The physical wounds heal faster than the psychological ones.

My sister lost a dear friend in Adam Smyth; my heartfelt condolences to his family and to the families of Boris and Sofia Gurman, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, Edith Brutman, Boris Tetleroyd, Marika Pogany, Peter Meagher, Dan Elkayam, Reuven Morrison, Tibor Weitzen, Alexander Kleytman, Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, Tania Tretiak and, of course, Matilda, only 10 years old. May their memories be a blessing. In Jewish tradition, repeating the names of the deceased ensures that their memories do not die. I pay tribute to the first responders, lifeguards, healthcare workers, police—including constables Jack Hibbert and Scott Dyson, who were injured—and emergency personnel who sprung into action on the day and have continued their work with professionalism in service to our community and country.

Amid the chaos and terror were extraordinary acts of courage, like Sofia and Boris Gurman, who had the presence of mind to disarm the terrorist as he was about to start his killing spree, only to be shot dead; 14-year-old Chaya Dadon, who, in the middle of the attack, left the safety of a shelter to shield two children who were stranded next to their wounded parents, getting shot in the process—a child herself shielding children, who said: 'I felt like Hashem'—or God—'was sitting right next to me. He was whispering into my ear, "This is your mission; go save those kids."'; Reuven Morrison, a Russian Australian grandfather who distracted the attacker by throwing bricks, buying time for others to flee to safety before he was fatally shot; and of course, Ahmed al-Ahmed, a Syrian Muslim refugee, who crash-tackled the terrorist, wrenching away his gun as he was approaching people who were cowering on the ground, saving countless lives while being shot multiple times. He said, 'I am defending my people, defending innocent people, whatever their religion.' We saw on that day the worst and the best of Australia.

This atrocity did not happen in isolation; it happened in a permissive environment of antisemitism. We had been warned by Jewish Australians—including the special envoy for antisemitism, Jillian Segal—and the boss of ASIO, Mike Burgess, that words matter. Hateful antisemitic rhetoric, if left unchecked, opens the door to escalation. This is exactly what has occurred since 7 October 2023. Antisemitic language opened the door to graffiti; the targeting of Jewish businesses and academics; the doxxing of Jewish creatives; the rebooting of the BDS—that is, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement—targeting anything Jewish or Israel associated, including research partnerships; violent protests on the streets of Melbourne, where horse manure and acid were thrown at police; the vandalism of Labor MP officers; firebombing of a childcare centre; firebombing of cars in Jewish neighbourhoods; Australian Muslim healthcare workers emboldened to publicly announce that they would harm Jewish patients—they should never again be allowed to practice; and the torching of the Adass Israel Synagogue, in Elsternwick.

The weekly protests in Melbourne witnessed people carrying placards citing the death of Israel, chanting 'from the river to the sea' and reinforcing the abolition of Israel; calls to 'globalise the intifada', a subversive call to jihad; and people celebrating pictures of terror organisations or sponsors of terror like Iranian ayatollahs, Hezbollah or the colours of Hamas and Hezbollah. There were times when I felt that Melbourne had become a place I did not recognise. Our security agencies uncovered foreign interference from Iran, which had co-opted local criminals to do their bidding, resulting in our government ejecting the Iranian ambassador. It revealed that Iran was the head of this snake, a chaos machine funding terrorism throughout the world, and we were not immune. I said in my farewell speech as the member for Higgins that sectarian grievances should not be imported nor amplified here. Leave them at the door. We live and die under the Australian flag, not under the banners of our previous countries.

The inability of many Australians to manage their moral distress or to disagree agreeably has led to blame being sprayed in multiple directions, towards government, universities, businesses, arts and cultural institutions, but worst of all, towards Jewish Australians. They are not responsible for the problems in the Middle East. Free speech does not mean hate speech. Free speech does not mean a free-for-all. Australians value the right to free speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of religious expression, but those rights come with obligations—to treating each other with mutual respect and to equity and inclusion. It seems that this permissive environment of antisemitism has come with the departure of decency and forgetting our obligations to each other.

Antisemitism has taken root in our country, but so has extremist ideology, including Islamic radicalism and Neo-Nazi extremism. All are like terminal cancers. You can't protect the good cells of the body without excising the cancerous ones. The laws we are introducing will strengthen gun control and make it easier to proscribe hate groups, but the lack of support for the racial vilification provisions is a major loophole for terrorism. It was identified as a key recommendation by the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism in her report, but, unfortunately, it has been shelved—for now—due to insufficient political support.

I believe that, for the sake of the 15 lives lost, families shattered and a nation seeking enduring mitigations, we should progress these provisions via a parliamentary inquiry, but in the interim, via the royal commission. This is unfinished business of this moment. If the worst terrorist incident in Australia's history can't motivate us to tackle the hard stuff, then I don't know what will. Addressing racial vilification matters because, as the Prime Minister said, the terrorists had hate in their hearts but also had guns in their hands. That hate started with language—a poison that was dripped into their ears either in person, online or both. Language matters because it radicalises.

Extremist Islamic preachers and clerics who till the soil of hate, citing selective verses in the Koran to support their claims against the infidels, who are Christians, Jews and non-believers, are exploiting Australia's values of free speech against us. The crazy thing is that these extremists think that they've won when they lose. According to their rigid belief systems, their own death begets martyrdom. The literal interpretation of aspects of the Koran is not today compatible with the laws and values of Australia, nor any liberal democracy for that matter. I would urge the many decent Australian Islamic leaders of repute to moderate this kind of interpretation because it may be fuelling fanaticism and putting us all in danger.

Muslim Australians are overwhelmingly peaceful and decent people. Extremism by a hateful minority smears them all and fuels anti-Muslim sentiment. It also fuels anti-immigrant sentiment in a country where one in two Australians were either born overseas or have a parent who was born overseas. It emboldens Neo-Nazis to recruit, campaign against Australians of Jewish or Indian ancestry and entertain ambitions for political representation, which makes my blood run cold. Already, our introduction of prohibitions against hate groups has seen the National Socialist Network, a bunch of Neo-Nazis, disband. How we deoxygenate the bad and oxygenate all that is good and right in Australia will be the subject of the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.

I thank the Jewish community, including grieving families, Jewish organisations and civic groups, including many Labor members, both current and former, who advocated for it. I hope that, in the aftermath of the worst terrorist attack Australia has ever seen, it delivers a blueprint that will not only help us outlaw the bad stuff but also address how we strengthen the bonds between each other and between disparate communities.

Australia is multicultural, but our social cohesion has fissures, with bridges between communities being pulled up, to our collective detriment. This is why social engineering measures will be just as important as the criminal justice ones. The royal commission will also afford Jewish Australians testimonial justice, preventing them, I hope, from feeling and becoming permanently marginalised in their own country. Living in a state of hypervigilance behind walls cannot be their future.

The first time I lit my menorah, which I purchased in Tel Aviv weeks after October 7, was after the Bondi terrorist attack. In a darkened room, I reflected on a Jewish truth first conveyed to me by the Chabad family in Malvern: that only light defeats darkness. The Jewish community have met this moment and so many past—in fact, too many—with vigils of song, prayer and candlelight. Such was also the case for those 15 lives lost. How they find the grace to sing rather than shout, to extend the outstretched hand rather than the clenched fist, is a mystery to me. I don't understand how they do this. It is something, though, that we can all learn from.

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (NT, Country Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We commence this parliamentary year not with optimism but with melancholy. We dedicate our time today not to routine business but to solemn remembrance. In mourning the victims of the worst terrorist attack on our soil in our history, we are reminded that something is rotten in the state of Australia. The Bondi Beach massacre was also the second deadliest antisemitic attack outside Israel in the post-Holocaust era. We must be under no misapprehension as to the magnitude of what's happened in a national and international context. More than a month has passed since that day of depravity, yet time has not dulled the feelings that gripped us in the wake of that monstrous act. There's still heart-wrenching grief for the 15 innocent and wonderful people who were murdered. There's still immeasurable gratitude for the police officers, paramedics, lifeguards and innocent bystanders whose courage shone amidst cruelty's darkness. There's still deep concern for the survivors, for those who continue to be treated by our marvellous doctors and nurses, and for those who are living with the trauma of terrorism. There's still profound empathy for all Australians of Jewish faith, a cherished community that continues to live in fear.

There's another emotion that has not diminished either: anger—an anger that's both palpable and warranted. The barbaric bloodbath on Bondi Beach was a threefold tragedy: a tragedy that occurred, a tragedy that was foreseeable and a tragedy that was possibly preventable. There's a long thread connecting the Bondi Beach terrorist attack and every antisemitic incident on our soil back to the weak and supine political response to the hate filled mob that gathered on the steps of the Sydney Opera House. Consider what we've been since 9 October 2023: the Caulfield riots; the storming of the Crowne Plaza, Melbourne; the doxxing of Jewish creatives, encampments on university campuses right across our country; Islamist hate preachers spreading evil; an academic indoctrinating preschool children; activists unfurling banners on the roof of this very parliament; the offices of parliamentarians vandalised; homes, cars and memorials graffitied; Jewish Australians accosted on public transport; the Addas Israel Synagogue firebombed; two nurses calling for the murder of Israelis; protesters worshipping terrorists, death cults and Iran's dictator with impunity; almost weekly antisemitic marches with mobs chanting genocidal slogans; and so much more. Intolerable antisemitic incidents were tolerated, and that led to more intolerable antisemitic incidents. Perpetrators weren't held accountable, and that meant would-be perpetrators weren't deterred.

Why has the disease of antisemitism spread through our nation? Because of weakness, inaction and a lack of moral clarity at the highest political levels. It is a shame that even today there still appears to be a lack of moral clarity. Today isn't about Indigenous hatred and intolerance. Today isn't about trans hatred and intolerance. Today is about Jewish hatred and intolerance. Today, of all days, is about confronting antisemitism, and shame on those who trivialise antisemitism through their false equivalence. Today I will do what those in power have failed to do: I'll speak honestly about the sources of antisemitism. That's what the Bondi victims, their families and Australians of Jewish faith deserve. Yes, the antisemitism we face has a neo-Nazi component, a component that's widely acknowledged. But there are other components which the Prime Minister in particular must confront and be upfront about. There's a youth component of young and impressionable Australians who have imbibed lies and propaganda about Israel and become antisemitic as a consequence. There's a revolutionary left component too of activists and professional protesters whose antisemitism goes hand in hand with other crusades—for example, spreading climate catastrophism, promoting radical trans activism and campaigning against capitalism. This revolutionary movement seeks to attack our institutions, sow division and ingrain national self-loathing as part of their war on the West.

And there is an Islamist component. I don't mean the majority of Australians of Muslim faith who, like their fellow countrymen, work hard, embrace our values and are loyal and cherished citizens. Rather, I mean an increasing number of people on our shores who subscribe to radical Islamism. Radical Islamism hasn't come out of thin air. It comes out from Islam, and we need to be candid about aspects of Islamic culture. In Australia, there are some Muslims that don't believe in equality of the sexes, some Muslims who want to establish parallel legal systems and some Muslims who reject freedom of speech and freedom of belief. Such views are incompatible with our liberal democracy and values.

It's time to speak frankly about this clash of views, undeterred by those who seek to ring-fence Islam from reasonable scrutiny by invoking Islamophobia. It's time to acknowledge that there are people on our soil who don't want to change for Australia but who want Australia to change for them. It's time to be upfront about the failures of our immigration system. We owe these conversations to those Muslims who have embraced our way of life, who discard those elements of Islam that are incompatible with our liberal democracy and who repudiate the extremists in their own faith. We owe these conversations to Australians of Jewish faith who are living in fear. We owe these conversations to all Australians because our country must never experience the social fragmentation that now afflicts part of the UK and Europe. Most of all, we owe these conversations to the victims of the Bondi Beach terrorist attack who were murdered by extreme Islamists. From tragedy must come truth. From truth must come courage. Never again is now.

Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today the Senate, and indeed the parliament, honours the lives lost, the lives forever changed and the community shaken by the antisemitic terrorist attack at Bondi on 14 December. It was a targeted attack on Jewish Australians carried out on the first day of Hanukkah, a time that should have been marked by light, faith and celebration. Instead, it became a moment of profound grief.

Our thoughts are with every person affected by this attack. We think first and foremost of those who've lost their lives and of their families and loved ones who now carry a loss that words cannot ease. We think of those who were injured and whose recovery will take time, care and support. We think of the broader Jewish community who were targeted simply for who they are. No-one should ever be attacked for their faith. No-one should fear gathering in public, worshipping freely or celebrating their traditions. Jewish Australians have the right to live, work, study and worship in peace and safety. They should not live in fear. Antisemitism is not just an attack on one community. It is an attack on the values that bind us together as a nation. It is an attack on tolerance, on mutual respect and on the idea that difference should be protected and not punished. There is no place for this hatred, this division or this terrorism in Australia.

I also want to pay tribute to the bravery shown in the immediate aftermath of the attack, to the first responders, police officers and surf lifesaving workers who ran towards danger, to the paramedics and emergency workers who treated the injured under the most confronting circumstances and to the civilians who acted with courage, compassion and calm in moments of chaos. Their actions saved lives, and they represent the very best of our country. I also want to acknowledge the courage of Ahmed al-Ahmed, whose actions on that day spoke to the instinct to protect others, even in the face of grave danger. That instinct to look after one another is something we should never take for granted, and it deserves to be recognised by this parliament.

In the days following the attack, Australians responded with solidarity and with a shared determination that this hatred must not be allowed to take root here. We saw vigils, we saw messages of support and we saw people from all backgrounds standing alongside the Jewish community to say clearly and without qualification that antisemitism has no place in our nation. It is right that the parliament pauses to remember those who were killed and to acknowledge those whose lives were forever changed.

Australia will observe a national day of mourning on Thursday 22 January—a day to honour the victims of antisemitism; a day for reflection, remembrance and unity; a day that reminds us that, even in moments of darkness, light will prevail. This parliament recognises the human cost of violence, and we stand together against hatred in all its forms. At moments like this, it is tempting to look for division, to point fingers or to retreat into fear, but that is not the Australian way. The Australian way is to come together in times of crisis, to stand with those who are hurting, to defend the right of every person to live without fear and to respond to hatred with resolve, not resignation.

To Jewish Australians, I want to say this clearly: you are not alone. This parliament stands with you. This country stands with you. We will dedicate every resource required to ensure that you are able to live your lives freely, without fear. This is an incredibly difficult time. Grief does not follow a timetable, and healing takes time, but, in remembering those killed, we honour their lives. We remember those killed, and we commit to ensuring such hatred has no place in Australia.

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the condolence motion. I do so, with a heavy heart, both personally and on behalf of Western Australians, to honour the innocent Australians murdered at Bondi Beach. It was there, at a celebration of light overcoming darkness on the first night of Hanukkah, that evil reared its ugly head in our country.

Bondi is not just a beach; it's an Australian icon. It represents freedom, openness, community and joy. That is why it was chosen. This was not random violence; it was targeted terrorism—an antisemitic attack on Australia's Jewish community and an attack on the Australian way of life and the freedoms that bind us together as a nation.

Today, as on every day during the past month, we mourn the victims, we mourn the families whose lives have been shattered and we mourn a loss that will echo through this country for generations. From Cottesloe to Scarborough, from Cable Beach to Esperance, Western Australians grieve alongside Sydney because, when one part of Australia is attacked, all of Australia is attacked.

Only weeks before this atrocity, Britain's Chief of the Defence Staff, Richard Knighton, delivered a stark warning to his nation. He said the world is now 'more dangerous than I have known during my career' and that nations must prepare not only their armed forces but their entire societies for a far more unstable era. He warned that democracies would need to build national resilience and that more people would need to be ready to fight for their country as extremism and authoritarian threats grow.

At the same time, the new head of MI6, Blaise Metreweli, told the world that we are no longer operating in a time of clear peace or war but in what she called 'a space between peace and war'. She warned that hostile actors and extremist movements are operating in the grey zone, using cyberattacks, disinformation, intimidation, radicalisation and terrorism to weaken open societies from within. And she said something especially chilling that has stayed with me:

… the front line is everywhere.

The front line on 14 December was Bondi Beach, and it is now potentially every Australian suburb, every community and every public place. Bondi has shown us that Australia was not exempt from this reality. The Albanese government was not operating in a vacuum. The same forces destabilising Europe and other regions of the world—radicalisation, grievance politics, online extremism and imported conflicts—were also operating here.

After 7 October 2023, the terrorist massacre in Israel and the worst mass killing of Jewish people since the Holocaust, this government failed to draw a clear moral line. Instead of confronting extremism, it equivocated. Instead of protecting social cohesion, it tolerated intimidation. Instead of stopping radicalisation, it minimised it, and extremists noticed. When MI6 warns we are operating between peace and war, when defence chiefs warn that the front line is everywhere and when security agencies warn that radicalisation is accelerating, no government has the right to claim shock. Complacency was a choice and inaction was a choice. For too long, Australians were told everything was under control; it was not, and Bondi Beach was the tragic consequence.

In my home state of Western Australia, our Jewish community has felt this tragedy deeply, not only in grief but in fear. As someone who's worked closely with WA's Jewish community for many years, I know very well how shaken many families now feel about their safety, their children and their place in a country they love. No Australian should ever feel targeted, threatened or unsafe because of who they are or what they believe.

The Australians murdered at Bondi Beach never chose to carry the weight of a national tragedy. They were parents, they were workers, they were surfers, they were tourists and they were families celebrating light and the hope and peace of Hanukkah. Some were called upon to, and did, act as heroes, and the remarkable actions of the first responders will never be forgotten. All of those people trusted the Australian government to keep them safe. That trust was broken.

To honour those who died, Australia must now do what our allies are already doing. We must fight antisemitism wherever and whenever it arises, we must strengthen intelligence, we must disrupt radical networks, we must restore zero tolerance for terror, and we must build the national resilience that Richard Knighton spoke of so that free societies are not left defenceless against those who seek to destroy them.

I'm confident I speak for west Australians in particular when I say to the families of the victims and to the Australian Jewish community that you are not alone, your grief is our grief, and your loss is our loss. We cannot bring your loved ones back, no matter how dearly we want to, but we must ensure their deaths mark the moment when Australia chose clarity over complacency and security over silence.

Bondi Beach should never have become a target, and the fact it did is a tragedy. What we do now will define us. We deserve to have a country that is safe, united and strong; a country that confronts hatred, not excuses it; a country that protects its people, not its political comfort. That is how we honour the dead, that is how we protect the living and that is how Australia moves forward.

Jana Stewart (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to share my deepest condolences to the Jewish community after the devastating, targeted antisemitic attack at the Chanukah by the Sea event on 14 December, where 15 innocent people were murdered. From my family to yours, we are sorry for your profound loss and grief. As a First Nations woman, I'm aware of what happens when hatred moves to violence, when your identity and who you are becomes a reason you or your community are singled out and attacked. This type of hatred and violence causes deep and profound harm, and it is felt through generations. I say this not for whataboutism, but rather a shared experience of living in this country. And I share this to say that we see you and we stand with you. No-one should endure this.

To the victims and survivors of this antisemitic attack, their loved ones and all Jewish Australians, I stand in solidarity and grieve your unimaginable loss with you. Today, as many others have done, I remember the victims and pay tribute to their lives: little Matilda, the youngest victim of the attack; Dan Elkayam; Alexander Kleytman; Reuven Morrison; Rabbi Levitan; Rabbi Schlanger; Tibor Weitzen; Boris Tetleroyd; Adam Smyth; Tania Tretiak; Boris and Sofia Gurman; Peter Meagher; Edith Brutman and Marika Pogany.

Many of the 15 victims of the Bondi terrorist attack died trying to save others, shielding children, strangers, confronting the gunmen and selflessly putting themselves in harm's way. We have also heard many stories over the past month, and today in this parliament, of the people whose lives were cut short as active, proud members of the Jewish community in Bondi and beyond. We heard stories of them as friends, neighbours, colleagues, volunteers in their communities and beloved family members. May their memories always be a blessing.

I also wish to acknowledge those Australians who showed extraordinary courage in the face of danger. I recognise Ahmed al-Ahmed, who demonstrated incredible bravery to risk his life to disarm one of the gunmen, no doubt saving countless people. The many first responders, the police, the paramedics and the healthcare workers who responded swiftly and urgently to ensure no more blood was shed or innocent lives lost. To all the Australians who showed their outpouring of solidarity with the Jewish Australian community, from the vigils and tributes at Bondi and across Australia following the attack, to the thousands of Australians who queued for hours to give blood. Even during a horrifying time of darkness, evil and terror, Australians showed the true spirit of who we are by rallying together.

To honour the memories of the victims, we must ensure the true message of Hanukkah is not lost. Light must win over darkness, and unity over division. As parliament returns this week, we do so with a heavy heart but with a clear responsibility to pass laws which keep us safe and to stamp out racial hatred and antisemitism from our country.

Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Bondi terror attacks are a personal tragedy for the 15 innocent Australians that lost their lives and the families that are left to pick up the pieces. Today, we recognise their heroism, their sacrifice and their loss as a parliament. The Bondi terror attacks are a national tragedy too, that has torn at the fabric of our nation.

For Jewish Australians that fabric was first woven in 1788 when at least eight Jewish people arrived in Australia as convicts on the First Fleet. These first Jewish Australians came to live in a prison, but, ever since, Australia has offered the Jewish people an escape. Australia was an escape from the intermittent waves of Jewish persecution that afflicted Europe and, more recently, from the wars and conflicts in the Middle East. Australia has been a land of opportunity, freedom and tranquillity for Jewish people, just as it has been for so many persecuted peoples. These people come from different cultures, religious faiths and parts of the world, but, when all of these different peoples arrive in Australia, they are provided the same safe harbour, and the thread of that common protection has bound us together as one people.

Just over one month ago an evil pulled at that thread and tried to tear apart what Australia promises. While the grief has been more keenly felt by our Jewish brothers and sisters, all Australians recognise that we have lost something after these evil murders at the hands of terrorists.

Bondi Beach has a special place in the heart of all Australians. Every time I have visited, before December last year, I was immediately struck by how bright, how light and how much fun Australia is. Bondi is a physical manifestation of what is Australia. I had the opportunity to visit Bondi a few weeks ago to pay my respects to those who had lost their lives, and it was sad to not experience the same carefree feelings that I had on previous visits to Bondi. There was still a mix of surfers, gym bros and early morning coffee addicts, but along the Bondi Pavilion there was also a collection of flowers and memorials to the tragedy that had unfolded there just a few weeks prior. That murder and that tragedy has, for now, stained one of the happiest places in Australia.

My sadness, however, was tempered by a moving service that I was fortunate enough to attend, led by Rabbi Yossi. I had not known this until I arrived, but, since 14 December, Rabbi Yossi and others have led readings of the names of victims at least three times a day. At these readings, Rabbi Yossi recounts some of the stories from the lives of the heroes, as he calls them, who laid down their lives. Rabbi Yossi also leads the crowd in the singing of Jewish hymns and the national anthem. Rabbi Yossi's commitment to do this for his community is a moving way to mourn and remember our loss, and that is what we are doing here today. We are grieving, we are mourning and, most of all, we are paying tribute to those who have suffered, by remembering their loss.

In the Jewish faith, the mourning period lasts 30 days. Rabbi Yossi's plan had been to continue the readings for those 30 days after 14 December, but there has been such a demand for them that he is continuing them for the rest of January. I would encourage anyone that can to attend them. They are very moving. You can see the details and the times of them at december14.com.au. Rabbi Yossi reminded me that there is a customary tradition in Jewish faith to say the words, 'zichronam livracha' which means, 'May their memory be a blessing.' Just one month on from the Bondi attacks, it is hard to see how the memory of this tragic event can be a blessing, but the Lord works in mysterious ways if we let him. Even on 14 December we saw the selfless, heroic acts of those who put themselves in harm's way to protect others. Since 14 December we have seen an outpouring of grief from all Australians to unite with our Jewish brothers and sisters who have lost so much. But the long memory of 14 December will be determined by our ability to confront and defeat the evil that inspired these attacks. Only if we succeed in this battle will the loss of life at Bondi not be in vain.

These attacks were the targeted murder of Jewish people inspired by a radical, perverse and violent interpretation of Islam. All Australian governments, leaders and religions should unite to condemn the radical Islamic ideologies that have too often been used as cover to inspire such violence. We must also reject the extreme views that dehumanise individuals based on their race, colour or religious views. In 1788, on that first fleet, there was a collection of Protestants, Catholics, Africans and Englishmen. Our first governor, Arthur Phillip, insisted that all of the new Australians must be treated the same for our small colony to survive. In those harsh early years, even officers had the same rations as convicts. Likewise, today, we will not survive as a nation if we are led by those who would like to divide us into tribes. We must continue to be a nation that offers a home and relief to all. However, to briefly foreshadow what we will tackle now, for the rest of this week, we cannot achieve this by laws alone. A successful mission to maintain a harmonious Australia will not be won by politicians passing bills in Canberra. We need to inspire and harness the goodwill of all Australians to keep our land free and in harmony. We have seen that goodwill outpoured every day by Australians in recent weeks. I have great hope for our country because our history has been one of sticking together when the times get tough.

Another Jewish tradition I witnessed at Bondi was the placing of stones to commemorate someone's passing. The idea is that, like the stone, our memory of the dead will endure and not fade. This past month has been a very tough time for Jewish Australians and all Australians, but Australians are tough, like those stones that have been placed along the wall of the Bondi Pavilion. Australia will recover from this tragedy of the past month, and our hopeful, joyous and welcoming country will survive for years and years to come, just like those stones.

Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I speak to honour the Australians who were murdered at Bondi Beach on 14 December 2025. This is not a joyful return to this place. Today we gather in sorrow. We mourn lives taken with shocking cruelty, and we hold close the families and loved ones who are now living with an absence that words cannot fill. Behind every one of the 15 victims is a future that should have been but was cut short. We also acknowledge those who were injured, those who witnessed the violence and people whose lives were split in two, before and after, in a matter of moments.

This was an act of terrorism. It occurred at Chanukah by the Sea on the first night of Hanukkah, a gathering intended to celebrate faith, community and hope. It was a gathering that should have been safe, a gathering that should have ended with people returning home to their families tired, maybe even sunburnt, but full of joy and light for their community. Instead, it was shattered by violence. We condemn this atrocity and the hatred that drove it in the strongest possible terms. Acts like this are not only about the loss of life; they are intended to instil fear, to make people hesitate before gathering, before worshipping and before living openly. We must condemn that entirely. An attack on Jewish Australian is an attack on all Australians. What this attack sought to do was divide Australians from one another, to make people feel unwelcome in their own country, and this is not who we are. Australia is a nation built on the simple promise that people can live openly, gather freely and practise their faith without fear. We do not ask people to hide who they are to belong.

We are strongest when every community knows they have a secure place in our national life, and that is why we have returned to this place early. We are here to affirm the right of Jewish Australians, like all Australians, to live, work, worship and learn in peace and safety, to participate fully in public life and to gather in community without intimidation or threat. It recognises the deep contribution Jewish Australians have made to our country and the values we share. To the Jewish community, particularly those in New South Wales who have been deeply wounded by this attack, we say today: you belong here and you are part of us. We will not allow fear and violence to diminish our place in Australia that we are determined to protect.

We also acknowledge those who responded in the immediate aftermath—police officers, paramedics, emergency staff and healthcare workers who acted under extraordinary pressure. In moments like these, there is no rehearsal, no perfect information and no margin for delay. People are required to move towards danger and focus on one thing only—protecting life—and we saw that at Bondi. We saw police and paramedics place themselves in harm's way, we saw emergency departments respond at speed and we saw doctors and nurses work through the night to save strangers, neighbours and children. We also saw ordinary Australians who, without hesitation, stepped forward to help others. Some were wounded; some were killed saving others. It was instinctive, human and deeply Australian—the sense of responsibility and care for another that compels us in moments of danger to protect and shelter those around us. Their courage reflects the very best of the Australian spirit, revealed in the very worst of circumstances.

Acts of violence may wound a nation, but they do not define it. There are nights that tear at our nation's soul, and this was one of them. In moments like these, the noise falls away and what matters becomes clear. Australians look to one another not for blame or bitterness but for reassurance and dignity. We look to our institutions not for spectacle or politics but for calm, for care and for a reminder of who we are at our best. Today is not about division; it is about mourning together, standing together and recommitting ourselves to confront hatred and violence with the best of who we are. It is about choosing compassion over fear, and we must be each other's light.

May those who were murdered rest in peace, may their memory be a blessing and may this place, and the people in it, meet this moment and the responsibility that it places on all of us with compassion, unity and unwavering resolve.

Question agreed to, honourable senators joining in a moment of silence.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That, as a mark of respect to the memory of the victims of the Bondi terrorist attack, the Senate do now adjourn.

Question agreed to.

Senate adjourned at 17:2 8