E&OE.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
I thank the Prime Minister for his heartfelt and very fitting words.
And I join with him in expressing the Coalition’s condolences to the victims and their families of one man’s murderous rampage at Westfield Bondi Junction.
Saturday the 13th of April will always be remembered as a day defined by contrasts.
There was panic, but also presence of mind.
There was fear, but there was also fortitude.
There was cruelty, but also compassion.
Hate, but also heroism.
Human tragedy, but also a triumph of the human spirit.
Terrible events become etched in our national consciousness not only because they are tragic, but also because the place and circumstances surrounding the tragedy are always chillingly familiar and relatable.
We can all recall times when we’ve said to a loved one – or a loved one has said to us – ‘just off to the shops, I’ll be back in a couple of hours.’
That’s all the more reason why our hearts break for the victims.
They were everyday Australians simply doing what we see Australians do every day.
Today, I again pay my respects to the six people murdered on that terrible afternoon:
Dawn Singleton – a young woman who was starting out her career, who had a smile that warmed hearts, and was a bride-to-be to her partner, Ash.
To Jade Young – a ‘splendid architect’ and ‘soft-hearted mother’ of two girls who married Noel – her school sweetheart.
Ashlee Good – a talented athlete, skilled osteopath, and beloved wife of Daniel whose valiant last moments saved her baby girl, Harriet.
To Pikria Darchia – a designer and artist who migrated to Australia from Georgia and was described by her son, Irakli, as ‘kind’, ‘calm’, ‘happy’ and ‘extraordinary’.
Yixuan Cheng – an economics student from China whose fiancé was planning to marry her when she finished her master’s degree in Australia.
And Faraz Tahir – a refugee from Pakistan whose heroic deeds on his first shift as a security guard saved others that he didn’t even know.
We remember the six victims today to acknowledge their life’s achievements, to recognise the joy that they brought to so many, and to mourn all that they were to do – all that they would have become.
Tragedy is not just the loss of what was.
Tragedy is the loss of what would and could have been.
The sentiment was palpable at the Candlelight Vigil held at Bondi Beach on the 21st April in memory of the victims – which a number of us here attended, and as the Prime Minister rightly points out, that included the local Members, the Mayors and others from the emergency services.
I want to say thank you very much to the member for Wentworth and acknowledge her contribution, and the way in which she stood proud as a local leader and she was looked to with great respect and admiration.
Similarly, the Member for Vaucluse and others who were there on that day.
The sentiment was also palpable in many ways in that crowd that night, and the expressions from people in the crowd about their shock, about how they were touched is something that will stay with all of us who had those conversations.
But the sentiment was also palpable for those of us who lay floral tributes on Oxford Street in the days after the attack.
Mr Speaker, one month may have passed since this tragedy rocked the nation.
But six families have had their lives upended and forever altered.
A wider circle of friends and colleagues of each victim will also be grieving.
All will stoically try to deal with their loss in their own way.
But as Australians, if you know the families, friends and colleagues of the six victims, please continue to extend the offer of companionship in our great national spirit.
While time never heals loss in tragedy, it is our fellowship as Australians which helps us through tragedy.
Altogether, 18 people were stabbed during the rampage at Westfield Bondi Junction.
I pay tribute to the brilliant paramedics, to the nurses, the doctors, and other healthcare specialists from around Sydney.
Especially those from St Vincent’s Hospital, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Prince of Wales Hospital, St George Hospital, Royal North Shore Hospital, and the Sydney Children’s Hospital.
These professionals really are saints.
They attended to wounds on the scene.
They resuscitated patients in emergency rooms.
They conducted life-saving surgeries.
And they provided first-class care.
And they continue to help the victims with their recovery.
To the 12 victims who survived the stabbing spree, the nation wishes you all a speedy recovery from your wounds, seen and unseen.
I want to make special mention of security guard, Muhammad Taha, who lost his colleague Faraz when both brave men ran towards danger and confronted the assailant.
Mr Speaker, in those terrible and terrifying moments, everyday Australians did extraordinary things.
There were the deeds of shopkeepers and their staff.
Some of these staff are young Australians – just teenagers – working in casual jobs after finishing school or financing their further studies.
They showed courage and wisdom beyond their years in remaining calm and in helping shoppers to shelter amidst the chaos.
There were other everyday Australians – just going about their business, just shopping – who helped get people to safety and who provided comfort to those in distress.
People like lifeguard Andrew Reid who attended to help people with their wounds.
Or the father who escorted his two children out of the shopping centre under his shoulders – each wearing the eye masks he had given them to protect their innocence.
Or Joe and Rick Tomarchio – the brothers who used clothes from a store to try and stem the bleeding of Ash and Harriet Good and helped save the life of the nine-month-old baby.
They are modest men who shun the title of hero.
But, of course, they are heroes.
As are the two French tradies – the bollard boys, as they’ve become known – Damien Guerot and Silas Despréaux.
At Bondi, bystanders became Good Samaritans.
And Good Samaritans became heroes.
But there is no greater hero on that day than New South Wales Police Inspector, Amy Scott.
She ran towards danger, as the Prime Minister rightly pointed out.
She didn’t know whether this person had explosive devices or whether others were acting in concert with this individual at the time. All of that detail was unknown.
But she neutralised the assailant and saved others – maybe countless lives.
She embodied the professionalism, the poise and we know that we see that very regularly, and perhaps way too regularly, as it’s required from our men and women who wear that uniform.
Inspector Scott deserves our nation’s gratitude and praise.
Indeed, she deserves to join our pantheon of distinguished Australians in being recognised within the Order of Australia.
I thank all the police officers who responded to this knife attack and were part of the subsequent investigation.
I’ll conclude on this point:
We will always remember this terrible incident.
We will remember it for its tragedy.
But tragedy is also revealing.
Amidst the evil, the horror and the death caused by a murderous rampage, we saw other things too:
We saw presence of mind.
We saw fortitude.
We saw compassion.
We saw heroism.
We saw the triumph of the human spirit.
We saw us – the Australian people.
We saw the mettle of our character and the magnitude of our camaraderie.
We saw exactly what we’re made of – what we’re capable of – in our darkest hours.
And let’s never ever forget it.
[ends]