Cunningham MP Alison Byrnes acknowledges community sadness after Bondi Beach terror attack

Illawarra Mercury

Alison Byrnes shared the profound sadness of the Cunningham community in Parliament, ahead of the day of mourning for the victims of the Bondi Beach shooting.

Transcript

00:00Thank you Speaker. I rise today to acknowledge the profound loss and the sadness of the Cunningham

00:05community following the horrific terrorist attack at Bondi Beach on Sunday the 14th of December

00:11at the Harnica by the Sea event. On that horrific evening 15 innocent lives were taken and our

00:18country has been left shaken and reeling. I give my sincere and heartfelt condolences to all of

00:24those who lost a loved one and whose lives have been changed forever. Harnica is the festival of

00:31lights, a festival with a message of optimism and hope. When reflecting on the events of that night

00:38I focus on the acts that truly demonstrate the Australian spirit. The bravery of ordinary

00:44Australians, of our first responders, paid and volunteered, who put themselves in danger to help

00:51and protect others. We saw people running towards danger, stepping in front of a gunman because

00:58maybe they could stop him, calling out warnings and sheltering total strangers. People putting kindness

01:06and caring for others first. That is what being Australian truly means. One week after the Bondi

01:13attack on the National Day of Reflection I attended the lighting of the menorah with the Jewish community

01:18of Wollongong, along with local leaders from all faiths and backgrounds. Nepalese, Indian, Vietnamese,

01:25Buddhist monks and a First Nations pastor, as well as members of the Multicultural Communities Council

01:32of the Illawarra, the Salvation Army, the Member for Whitlam, the Member for Wollongong, the Deputy Lord

01:38Mayor and Local Councillors and Wollongong Local Area Commander, Superintendent Karen Cook, local police and many

01:45members of our community. We stood together as one with our Jewish community as Rabbi Meir Nekem Aron spread

01:53a message of love, light and kindness. It was a display of solidarity and of shared grief, demonstrating

02:00that we will not allow hate to define who we are or how we gather. I want to thank Dr Yoki Berry from the Wollongong

02:08Jewish community for her strength and kindness in the face of this terrible event. Days after the Bondi

02:16attack, I joined with the Member for Wollongong, the Member for MacArthur, the Member for Reid, and also

02:22with Will Nimesh, the Mayor of Waverley, and many mayors from across New South Wales, as well as

02:28thousands of others, to lay flowers at the Bondi Pavilion. People from all faiths, all backgrounds,

02:34all walks of life, gathered in their shared grief and their shared determination to ensure that this

02:40is never repeated. I was also joined by young members of the Jewish community, Penina Ejez,

02:47Zach Morris and Ellie Zibberman, who came to pay their respects, as well as Cath Cummins, and I just

02:53wanted to also acknowledge their presence, their resolve and their kindness. I also acknowledge the

02:59leadership of the Muslim community in engaging constructively and respectfully with government

03:04since the events at Bondi. The President of the Omar Mosque in Gwynneville has long put community

03:10unity above hate, noting that when it came to these Bondi attacks, that these were sick individuals who

03:17did this. Syrian-born Ahmed Al Ahmed is one of the heroes of Bondi, putting his life at risk to save other

03:25people in his community. His bravery was simply awe-inspiring. I unequivocally condemn the actions

03:33of the perpetrators at Bondi, and I condemn anti-Semitism, hatred and racism in all its forms.

03:41We cannot allow more hate to be the response to this act of hate. We cannot allow extremism to be

03:48responded to with further extremist behaviour. This attack has struck at the core of our beliefs.

03:55Acts of such immense and intense hatred are aimed at dividing us and driving a wedge between us—and,

04:02in this case, based on religion. But it has not. It has united our community, firstly in shock and grief,

04:10but now into a steely determination that similar incidents are not repeated against any group or at

04:17any gathering. Over the last month, we have seen both the best and the worst of humanity,

04:23but the best elements of us have consistently risen to guide us. I hope to see others continue to put

04:30kindness and unity above division. We must do all that we can so that this event is not repeated in

04:37Australia. The theme of our National Day of Mourning on Thursday, as requested by Rabbi Uelman,

04:43will be Light Will Win, a gathering of unity and remembrance. We must use light to guide us from

04:50this dark period, and we must use light to help us stamp out hate in all its forms in all parts of

04:56our community. I again give my deepest condolences to the friends, family and community of the victims

05:03of this senseless attack. May this tragedy help guide us to a better, more cohesive and more

05:10respectful Australia.

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