Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion. A decade has passed since the September 11 attacks on the US, yet for me the images of planes flying into the Twin Towers, the attacks on the Pentagon and the panicked rescue scenes immediately after remain vivid in my mind. The scenes of aircraft flying into the Twin Towers and the towers crumbling were surreal—it was like watching fiction. But they were real and they heralded the dawn of a new era in global affairs. Sadly, it was not a turn for the better, and 10 years later, for all our efforts, insecurity caused by those events still haunts people around the world. The way we go about daily life is no longer the same, and the additional costs associated with the way we now live are probably unquantifiable. Those additional costs have in my view contributed to the global financial crisis. In the light of the ongoing global financial insecurity, some would say that the September 11 attacks, therefore, were successful in bringing down the USA and the Western world. There is little doubt that the counterterrorism efforts and security costs incurred by governments around the world since September 11, 2001 have skyrocketed. In addition, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have each had their own human and financial tolls.

The harsh reality is that, as is the case with all crime, as detection prevention techniques become more sophisticated, so too do the methods of the terrorists. Furthermore, as with all criminal behaviour, new individuals and new cells emerge as others are contained or eliminated. It is a never-ending problem. The changes to airport security alone have been profound, yet I for one hardly feel safer because of them. The killings in Norway in July this year showed just how quickly and how easily it is still possible to bring about the mass killings of innocent lives. The prevention of terrorist acts in all places at all times is simply not possible. The most effective strategy would be to address the underlying motive for such attacks, but even then that would not rule out the actions of fanatics such as those of the recent extremist in Norway.

For me September 11, 2001 has a very personal relevance. Andrew Knox, who was killed in the Twin Towers attack and whom I have spoken about in this place on previous occasions, was a Labor Party colleague and a friend. I recall that in my last telephone conversation with him before he left for New York he spoke optimistically of my election to federal parliament as the member for Makin. As it turned out, it was not to be until some years later. For me, however, Andrew Knox's death is a constant reminder of September 11, as is the death of Angela Golotta, whom I have also spoken about in this place and who was subsequently killed in the Bali bombings. Andrew and Angela were both young people with their lives ahead of them. Both were taken without warning as they went about their lives as any of us do each and every day. They had done nothing wrong and had not provoked in any way the attacks on them. It is that senseless killing of innocent lives that makes the attacks even more abhorrent.

I recall being called by Tabitha Lean, a mutual friend who had remained in regular contact with Andrew after he relocated to New York, to be told that Andrew had been killed in the Twin Towers attack. I was told that Andrew had been on his mobile phone relaying what was happening when he had to abruptly end the conversation. I can only imagine what it must be like for Andrew's mother, father and brother or for Angela's mother, father and brother. Of course we focus on September 11 or the Bali bombings, but the reality is that all too often innocent lives are lost in terrorist attacks. For many of those losses there is no public recognition, no public memorials, no public sympathy, yet each of those lives was just as precious.

Extreme views in society are nothing new. There have always been people who have held extreme views on matters. We are seeing it right now in relation to the climate change debate. The problem arises when those views culminate in acts of violence against those with opposing views or, more often than not, opposing interests. In today's world violent reactions initiated by extreme views can result in catastrophes because of the range of tools and opportunities available to anyone driven to an extreme act of violence. It does not take much to provoke an extremist or deranged person—nor does it take much to provoke a person filled with hate and revenge. It is therefore of concern—and should be of concern—to all responsible people to see the level of provocation and incitement that is creeping into civic life in recent times. Community leaders should remain cognisant of the language and tone they use. They can fuel the fires of hate just as they can calm troubled waters. It troubles me that in recent times I have observed in both public and private discourse a level of hatred between opposing views on a range of matters, including immigration policy, refugee matters, religious and even environmental matters that is neither appropriate nor healthy. Incidents such as the shooting and bombing in Norway and the shooting of US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in January this year occurred at a time when extremist views were becoming regular utterances of community leaders.

Likewise the level of hate mail, malicious statements and sexist attacks on Australia's Prime Minister should be and would be of concern to all decent, fair-minded people. The derogatory way in which the Prime Minister is treated by some says far more about them than it does about the Prime Minister. Regrettably some of the instigators of that behaviour are public people in civic leadership positions. Of course, it is not unusual for political leaders to be the target of politically motivated acts of violence against them. History is littered with such acts. In 1605 Guy Fawkes unsuccessfully tried to blow up everyone in the British House of Commons. In Australia, on 21 June 1966, Labor leader Arthur Calwell was shot and wounded by Peter Kocan as he was leaving a public function at the Mosman Town Hall. Nineteen-year-old Kocan is quoted as saying that he shot Mr Calwell 'because I do not like his politics'.

It is my hope, and I believe the hope of most people, to lead a peaceful existence in this world with family and friends. My view is that life is much too short for acts of hatred and extremism. All people wherever they are feel the pain, heartache and emotions that we do. I have seen the tears in the eyes of the Bosnian people, the African people and the Sri Lankans as they talk of the atrocities committed in their homelands. I have followed the strain of the families in Chile, China and New Zealand when miners were trapped underground and the elation of their rescue. It was an experience we were familiar with in Australia. I can only begin to imagine the fear in the eyes of the September 11 victims, and the pain and anguish in the hearts of the families and friends of those who lost their lives. For those who survived and for the families and friends of those killed, their lives were deeply scarred and will never be as they could have been. The annual public remembrance of September 11 and other public reminders will not allow them to put the events behind them even if they want to.

I therefore hope that 11 September becomes a salutary reminder of the devastation that extreme acts of hatred and violence can bring. I also hope that those who are inclined to perpetrate such acts see the futility of such acts in the long term. There may be some temporary gratification from such acts, but ultimately they will amount to very little other than considerable grief, suffering and loss of life for innocent people who are neither the problem nor the solution to the fanaticism of the perpetrators. On the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks we remember those who were killed or injured, the grief and heartache of the families and friends and colleagues of those killed or injured and the rescue efforts of all those associated with rescue efforts on the day, as well as the ongoing support that they continue to provide to the victims. We also should take a moment to acknowledge the ongoing daily efforts of our police and security organisations in this country and around the world that do an extraordinary job in helping to keep us safe. Perhaps it is only fitting that today in this place we discussed a motion in recognition of the current serving police officers in Australia.

In closing, it is appropriate that we remember September 11 for all the reasons that I and all other speakers have referred to. As I said in the course of my speech, I hope we and people around the world can learn from September 11 in a way that ensures that we go into the future in a better world.

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