Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I wish to be associated with the motion proposed by the Prime Minister and supported by the Leader of the Opposition. I commend my colleague the member for Chifley for his remarks. I also send my personal condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Katrina Dawson. Katrina was a mother of three, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend. She was a member of my own profession, the law. She was attending, innocently, a cafe in Sydney known to me. I also send my condolences to Tori Johnson, remembered as a son and a loving partner and friend to all of those who knew him. They are the personal tragedies. For my own part these horrendous acts of terror which unfolded in the centre of the city that I love moved me enormously. As we watched the events unfold all of us sought a peaceful resolution and that the victims would remain unharmed. We saw images of our great Sydney beamed around the world. It was terror on our shores as we had never seen before. How we handled it was very significant.

I am very proud of Australia. We draw together people from around the world. We have a higher proportion of population overseas born than all but two other countries. We show that people of different faiths, different races, different religions, can live together side by side. What I was particularly proud of on that day was that we did not allow our unity to be destroyed by the act of one man. It is very important, whether he was colluding with others, to understand that it does not change the essential character of Australia, which I think is an example to the rest of the world, and which I believe very strongly.

Martin Place is a very special centre to us all. My wife was in the cafe in question, the Lindt Cafe, 24 hours before this tragedy. We were going to church at St James in King Street. I was parking the car, I might say, at the St Mary's Cathedral car park. Nevertheless I took the car and she went to the cafe and bought the cappuccino that I like and the light latte that she likes—a mere 24 hours before this tragedy. None of us thought that something like this would happen.

I often walk through our great city, and I saw the flowers that were laid by so many. For me, the way in which my neighbours, my friends, the people I knew, responded so generously and wanted to have their condolences reflected through flowers that were laid was something unique and very special. I say all that because I am very proud of my city, of what we are and of what we have been able to achieve. We all relate to those who were tragically wounded by these events.

I have spoken for half my time and I want to spend a few moments reflecting on what we should learn. Our unity was important. The Leader of the Opposition noted the people of Sydney who invited others of different faiths to ride with them to demonstrate our unity. But, if we do not learn the lesson of what terrorism is about, while we might handle it, we will not prevent it.

I am meant to be at another meeting at the moment—a meeting of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. Some of the measures that we have had to look at are for how we secure our cities and protect our people. I said only a week or so ago in one of these discussions in another debate we are having about capital punishment that I have a strong commitment to the right to life. I think we have a responsibility to protect people's lives as parliamentarians. Sometimes that means that other rights might have to take second place. I hear some people arguing, in relation to laws that we might have to look at that could help us deal with these situations, that there might be a greater right to privacy to prevent agencies being able to find out some of these things that might be planned and plotted. I tell you: I give privacy second place to the right to life.

I think we have to look very closely, as the inquiries go forward, at the lessons to be learnt. I read that metadata may have been of some value in the inquiries that were being undertaken in relation to this event. If that be the case, I think it is important that we all know and take on board that lesson. I do not want to see an event like this take place in any of our cities again, and I hope that every effort will be taken to learn the lessons and to look quietly—through the coroner's process and through the secretary's inquiry—at the way in which we might have been able to find out in advance what was planned. We can do that. We have seen other events planned in our cities by groups from time to time and, when we have been able to get earlier notice and to understand, I suspect many lives have been saved.

There are two parts to this resolution: the lessons learned have to be before us all, but we should not forget the tragedy that has befallen the Dawson and Johnson families—their suffering. I hope their suffering is not in vain.

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