Sarah Henderson (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this important motion that the House of Representatives of the Australian parliament condemn the murder of Mrs Jo Cox, member of parliament in the House of Commons for the constituency of Batley and Spen, killed in the course of performing her responsibilities to her constituents; that the House expresses its deepest sympathies to Mrs Cox's family, colleagues and to all who knew her; that we, as members of parliament here in the Australian parliament, pay tribute to Mrs Cox's extraordinary contribution to public life; and that we convey the terms of this resolution to the Speaker of the House of Commons.

On 17 October, I rose to speak on a motion of condolence for Jo Cox. I would like to make some further comments today in my capacity as chair of the UK-Australia parliamentary friendship group and as a female member of the House of Representatives. It is again with much sadness and reflection that I rise to pay tribute to a wonderful woman, someone who, through enormous courage, enormous conviction and her dedication to her constituents of Batley and Spen, showed every day how important it was to her to fight for what she believed in—for justice, for truth and, most importantly of all, for the rights of others.

As we have heard in this debate today, Jo Cox was brutally murdered on 16 June. She was simply doing her job. She was listening to her constituents in what we here in Australia call a listening post or a mobile office. I think for each of us here in Australia, like members of parliament all around the world, Jo Cox's death came as a horrific shock. Here was a member of parliament from the House of Commons upholding the democratic institution of her parliament, reaching out to people—those who agreed with her and those who did not—and being on the streets of her constituency at a very difficult time for the UK, when the debate over Brexit was at its very highest.

It is with enormous relief that we learned just last week that Thomas Mair, a white supremacist, will spend the rest of his life in prison for Jo Cox's brutal murder. I do not really want to spend much time reflecting on the murderer. In my view, he was simply a madman and what he did was utterly horrific. I want to spend my contribution today reflecting on the words of Jo Cox's husband, Brendan, who has been extraordinary in the way he has spoken about his wife. He said of Thomas Mair:

We feel nothing but pity for him, that his life was so devoid of love that his only way of finding meaning was to attack a defenceless woman who represented the best of our country in an act of supreme cowardice.

Speaking outside the Old Bailey after the verdict, he said:

To the world, Jo was a member of parliament, a campaigner, an activist and many other things. But first and foremost she was a sister, a daughter, an auntie, a wife, and above all a mum to two young children who love her with all their being. All their lives they have been enveloped in her love, excited by her energy and inspired by her example. We try now not to focus on how unlucky we were to have her taken from us, but how lucky we were to have her in our lives for so long.

Brendan Cox also thanked the many hundreds and, frankly, thousands of people who spoke out about Jo Cox's bravery and compassion. He said—it is extraordinary that he found these words at such a time of immense grief in his own life and in the lives of his family members, including his two children:

This has been Britain at its best – compassionate, courageous and kind. It’s given us great strength and solace.

I also want to add that the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, said the murder was 'an attack on democracy, and has robbed the world of an ambassador of kindness and compassion'.

The member for Forrest today made a particularly important contribution, speaking of the work of the IPU and the resolution led by Australia. I think it is a very important time for us to remember that, when we go out and do our job upholding this wonderful democratic institution, we do so with a sense of risk. It is incredibly important that we, as members of parliament here in Australia—in both the Commonwealth parliament and the state and territory parliaments—and others in parliaments around the world join in solidarity to condemn this terrible murder. As MPs, we need to do everything we can to keep each other safe, to support each other and to make sure that we acknowledge that this is not an easy life sometimes. Every time we go out and speak with people on the streets, attend protests and meet with people who are angry, we respect the right of every individual to speak up for what they believe in. But we also think it is important that members of parliament are respected too. I am particularly horrified by—and I am not even going to talk about it much in my contribution—the terrible hate speech that emerged on social media after the death of Jo Cox.

Today, in sadness and with great reflection, I rise to express my sincere condolences to Brendan Cox and to his children. We salute Jo Cox for her wonderful contribution to public life in the UK and the impact that she has had on all of us around the world.

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