Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the Prime Minister for his remarks just then. Today Australia offers our oldest friend our deepest sympathies. The hearts of this nation go out to the people of Britain. High Commissioner, we welcome you here most warmly on this most tragic day. Please tell your nation that this parliament is united in our support for your nation. Our parliament stands united with all parliaments in condemning this attack on arguably the world's oldest democratic institution.

I think the Prime Minister was right to call this an attack on democracy itself, an attack on the right of people's representatives to gather in peace. It was an attack on the right of citizens to see their democracy in action, because the streets near Westminster Bridge were populated not just with the members of partly parliament, including a minister who tried in vain to resuscitate one of the victims, but also with the schoolchildren, with visitors, with the staff who help this vast and complicated exercise and enterprise run smoothly. All of them were endangered by this crime of hatred.

The murder of the metropolitan police officer reminds us of the risks our security agencies take on our behalf to keep us safe. On behalf of all honourable members, I want to acknowledge and thank our Australian Federal Police and the parliamentary security officers for whom this news must strike a particular chord. I would also like to reassure our police and security services that they have the full support of this parliament for the invaluable and sometimes dangerous work that they do to keep our people safe. Australians should take comfort knowing their country is guarded and protected by those who are amongst the best in the world. And Australians should also take some solace that, despite the fierce arguments we have here and indeed may well in this question time, for this moment we are united in our support for the security of the Australian people. We are united in our commitment to respect the bravery and skill of our police and security services. We are united in our solemn focus on keeping people safe. We are united in our unwavering determination to eliminate terrorism and to bring its perpetrators to justice.

Today our screens are full of Westminster Bridge, the London Eye, the houses of parliament, the tower which holds Big Ben. The place names and scenery are so familiar to us; unfortunately too, so is this ritual. These instances of offering condolences to the victims of terrorism and standing in solidarity with the nation affected have become too common, too frequent. Too often these days Australians wake to wall-to-wall coverage of attacks that have claimed innocent lives. One glimpse of the television confirms our sinking feelings—helicopter angles of cordoned off streets, shaky iPhone footage of distressed crowds. Because it is Britain, with so many connections to Australia, we call people we know who take the Tube to work, who sent us a selfie with the Thames in the background the day before. In this highly connected world, we are closer than ever. We check Facebook for the statuses of those letting us know that they are okay. It has become almost a routine we go through. But there is nothing routine about terrorism. It is a crime wholly foreign to our values, to our way of life, to our human values. All Australians unequivocally condemn this act of murder and we say to those who seek to spread fear, who shed blood to spread fear, 'You will not succeed. You will not divide a people or a world determined and too strong to defeat your ideology of evil.'

These very dispatch boxes from which the Prime Minister over there and I here send the parliament's condolences to Britain were given to Australia by King George V in 1927. They are replicas of the original boxes which sat in Britain's House of Commons and which were destroyed by German bombing in 1941. Even then, in Britain's greatest challenge, Australia always stood alongside it. Australia was there steadfast in solidarity, unshakeable in the bonds of friendship and kinship. As we always have, we will stand with the people of Britain today. They are not just by ties of family but by common values and old affection. United in our continuing determination to defeat terrorism in all its forms, we hope and pray that those who have been frightened find comfort, that those who mourn find solace, that the injured recover and that those taken from us rest in eternal peace.

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