Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Schools) Share this | Hansard source

Just over two years ago, Jo Cox was murdered while doing her job, which is our job. This parliament came together then in solidarity with her, her family, her colleagues and all those who loved her. This solidarity should continue—it must—as Jo Cox's work continues as an enduring legacy.

The Jo Cox Foundation has been carrying on her values through its work in the UK, particularly on the question of loneliness. On this question, I hope that there can be bipartisan support here, as there is there, with the recognition that not all human needs are material and that we do have a responsibility as a society and as individuals to reach out to those who are isolated. Loneliness is a killer, but it need not be.

I'm mindful of Jo Cox's example and the work of her foundation in another respect. In her first speech, Jo Cox spoke with hope and optimism about multiculturalism. She said that we have more in common than that which divides us. Of course we do—but we can't let that go unsaid. We can all be kinder, more respectful and less cynical; and more generous, less defensive and less selfish. In this place, we have to reject the voices of division, be they overt or more insidious, such as through proposals to create, in effect, two classes of Australians. Where we are from, how we came here, what faith we practise—none of these things warrant a tear in the social compact which binds us to each other. We're all in this together.

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