Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

'No man is an island entire of itself.' I was reminded of these famous words of John Donne in the context of this tragedy in New Zealand. As he went on to say:

… any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.

I wish to join with colleagues in this condolence motion, to express my disgust at the slaughter of so many people in Christchurch, to express my solidarity with the families and the friends of the victims and to restate our friendship with the people of New Zealand.

Any attack on innocent people is appalling, but a violent attack on people going about their peaceful religious observances is abhorrent and, indeed, a manifestation of evil. It has been, and rightly should be, universally condemned. May the deceased rest in peace, may their families and friends be comforted and may our efforts to condemn and prevent these acts of evils be strengthened.

Madam Deputy Speaker Vamvakinou, as you know, I represent a vibrant multicultural community in my electorate of Menzies, which has followers of many faiths—indeed, almost every faith, I suspect—as residents. The response of the interfaith community in Manningham is to be commended as they supported, in particular, the members of the local Islamic community—the local mosque in Doncaster. In these tragic circumstances, it's an honour to place on record in the Commonwealth parliament their thoughts and prayers in relation to this situation.

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