Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's a privilege to be able to speak on the motion moved by my good friend the member for Berowra. I want to congratulate him on his speech, and I also congratulate the member for Macnamara, despite our partisan differences. This is one of the issues that bring the whole chamber together. International Holocaust Remembrance Day is a day that should bring people together so that, to echo the sentiments of the previous speakers, we never forget and we never allow the repeat of history. I start that by acknowledging that you and I, Deputy Speaker Zimmerman, went to the memorial to the genocide in Armenia only a couple of years ago. It was because that genocide was forgotten and never got its full acknowledgement that crimes were able to be perpetuated throughout the 20th century. International Holocaust Remembrance Day is about reaffirming our commitment to never forgetting the crimes committed against the Jewish people and the many other minorities who were victims of the atrocities committed by the Nazi Party.

This is so critical for the electorate of Goldstein and the bordering electorate of Macnamara in particular. We share the majority of Melbourne's Jewish community. There are many Holocaust survivors in Macnamara, but much of the Jewish community sits in Goldstein as well. Whether directly or indirectly, people are touched by the legacy of the Holocaust. In fact, the Jewish Holocaust Centre, a Holocaust museum in Victoria, sits on our border, and I'm very proud that the Morrison government has contributed a significant amount of money—$10 million—to its ongoing development. A critical part of addressing the legacy of the Holocaust and keeping the memory of it alive, so that we never allow it to happen again, is making sure that young Australians are fully aware of the events that occurred—not just the human toll but the events that led up to it and the enculturation of bigotry and anti-Semitism that led to one of the greatest atrocities if human history. We can only ensure that it is never repeated if we keep the spirit of the people and their stories alive, because it was not a single act, though there were very important single acts in the process; it was a matter of what was tolerated. We can never allow such bigotry to find its home on our shores or anywhere else in the world. That's why we all carry a sense of responsibility to call it out—because, when we allow and tolerate such bigotry and we turn a blind eye to it, particularly in times of crisis or certain events, it can lead to it becoming a groundswell.

I've spoken in this chamber many times, along with other members, about the rise of anti-Semitism not just in Australia but around the world and how we cannot tolerate this. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry regularly produces reports highlighting the disturbing rise of anti-Semitism, including acts of violence, both verbal and physical, against schoolchildren in parts of our country, where rabbis or those of Orthodox Jewish faith face harassment unjustly within the community, sometimes when they are simply driving their car down the street, or the graffiti of school buses. But the role of standing up and making sure we remember International Holocaust Remembrance Day is also a burden and responsibility that we all share.

I was very proud just this year that Mrs Irma Hanner was provided an OAM for her service to the community, particularly through the Jewish Holocaust Centre in the Goldstein electorate. People like Irma are instrumental in ensuring the memory of the victims of the Holocaust lives on and highlight the importance of holocaust funding and education. I would hope we would celebrate with a bipartisan spirit, because it's when people's lives and stories are told that Australians get an idea of the lived experience and the legacy that occurred. It's only when we remember those stories vividly and with discussion that we can honour the memory of those lives lost. In the words of Holocaust survivor and author Elie Wiesel, 'To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.' That's why we say: never again.

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