Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the people of Kingsford Smith, I join in offering condolences to the families and friends of those who lost loved ones in the terrible Bali bombings that occurred 20 years ago. On 12 October, the anniversary of that horrific night in Bali, the Prime Minister joined members of our community at Dolphins Point in Coogee to pay tribute to and commemorate the lives of those that were lost in the Bali bombings.

They say that time heals all wounds, and 20 years is certainly a long time, but time can never erase the memory of a loved one, particularly those that were taken before their time, as many were in those horrific acts of terrorism 20 years ago on 12 October. I can still remember that day quite vividly. I awoke on a Sunday morning and was heading down to Maroubra Beach to do a surf patrol. I remember hearing on the radio that a bomb had gone off in the Sari Club in Kuta in Bali. I distinctly remember thinking: 'There are so many people from our community that are there at this time of the year. I hope no-one has been harmed.' Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Many members of our community were killed and injured in that horrific act of terrorism, particularly the six members of the Coogee Dolphins Rugby League Football Club.

I had friends that were killed. Kathy Salvatori is someone that I used to see on a regular basis. She worked at the gym at South Coogee Juniors, which I used to visit on almost a daily basis. Peter Singer was my economics teacher in years 11 and 12 at high school. He lost his beautiful son, Tom, a member of the Coogee Surf Club, in that bombing that night. Many others from our community, the Buchan's, the Airlie's, and others unfortunately lost their lives.

The Bali bombing left a terrible legacy on our community as well. There were others that lost their lives in the wake of that. Some from the Coogee Dolphins simply couldn't cope with the fact that they were there on that night but they walked outside when the bomb went off and their friends were lost. I want to pay particular tribute to Paddy Byrne, who lost his battle with the demons that he faced in the wake of the Bali bombing some years later.

I want to pay particular tribute to the families that lost loved ones. I can't begin to contemplate what you have been through and what you have suffered over the last 20 years. But your strength, your courage and your resilience are incredibly admirable—the fact that you've been able to get on with your lives. Now we're seeing the grandchildren of those that were lost in Bali start to come through in our community.

The twelfth of October is a special day in our area. We have the commemoration at Dolphin Point every year, and it's always well attended by members of our community. We have a follow-up commemoration at Malabar Beach on an annual basis for members of the Malabar community that were lost. We won't forget those that passed away in that terrible act of violence and malice.

The other point about the families of the victims is, I think, that their resilience and their strength and their courage demonstrate that evil will never win in these circumstances. No matter what people do to us, no matter what people have done to the victims' families, their courage and their resilience and their strength have won out and they've continued on with their lives in our beautiful community. So to those who perpetrated these evil acts: you haven't won. You haven't done anything. You've just proven to be really small-minded, weak people. The strength of our community and the courage of our community and the love that we have shown for each other in helping get through these last 20 years are testament to the great honour that I have in representing the people of Kingsford Smith. I pay tribute today in particular to the families who've lost loved ones, their friends and the wider community that continues to remember and ensure that those that lost their lives in Bali will never be forgotten.

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