Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Hansard source

I want to thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker Wilkie, and the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition for giving us this opportunity to talk about something that happened about a month ago now at the Bondi Junction shopping centre. While it's in the electorate of Wentworth, the shopping centre serves the electorate of Sydney and the people who live there as well, and it really does feel like these events of a month ago impacted our whole Sydney community.

The deaths of these shoppers as they were just going about their ordinary lives, out on a Saturday doing the sorts of things that any Australian would be doing on a Saturday—doing the grocery shopping, picking up a gift, going to work—really have brought home to so many of us the fact that life is precious and life is uncertain and that any one of us could face an extraordinary event like this with no warning. As the member for Wentworth said yesterday in her contribution, all of us will remember exactly where we were when this news began to come through.

I remember seeing the first reports about a stabbing at Bondi Junction shopping centre. The fact that it was a woman made me think immediately that perhaps there was an element of domestic violence to the attack. As it turns out, it was a much more complex situation than that. In fact, a number of lives were lost—Yixuan Cheng, Pikria Darchia, Ashlee Good, Dawn Singleton, Faraz Tahir and Jade Young; all of them lost their lives—and many others were injured.

Inspector Amy Scott rushed to the scene and, uncertain whether she was facing a single attacker or a coordinated attack from multiple attackers, confronted and shot the perpetrator in what can only be described as a heroic act of bravery. There were the incredible actions of bystanders who rushed to keep others safe, putting their own safety at risk by providing a physical barrier to stop this attacker from moving through the shopping centre. There were others who provided immediate medical assistance. In particular, French nationals Damien Guerot and Silas Despreaux and security guard Muhammad Taha rushed to keep others safe.

I wanted to reflect for a moment in particular on the parents who lost their lives in this attack, because it really made me, as a mother, think at the time—as would a father—that your whole appetite for risk changes. People who used to think it was a great idea to go skydiving for their birthday suddenly understand that it's their responsibility to drive safely, look after their health and reduce the risks in their lives because they want to be there to see their children grow up.

To have Ashlee Good, the mother of a nine-month-old baby, killed in this way, her final act to protect her baby; and Jade Young, mother of two children, to lose her life in this way just doing the most ordinary thing that you can imagine—going to the shops on a Saturday—is particularly, particularly heartbreaking. Every death here is a tragedy. I know that my community have felt it very keenly. Many of my constituents went to the candlelight vigil, as I did, to express their horror at this senseless attack. But I'm particularly thinking of those children growing up without mothers because of the actions of this absolutely senseless attack.

The final thing I wanted to say to the family of everyone of the people who lost their lives in this attack is that the thoughts and support and love of our whole Australian community goes out to you. The fact that the Australian parliament can express that to you, I think, is important for the nation. We do that on behalf of the nation. But particularly to those children who are going to grow up without a parent because of this, I really am thinking of you and all of our hearts go out to you.

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