Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I do rise with a heavy heart, but I want to pay tribute to the member for Macnamara and also the member for Chifley. That was one of the most powerful moments I've had in my two years in this place. It actually summed up this situation at a global level. This is not about Jewish people and people of Islamic faith. It is a much more complicated issue than that. The passion that the member for Macnamara spoke with and the journey he has gone through as an individual—the unfair attacks on him are a disgrace. I want to pay tribute to him for that contribution. I also acknowledge the member for Cowan. It's clear that this is a complicated, challenging issue that has so many layers and affects so many people. In that moment, we saw a powerful demonstration of what this place can see.

But unfortunately, straight after that moment, we saw one of the most disgraceful things I've seen in this House. The member for Griffith had a choice in that moment, after that powerful speech from the member for Macnamara, to reach into his humanity and realise that this is not about politics; this is about the challenges that people are going through in the Middle East. It is about the challenges that people are going through here in Australia. It is about members of parliament and their staff having their offices vandalised and destroyed. And that is being stoked by those in the Greens. He had a choice. You could have spoken with humanity and recognised the amazing moment that we saw. But you went straight to politics. And you will have to reflect on that. This is not an easy, black-and-white situation. It is complex, it is challenging—

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