Simon Crean (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker, on indulgence: today marks the first anniversary of the tragic terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The attacks, which began on 26 November 2008 and lasted until 29 November, involved more than 10 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai. Terrorists attacked the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, the Oberoi-Trident Hotel and the Orthodox Jewish owned Nariman House, as well as the main railway terminal, the Leopold Cafe, cinema and two hospitals. Over the course of 62 horrifying hours, 164 innocent people were killed and hundreds more injured.

Today we remember the attacks and we remember those who lost their lives, including two Australians: Douglas Markell, from Woollahra, and Brett Taylor, from Turramurra. Today our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the victims of this senseless attack. Our thoughts are also with the survivors who suffered through this ordeal. We also pay tribute to the bravery and sacrifice of all those who risked their lives to save others. In difficult conditions, Indian security forces battled bravely and successfully to rescue hundreds of innocent people who were caught up in the attacks. From across the Indian Ocean, Australia was deeply shocked and appalled by the deadly and horrific Mumbai attacks. Australia applauds the efforts of the Indian government to bring to justice the perpetrators of the callous and despicable attack.

Today, as we remember the victims, we need to remind ourselves that the threat of international terrorism remains. We must remain vigilant and work together to defeat terrorism in all of its forms. Australia and India are united in the fight against terrorism. We share a desire to promote regional and global security as well as a common commitment to democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law. Together, we are building a comprehensive and enduring strategic partnership. In recent years we have expanded our cooperation with India in the areas of intelligence, border security, terrorism financing and money laundering. Earlier this month Prime Minister Rudd and Prime Minister Singh announced during Prime Minister Rudd’s visit to India that they had agreed on a joint declaration on security cooperation that will further strengthen our cooperation, including on counterterrorism.

The Mumbai attacks were a grim reminder of the serious threat terrorist groups in Pakistan pose to the international community and to Pakistan itself. Pakistan is making progress in defeating extremism. We commend its recent successes in Malakand division and the ongoing operations in South Waziristan. We welcome yesterday’s indictment by the Pakistani court in Rawalpindi of seven suspects alleged to have been involved in the Mumbai attacks under Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act and Penal Code. Pakistan will need to continue to take determined, sustained and effective action against extremists, including bringing the perpetrators of all terrorist attacks to justice. Australia will continue to do its part to support Pakistan in these efforts. A memorial service will be held in Mumbai on 26 November, organised by the Maharaksha government. The Australian Consul-General in Mumbai will participate in this official commemoration. Today, all of us remember those events of one year ago.

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On indulgence: it is a sombre duty to respond to this statement on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Terrorist attacks rock a nation to its core, and India continues to struggle with the aftermath of the attacks which began on this day 12 months ago. Today, our thoughts and sympathies are particularly with the families of the two Australians killed, Brett Taylor and Douglas Markell. The grief of their families will be felt keenly today. Our sympathies also go out to the Indian citizens and the other international guests of India who were killed. More than 170 people died and more than 300 were wounded in the 10 attacks that occurred between 26 and 29 November 2008.

The first attack, in a public transport terminal at 9.30 at night, was a cowardly act of opening fire with AK-47s on a crowd of unarmed commuters. Fifty-two innocent civilians were murdered and 109 were wounded while in the act of travelling home to be with their families. It is hard to think of a more heinous act than opening fire on a crowd of unarmed people, but such is the character of these terrorists, who lay false claim to religious justification for their acts. This attack was followed by attacks on cafes and bomb blasts in taxis. However, the images that gripped the world were the attacks on the two international hotels. These were emblematic targets for the extremists, as they apparently represented the ideology to which they were fundamentally opposed. One can only imagine the fear and the chaos in the Taj Mahal Palace and the Oberoi-Trident hotels as the heavily armed terrorists went from room to room searching for hostages and executing people.

Presumably unknown to the attackers, there was a trade delegation from the European Parliament staying at the Taj Mahal hotel. They barricaded themselves in their rooms or escaped during the early stages of the attack. Thankfully, none were injured or killed as no doubt they would have been prime targets for the terrorists. Another emblematic target for these cowards was Nariman House, which accommodated a Jewish outreach centre and other activities. The guns were turned on the residents, with six killed and no mercy shown to the pregnant wife of the rabbi.

While it is impossible to understand the types of beliefs that have infected the minds of the terrorists, we have some understanding of their goals—from the one terrorist captured alive, who confirmed he was a member of a radical Islamist organisation in Pakistan. The attacks are aimed squarely at the psyche of the citizens of free and open societies. They seek to destroy the confidence of people going about their daily lives. The fact that terrorists strike without warning and murder people indiscriminately is deliberately calculated to strike fear in the hearts of all citizens, to paralyse the target society. What is the ideology that so offends these people that they are driven to seek to destroy it using bombs and weapons? It is an ideology of an open and free society. They abhor our freedom—principally our freedom of thought and our religious freedom.

The impacts on society as a whole can be devastating, but it is the impacts on individuals that are most raw. One report from India today is about a 29-year-old man who is still coming to terms with physical and mental scars from the attacks. He reports a fear of crowds and that people with strange faces now cause him anxiety and he has essentially retreated from society. The buildings can be repaired and the blood washed away, but the emotional damage to individuals can take many years to repair, and some will never truly be healed. We support the efforts of the governments of India and Pakistan in pursuing and taking action against these terrorists. It is a sad reminder of the extremists at work.