Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—Sadly, Australians are familiar with mourning the dead and supporting the injured from acts of extremist violence. We remember the Bali bombings in 2002, when 202 people were killed and many more injured, among them Australians, Indonesians and people from more than 20 other countries. Just like in Bali, the attacks in Paris, in Beirut and in Bamako have broken hearts and torn neighbourhoods apart. To the families and friends of those killed, to the injured and their loved ones, we send our deepest sympathies for your loss, your pain, in this horrendous and senseless violence.

The recent wave of attacks brings the number of extremist violence incidents around the world this year to almost 300. We remember the victims of those attacks in Nigeria, Egypt, Mali, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, France, Iraq, Turkey, the Philippines, Ukraine, Israel, Libya, Pakistan—and the list goes on. Today we stand together to honour the lives of those killed and injured in the recent attacks in Paris, in Beirut and in Bamako. The actions of criminal groups perpetrating extremist violence are designed to scare, to silence and to suppress any manifestation of belief or culture that differs from theirs.

In taking time to reflect on lives lost and harmed, we remain steadfast in our resolve to defeat the threat of extremist violence and we remain steadfast in our resolve that democracy—predicated on liberty, on respect for diversity, on inclusion, on global cooperation—is essential for maintaining our way of life and rising to the challenge to defeat the criminals behind this violence. But let us also remember that to give into fear, to opt for division, is to hand a victory to these criminals. Hatred is the problem here; it is not the answer. Our thoughts today are with the people of Paris and all of the cities and towns across the world affected by this senseless violence.