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

I rise on behalf of the Greens to also pay our condolences to the families of the victims of the horrific terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand. These were people who were killed at a moment of contemplation, at a moment of deep reflection, at a time when they were in communion with their God—killed at their most vulnerable.

Amongst those 50 who lost their lives or were injured in the terrorist attack were people who hailed from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Syria, Pakistan and Palestine. Yes, they were Muslims, but they were also New Zealanders. They are people like Naeem Rashid, who lunged at the gunman to try to save the lives of his fellow worshippers and who was murdered in the process; people like Khaled Mustafa, originally from Syria, who was killed alongside his 16-year-old son, Hamza; people like Hamza's schoolmate Sayyad Milne, who was just 14 years old; and people like Mohammed Daoud Nabi, a 71-year-old man from war-torn Afghanistan who was heard, as the killer walked through the doors of the mosque, to say in greeting the words: 'Welcome, brother.'

We owe it to every single person whose life was stolen that day to remember their names, to remember their lives, to remember the lives that will go unlived because of the horrendous actions of a terrorist. We owe it to remember them not just because they're Muslims—although they were—and not just because they are New Zealanders and we share a deep relationship with that country but because they were one of us, because they were part of our collective humanity.

Like the Leader of the Government in the Senate and the Leader of the Opposition, we express our thoughts and sympathies to those whose lives were stolen and to all those whose lives were left behind. But, as we said shortly afterwards and as we continue to say, thoughts and sympathies now are not enough. Thoughts and sympathies won't protect our Muslim community from the daily abuses and hatred that they experience. They won't protect people from the hate speech that we continue to see right here and around the world. They won't help heal the deep divides in our country. Now is a time for solidarity, for us to come together as a nation, and for some true reflection. We must acknowledge how it was that an Australian could be responsible for such a horrific crime. We must all face up to the deeply uncomfortable truths about how racism and xenophobia have been exploited by the voices of hate, those who seek to divide us. And there is no escaping it, Mr President. Some of those voices reside here in this chamber.

Our parliament should be a place that shows Australia at its best—members of parliament elected by the people and entrusted with the powers to pass laws to make this country more equal, more generous, more prosperous and more welcoming. It should be a parliament where people from across the political spectrum seek common ground for the good of the nation and where we treat each other and all those around us with dignity and respect, always remembering that there is much more that unites us than divides us, always remembering the people who elected us to this place. That's the kind of parliament we should be building; that's the kind of parliament that the Australian community expect of us. Over the coming days, we'll talk about how we can go some way towards achieving that goal.

Now is not the time to deepen the divisions in our society. Now is the time for unity and for decent people to come together for a renewed recognition of our common humanity. We've seen so many examples of such leadership in New Zealand right now. From the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, who has been a voice of compassion and a voice for peace, right through to all those members of the New Zealand community who have come together to throw a collective embrace across the victims so deeply affected. Here in Australia we must come together to support one another and to stand strong against racism, against hatred and against bigotry. We must be honest with ourselves and realise how much work we still need to do. We need to take some concrete steps to ensure that our parliament—indeed, our nation—is coming together against violence, against hatred and against bigotry and standing in solidarity with all those people right across the world who want a more peaceful and just society.