Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

ASH (—) (): I too rise to speak in support of the motion noting the 20th anniversary of the Bali bombings. I thank the government for the opportunity to co-sponsor this motion. I too, on behalf of the coalition, acknowledge the presence in the chamber today of His Excellency the Indonesian Ambassador to Australia. Thank you so much for honouring us with your presence.

It was one of those moments in history when Australians remember exactly where they were the moment reports came home of the Bali bombings. At 11.05 pm on 12 October 2002, a suicide bomber detonated at Paddy's Pub in Kuta, Bali, sending the injured and survivors out onto the street. Minutes later, another bomb detonated across the street, at the Sari Club. The attacks brought immeasurable emotions of anger and grief. Two hundred and two people, from more than 20 countries, died. Over 100 people suffered irreparable injury from the blasts and fire that followed. Australia suffered the greatest toll, with 88 Australians losing their lives.

This year we mark 20 years since that night occurred. We remember those lost, and we offer our deepest sympathies to the victims' families, those who still carry the scars. We also acknowledge the selflessness of the first responders in the wake of the devastation. Today, here, in this place, and on 12 October we will remember those 88 Australians.

The horror of that night is also a reminder of our resolute pledge against terrorism. Two days after the bombings, the then Prime Minister John Howard said this:

In many respects the word 'terrorism' is too antiseptic an expression to describe what happened. It is too technical and too formal. What happened was barbaric, brutal mass murder without justification. It is seen as that by the people of Australia and it is seen as that by the people of the world. It is a terrible reminder that terrorism can strike anyone anywhere at any time.

Coming only a little more than 12 months after 11 September, it is a sentiment that continues to serve as a reminder of events that changed the course of history. Sadly, the threat of terrorism persists. Australia has always been resolute in keeping Australians safe from terrorism. Successive governments have continued to work with international partners to prevent the devastation of terrorism and the ideologies that fuel it, and we recommit our bipartisan support to continue the fight against terrorism in all of its forms.

In the years following the Bali bombings, former prime minister Howard reflected, and he said this:

Those who were responsible for this terrible deed may have hoped a number of things; they may have hoped that they would have driven Indonesia and Australia further apart.

Instead of that, they brought Indonesia and Australia closer together.

Our two countries were thrust together beyond the shared connection of being Pacific neighbours, forging a united determination to eradicate the threat of violent extremism in the region and globally.

In the aftermath of the bombings, Australia responded without hesitation. Within 62 hours of the blasts, 61 injured victims were transferred to the Royal Darwin Hospital and to burns units across the country, with military and civilian flights aiding in the evacuation. Our Australian Defence Force launched Operation Bali Assist, evacuating Australians and foreign nationals, and providing medical assistance. The Australian Federal Police deployed a response team and assisted the Indonesian National Police with the immediate response and the investigation that followed. This cooperation meant that some of those responsible for the horrific attacks would be prosecuted for their crimes. Fourteen Australian Commonwealth agencies, as well as state and territory agencies, came together to help respond to the crisis. Non-government agencies, including St John, the Australian Red Cross and Qantas, also provided their support.

In 2003, the Australian government honoured 199 individuals for their selfless acts of bravery and dedicated service in the wake of the bombings. Two Australians were awarded the Cross of Valour, our highest civilian honour. Senior Constable Timothy Britten and Mr Richard Joyes, upon hearing the bomb explosions, both made their way to the Sari Club and, whilst unknown to each other at that time, together repeatedly went back into the club, risking their lives to rescue the injured. In the continuing grief that we hold, it is these examples that etch into history the strong and resilient Australian spirit.

This anniversary will be difficult for many. Ceremonies will be held here in our nation's capital and across our great country. Many Australians, including the families of victims, survivors and first responders, have made the pilgrimage back to Bali each year for the anniversary, and each year they are welcomed by Indonesia, as they will be this year. An emblem adorning these services each year are the arrangements of wattle and frangipani flowers—a symbolic tribute uniting two countries.

Australia and Indonesia would be again bound together, unfortunately by grief, following the second Bali bombings not three years later in 2005. Of the 20 casualties, four Australians lost their lives. The Bali Memorial Package, established in 2003 and concluding in 2008, honoured those Australians who died. During its effective phase, the package strengthened health services in Bali, including provisions for Bali's main teaching hospital, the creation of the Australian Bali Memorial Eye Centre, and multiple medical scholarship packages here in Australia.

As our relationship has continued to deepen with Indonesia so has our cooperation since 2002, with a range of strategic, security, defence and economic partnerships, and, most recently, in 2021, the renewal of our Australia-Indonesia Memorandum of Understanding on Counter Terrorism. Our relationship with Indonesia is one of great importance—it defies those who sought to cause long-lasting chaos on that day—and our ties remain strong.

As a consequence of these attacks and others, which we see all too often around the world, we do live in a very different world today. We acknowledge and we give thanks to our police, our security agencies and our defence forces. They work every single day to keep Australians safe.

Today in the Senate, in recognition of the 20th anniversary, let us remember the 202 souls, including the 88 Australians, who lost their lives in the Bali bombings on 12 October 2002, and those who still bear the scars of that night. Let our thoughts be with them and their families, for they will never forget and neither should we.