Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

In this week before Easter, I'm reminded of an old joke: Pontius Pilate said to Joseph, 'I don't understand, Joseph; you are a wealthy man and you have spent a fortune building a tomb for yourself and now you have given it to this pauper named Jesus,' and Joseph replied, 'It is only for the weekend.' Easter weekend is upon us and the act of kindness from Joseph has endured for more than a weekend—for 2,000 years. Easter carries a message of rebirth, of starting over in the spirit of a God that forgives our transgressions while asking us through our actions to do better and to be better.

John 14:27 records Jesus's words at the Last Supper, the farewell discourse, as being: 'Peace I leave with you, and the peace I give isn't fragile like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid.' All I can say is that Jesus got everything else correct, so I know he will again be right. Yet the world is on the brink of tribulations I have not lived through before and had hoped I never would experience. Some biblical scholars have criticised the farewell discourse as having been written too late after the event, leaving the ending of the discourse open. One would think that was the point. What is the ending? Will it be community and prosperity as we have enjoyed in this beautiful country for hundreds of years or will it be another Dark Ages, this time with the stain and stench of neo-feudalism, violence and a moral relativism, which is really just nihilism repackaged as woke agenda. Will those who think they are too smart for religion succeed in destroying real religions? That is the ending that was not made clear. How could it be? The ending has not been written and we can add just one part of it.

I hope this Easter everyone has a nice break in the real world with our families to strengthen our focus and objectivity, ensuring our contribution to the unwritten ending is peace, prosperity, family and community.