Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to make my contribution to this motion, a motion which should be devoted to the commemoration of events in Israel on October 7. It's that simple. It should not be that difficult in this place to devote one motion to acknowledging and condemning those horrific, barbaric, inhumane actions perpetrated in Israel on October 7 last year. That is not to diminish the impact of the resulting conflict on all of those who are being affected. The thousands of lives lost and the thousands more directly and indirectly impacted can, and should, be acknowledged. This entire conflict and all of us impacted are to be lamented. Who in their right mind would want this? I think that all of us in this place want to live our lives in peace, and we seek that for all communities globally.

I reflect on the words of Israel's ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, last night at the ceremony commemorating the loss of life on October 7 last year and the words he has repeated a number of times over the last year: 'We did not want this war. We do not ask for this war.' That brings me back to the question of a few moments ago: who in their right mind would want this? It seems the only ones who want this are Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthi—Iran. Why do they want this? Because they want to complete the attempted genocide of the Israeli people, the extermination of the State of Israel. Senators come into this place talking of genocide yet ignore the reality that they campaign against the people who have been the subject of an attempted genocide—the Jewish Israeli people, people whose government have rightly vowed that such an attempted genocide will not happen again. We, as a parliament, should stand with the Israeli government to ensure that such an attempted genocide can never happen again.

How is it that our country has forgotten the lessons of that attempted genocide? How is it that antisemitism has grown to such an extent in this great country? How was it that antisemitism runs rife through our universities and our communities? How is it that Jewish people don't feel safe in this country? And how is it that this parliament can't devote one motion to the memory of October 7? This is not the Australian way. All of us in this place seek peace in the Middle East. All of us want to see the release of the remaining 101 hostages. Yet, we can't devote a single motion to the commemoration of the evil events perpetrated a year ago: the mass murder of innocent civilians—women, children—indiscriminately, deliberately slaughtered. Young people enjoying a concert, parents and grandparents going about their daily lives—101 hostages taken and tortured, continuing to be held. These actions—disgracefully, shamefully celebrated by Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthi, Iran and their sympathisers—are actions that none of us can reasonably claim to comprehend. They can only be condemned in the strongest possible terms.

Last night, thousands attended vigils around this country in support of the Jewish people and the people of Israel. We listened to the profound stories of those who lost family friends and of community members who still wait for the release of the hostages. We prayed for peace. We prayed for the release of those hostages. Here in Canberra, we appreciated the words of commemoration from Senator O'Neill and, particularly, from Senator Sharma. We heard of the determination of the Israeli people to be able to live peacefully in their communities—something, surely, we can all aspire to. It's something that this parliament should have been able to devote one motion to.

I support the amendments to this motion proposed by Senator Birmingham, standing in support of the Israeli people as they commemorate the largest loss of life of their people since the terrible events in the attempted genocide of World War II.