Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the recent 20th anniversary of the Bali bombings. Early on the morning of 12 October, as the sun rose over Perth, survivors, their loved ones and several hundred members of the public gathered at the memorial in Kings Park to lay wreaths and commemorate this historic anniversary. Two decades on it has lost none of its impact. Two hundred and two people were killed in the brutal attack at Paddy's Pub and the Sari Club, 88 of them Australian and 16 of those from Western Australia. It was and remains very close to home.

At the 20th anniversary ceremony we heard powerful speeches from survivors that reminded us of the very best in the Australian character. Antony Svilicich said:

The knowledge that more people visit Bali now than prior to the bombings shows that they failed to scare us away.

We can rest assured the Australian spirit has not been broken. Our spirit remains strong, open, free and tolerant in the memory of those lost.

Bali Memorial Association secretary Fiona Ross lost her brother, David. She shared how her memories of the event and its aftermath remained 'awful and terrible', but she was buoyed by the countless acts of love and kindness that followed the tragedy.

Perth's northern suburbs is where I grew up. It's where my office is based, and it is a part of the world which I often talk about. It's a part of the world that was not immune from those devastating attacks. Those who lived and worked and played sport there before dying in Bali are very well and warmly remembered. The local high school, Greenwood College, of which one of my staff is an alumnus, flies flags at half-mast on 12 October to commemorate the loss of four former students. A plaque there, presented by the graduating class of 2002, pays tribute to Byron Hancock, Corey Paltridge, Jason Stokes and Jonathon Wade. Those four former students are also remembered by the Kingsley Football Club, which marked the 20th anniversary of the bombings with a legends footy match.

In October 2002, 20 young men from the club, elated to have won their first premiership, flew to Bali for an end-of-season celebration. Tragically, only 13 of the teammates made it home. In addition to those I've mentioned, I add David Ross, Anthony Stewart and Dean Gallagher as those who didn't return. It says a lot when the surviving team members were offered the opportunity to fly home but, instead, they chose to stay and search for their missing colleagues. But as significantly as Western Australia was affected, so too it contributed to the recovery. Twenty-eight people were flown to the Royal Perth Hospital for treatment. The WA Museum currently has an exhibition dedicated to the bombings, showcasing the selfless doctors and nurses who treated burns patients.

The message I, and I think many people, draw from these tragic events is that cooperation, love and survival won out over fear and hatred. Indeed, the friendship between Australia and Indonesia has endured, has grown stronger, despite the events of 2002. Australians frequent Bali in greater numbers than before the attacks. While grief and loss continue, all this confirms the perpetrators of the Bali bombings are and will remain defeated.

Recently I was delighted to attend the renaming of a reserve in Balcatta, near my electorate office, in Perth's northern suburbs. Those that know Perth's northern suburbs well will know it's a place with a deep multicultural history—the place where many people have come and built their lives and grown their families. This particular recreational space now pays tribute to the life and community legacy of the late Mr Dusan Lucev. The ceremony last month brought together representatives of the City of Stirling, many locals and, of course, family and friends of the Lucev family.

Dusan Lucev was a pioneer of the Balcatta area, a Croatian migrant born in 1907 on the island of Prvic Luka. In 1923, at the age of 16, he came alone to Australia to build a better life. His first stop was Queensland, but he later moved to the south-west of Western Australia and then made Balcatta his home. His legacy, his memory, is one we can all be very proud of. I'm delighted to have been invited by his family to share in that very important event to mark his legacy to a wonderful part of Perth's community.