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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 12 Hansard (12 November) . . Page.. 3409 ..

MR SMYTH (continuing):

us and also the people of Bali very well, and which will continue to serve all those who visit Bali in the future.

Ms Tucker made some comments about recognising the role played in the community by the Muslim people. I have had a fairly long relationship with some members of the Muslim community in the ACT and I say to those who are currently building the Muslim cultural centre down at Monash, "You are very welcome. The people of Tuggeranong welcome you; the people of Canberra welcome you. You have a right to be here, you have a place here. I think what you bring to us is wonderful and what you share with us is wonderful."I think as a community we need to make sure that we embrace and respect all faiths, all religions, all the beliefs of individuals. People deserve that basic fundamental right of respect.

I thank the Assembly for the opportunity to speak today. I think it is important that we speak about this and we do not forget because if we forget, it will occur again.

MRS CROSS: Over recent years we have seen in our near region a resurgence of extremist fanaticism in savage ethnic and religious attacks that have killed thousands of people, most recently in Ambon and in central Sulawesi. Yet to many Australians these horrors have had little direct impact, if any, and that is, to a degree, understandable. But last month the shock waves from the Bali atrocity stuck with a sickening thud on our souls, bringing the reality of our times onto centre stage.

That relatively happy corner of the world known so well to so many Australians was plunged into sadness, as we here were as we tried to comprehend the scale and the senselessness of the searing, split-second snuffing out of so many vibrant lives, and the depth of hatred that motivated it. The sheer shock of such mass murder has changed our corner of the world, no doubt for some time to come, and maybe forever.

For weeks we have mourned those who died, and those who were closest to them will mourn them for the rest of their days. Today we have been given the opportunity to make our own small expression of grief. Let us keep alive the memory of what was done to them, so that it can help us to maintain the focus that will be necessary in our efforts to prevent a similar tragedy in the future. May we remember them always, and may their souls rest in peace.

MRS DUNNE: Mr Speaker, a little over a year ago as we took a family holiday in Bali we spent some time thinking about the prospects of terrorists attacks following September 11. We concluded that the risks were negligible. While in Bali I remember meeting an American family who were based in Singapore, and their assessment was like ours: that in Bali the threat of monkey bites or motorbike accidents was much greater than the threat of Muslim extremists. Well, sadly we were both wrong, but we were in pretty good company. What we have learnt is that there is a risk and it has brought home to us that there always will be a risk.

Today members have dwelt on the tragedy of the Bali bombings: the lives lost; the cowardly attack on young people who were just enjoying themselves; the terrorism brought to our back yard; the impact on the peaceful and charming Balinese who were killed by the score and many more who have lost their livelihoods as a result of the bombing.

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