Page 693 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 19 March 2019
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We must maintain what is unique about our nation and the nation across the ditch, New Zealand. We must maintain a fair go, mateship and freedom—freedom to go about our business without fear. Today that is what I want us to remember and what I commit myself to in the wake of this horrific attack.
MS LE COUTEUR (Murrumbidgee) (10.46): I feel honoured and inspired to actually be here in the Assembly today listening to all of us talking about this horrific event. Mr Coe said we would all remember where we were when we heard about it. I certainly remember where I was. I was actually part of the school students strike. There is an incredible contrast between that moment—it was more than that; those thousands of kids in Canberra doing something for the good of all us; a really positive moment—and that being interrupted by something which I really can only use the word “evil” to describe.
I often, not as often as probably I should in my work here, think about philosophy. What does it mean to be human and what is good and what is evil? I have been thinking about it also in the context of the bill that I will speak to later today, about the royal commission. I think the bottom line is that we are all human, we are all equal and we need to treat each other as brothers and sisters and treat each other with compassion. Very, very few of us seek to harm other people. We need to treat each other with compassion. On that note, there is a New Zealand web page called “Do a little good”, which is seeking funds for people who have been affected by this tragedy, and I would commend that to everyone.
As Mrs Jones and Mr Coe said, the Muslim community is a part of Canberra and has been a part of Canberra and Australia forever. I grew up in Yarralumla and I, as a white Anglo-Saxon, grew up listening to the call to prayer. The Muslim community is part of our community. I might stop at this point.
MS LAWDER (Brindabella) (10.49): It is so sad that we have to stand in this place today to talk about this shocking act of violence which has taken the lives of 50 innocent people in Christchurch and injured many more. The shockwaves of this tragedy have rippled out from Christchurch to all of New Zealand and indeed the whole world.
To the Muslim community and the Christchurch community, we are all saying, “As you mourn your loss, so do we.” I hope that, given time, you can hold onto the memories of those lost—their laughter, their joy, their everyday activities, their routines, their triumphs, even their tragedies in their lives, their struggles and their love.
Terrorist acts such as this hate-fuelled violence have no place in our community. To the Muslim community, the Christchurch community and the New Zealand community: know that we stand with you. We stand with you in sorrow, we stand with you in strength and we stand with you against hate, violence and extremism.
I understand that the coming days, weeks, months and even years will be difficult. They will be so hard for the families of the victims—the dead and the injured.
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