Labor MP Josh Burns has recalled the fear that struck him the moment he learned of the Bondi terror attack and former attorney general Mark Dreyfus became visibly emotional during a condolence motion in federal parliament for victims of the shooting.<\/p>\n
Standing orders were suspended in parliament on Monday as the prime minister, Anthony Albanese<\/a>, moved the condolence motion in memory of the 15 people who were killed when two gunmen, allegedly inspired by Islamic State, targeted a Hanukah event on 14 December at Sydney\u2019s Bondi beach.<\/p>\n Burns told the house his daughter had been about to go to a similar Hanukah in the park festival in Melbourne on the day of the shooting, and described the fear that rippled through the Jewish community as news of the violence spread.<\/p>\n \u201cYou think, what about my own family? What are they going to do? Are they going to be safe?\u201d Burns said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must not dehumanise each other, because dehumanisation leads to exactly what happened in Bondi. Not every act of hate ends in violence, but every act of violence begins with hate.\u201d<\/p>\n Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/a><\/p>\n Dreyfus said the government\u2019s response should not be confined to grief, but it \u201cmust extend to what we choose to defend and how we defend it\u201d.<\/p>\n Appearing to fight back tears, Dreyfus spoke of the loss felt by those whose loved ones had been killed.<\/p>\n \u201cFor every person murdered, there are families and friends left behind. A home left quieter, clothes still hanging in wardrobes, photos on walls that will never be updated, children asking when someone is coming home.<\/p>\n \u201cA seat left empty at the table, a laugh no longer heard, the longing for one more word, one moment, one more chance to say what was left unanswered. The pain of that absence does not pass quickly. They were parents, children, neighbours and friends.\u201d<\/p>\n The condolence motion condemned the atrocity and vowed to eradicate antisemitism, honoured the courage of first responders, acknowledged the trauma of the event, and affirmed the right of Jewish Australians to live in peace and safety.<\/p>\n Albanese acknowledged the victims\u2019 families who were in the public gallery for the condolence motion and the rest of the Jewish community. Responsibility for ensuring such an atrocity never occurred again began with him, Albanese said.<\/p>\n \u201cOn your long road to healing, Australia will be by your side,\u201d he said. \u201cWe make it clear to every Jewish Australian, you are not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n Albanese said he had requested the governor-general create a new category of Australian honours so people could nominate those who acted with bravery in the wake of the attack.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir bravery is inspiring and it was instinctive. They didn\u2019t need to know the names of the people they faced gun fire to help. They did not stop to think about faith or nationality. Their bond was more profound than that. Their bravery was an act of shared humanity,\u201d Albanese said.<\/p>\n Members of the House of Representatives stand during a Jewish prayer is read in parliament. Photograph: Hilary Wardhaugh\/Getty Images<\/p>\n The education minister, Jason Clare, broke down in tears while reading the first-hand account of a survivor, Jessica, who was at the Hanukah event with her daughter.<\/p>\n \u201cWe covered our children with our bodies, and as the gunshots came closer and closer as flying bits of flesh and bone sprayed over us, there was no mistaking it. This was a massacre,\u201d Clare read.<\/p>\n \u201cI realised I was no longer preparing to survive. I was preparing for how I wanted my daughter and I to die. I leaned into her ear and spoke the only words that came to me. \u2018Go inside yourself, my darling, go to your beloved. Stay there, my baby, stay there\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n The home affairs minister, Tony Burke<\/a>, said he wished the federal government was \u201cgoing harder\u201d on hate speech in the wake of the Bondi beach massacre.<\/p>\n