Julian Hill
Bruce · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“We want people to aspire to home ownership and to get into the housing market, and yet for the past 20 years it has felt like, however fast they save on the treadmill, house prices just race ahead twice as fast—and that's what the data shows. The opposition's policy depends on who you ask.”
“For those listening at home, Narrabundah is a pretty wealthy suburb in Canberra. He was standing in front of a flat this morning that, in 2006, sold for $420,000. The asking price today is $900,000. He thinks that's not a problem. He thinks nothing needs to change.”
“One of the things that we've been hearing over the last couple of weeks, out in the community—I was at the Berwick market on Sunday morning; around Dandenong at lunchtime—is the question of house prices. What's going to happen with house prices with the government's tax changes? I want to make a couple of points.”
“The definition of insanity, of course, is doing the same thing and expecting a different result, which is what we see from the Liberal Party. Actually, I'm going to contradict myself; I'll finish on this point. They do have one policy for housing: super for housing.”
“Seven out of 10 for performance art. There were a few questions I was actually looking forward to responding to, but unfortunately the opposition chose to call a bunch of silly divisions and has eaten into the time, so we've run out of time. Proposed expenditure agreed to.”
“The truth is, from when the government was elected four years ago, debt is in a better place. It's lower, deficits are lower and the debt-to-GDP ratio is lower. The fact is—and you can see it in the budget papers in black and white—the budget is in far, far better shape than the mess that the Liberals left behind.”
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“There have been pay rises for minimum and award wages—because cost of living is both money in and money out—taking the total increase under Labor to over $9,000 for lower-paid workers. Paid parental leave has been expanded to 24 weeks. Super is now being paid on all government paid parental leave, something that they said could never be done. There is more energy bill relief, with $150 off power bills for every household and around one million small businesses nationwide. There is the $10,000 bonus for housing apprentices, which is paid on top of their wages to help with those costs, and the payments are staggered now to help with retention and help support apprentices to complete and get into the construction industry. There is 30 per cent off home batteries to permanently cut power bills with Labor's Cheaper Home Batteries Program.”
“If you don't pay for something, you don't value it, apparently. Well, hundreds of thousands of Australians say otherwise. They valued the opportunity to upgrade their skills, whether they're school leavers or people retraining to re-enter the workforce or make a career transition in areas of skills shortage. The other bit of good news is that cost-of-living delivery remains the government's No. 1 focus, with tax cuts for every taxpayer, including another top-up tax cut this July, which those opposite opposed, and another top-up tax cut next year. The genius, the then shadow Treasurer, now the putative soon-to-be Leader of the Opposition, maybe, if he's got the numbers—maybe he hasn't; we'll find out in the next few days—went to the election promising to increase taxes.”
“We promised at the election that we would take real action to turn around the decline in bulk-billing rates that we inherited from the former government, who froze the rebate for nearly their whole decade of dysfunction, decay and division in office, and that is the promise that we are delivering. The second bit of good news is that free TAFE celebrates its third birthday this month. More than 725,000 enrolments in free TAFE have seen more than 210,000 course completions already. Hundreds of thousands of Australians have been trained and are now workers in essential areas, building Australia's future in nursing, in construction, in aged care, in early childhood education and in the tech sector. Don't forget that those opposite, including today's Leader of the Opposition, said it was a waste of money.”
“I'm going to start with three good things. Firstly, this week we've seen new data which confirms the biggest jump in quarterly bulk-billing statistics in over 20 years. In just the last three months we've seen a recovery of the bulk-billing rate—GP visits that are bulk-billed—to 81.4 per cent. There are now more than 3,400 bulk-billing practices in Australia—and that's growing every week. The maths says that's a more than 50 per cent increase in the number of bulk-billing practices because of Labor's investments in strengthening Medicare. This growth has been seen in every state and territory right across the country, and it means that more than 96 per cent of Australians now live within a 20-minute drive of a fully bulk-billed practice.”
“There is no mass migration in this country. Even in that rabble opposite, their shadow minister for immigration admitted this in a moment of honesty. You turn on the TV and look at what's happening in much of the Americas and Europe. They suffer from mass migration. We do not. We have a tightly controlled set of borders.”
“In years to come, we can look back on last year for the establishment of the Office for Multicultural Affairs, bringing together investment, services and policies, and a milestone that I'm really proud of: the one-millionth humanitarian migrant welcomed to our country since World War II. That was late last year. One of the stereotypes that I cannot stand is the one that humanitarian migrants come to our country to get on welfare. It's deeply offensive. They're far more likely to start businesses and to have a crack than other Australians. In the year 2000, six of our country's then eight billionaires came to this country as humanitarian migrants and refugees. I want to address the two key issues in the motion. The level of migration is a legitimate debate to bring, but it needs to be based in fact.”
“We marked the 50th anniversary of the Racial Discrimination Act, the last big bit of legislation by the Whitlam Labor government, which laid the foundations for equality in this country—that everyone is equal under the law, regardless of their race or ethnicity or background, and that everyone has the right to equal participation. We marked the 50th anniversary of the contribution of large-scale Vietnamese migration to our country and the 40th anniversary of the Hawke Labor government's access and equity strategies, providing for the right of everyone to fully participate in Australian society.”
“I'll say clearly at the outset that migration has been too high. Migration has been too high, and the government is bringing it down. But there is nothing more Australian than a migrant. Everyone in this country except Indigenous Australians—everyone or their ancestors came from somewhere. Since 1945, more than six million people have chosen to make a permanent life in Australia. Every region, every town, every sporting club, every suburb has been touched by generations of migrants. Migrants are our relatives, our friends, our work colleagues, our business leaders, small-business people, researchers and more. Last year, we marked a number of anniversaries in this country. We marked the 80th anniversary of the first Department of Immigration, put in place by the Curtin Labor government to help with World War II rebuilding.”
“I thank the member for Kennedy for bringing the debate. I do welcome a chance to talk about migration and integration, the two core topics in the motion that you've put before the House. This matters to the work of my portfolio. I spoke in my first speech nearly 10 years ago this July extensively, though, around the role of migration and human diversity as our nation's defining characteristic and greatest strength. They are the words that I said then, and they're words that I believe now. It also matters to Australians now. The best I can say about some of your contribution is that you are reflecting some of the fears and the anxieties fuelled by misinformation and by things that we see that we don't like, some of which you've outlined, that are completely unacceptable, and I'll talk about that.”
“It contrasts with the contribution of the now opposition leader—well, she's today's opposition leader; we'll see what tomorrow brings, or Wednesday or Thursday or Friday; we'll see if she lasts the week—on free TAFE: 'It was a waste of money, and, if you don't pay for it, you don't value it.' Well, hundreds of thousands of Australians have said they do value study in these critical skills shortage areas, and that's a good thing for our country. Also, there are study hubs. There are 20 regional and 14 suburban study hubs, which are about bringing higher education closer to those students who are not able to access campuses or whose families or family circumstances have meant they're not able to access, or haven't had the support to access, tertiary education.”
“I agree with the previous speaker's contribution too that it's not all from school to tertiary education. Life is not a linear progression these days. Many people will go in and out of the tertiary education system while they're working, whether it's for sabbaticals and study breaks or blending study with work as they go on through their lives. It does mean changing the funding, though, so that students not currently going into tertiary education are supported to do so. That's what free TAFE is about, and I acknowledge the work of the Minister for Skills and Training and the Prime Minister's focus on free TAFE, which as of, I think, the last couple of weeks marks its three-year anniversary. We've seen more than 775,000 free TAFE enrolments and more than 210,000 completions, with hundreds of thousands of students still studying.”
“We need to focus, though, if we're going to achieve that goal, on certain parts of Australia and particularly on the regions, the outer suburbs and disadvantaged communities where participation is low. There are many parts of our cities, particularly the wealthier suburbs, where frankly those kids are going to go to university anyway or will pursue TAFE if that's what they wish. But there are many parts of our cities, including in some parts that I represent, where the participation of young Australians in post-school education is far, far lower than in the wealthier parts of our country. So the ATEC is going to have to focus on what the system needs to do, what universities need to do and what the vocational training system needs to do as an adjunct to get those young Australians into tertiary education.”
“John Curtin's belief in the value of education never dimmed. In 1932 he wrote: The pursuit of knowledge is far more important than even knowledge itself … That is why the Labour movement has always striven, even passionately, for educative opportunities for all. It's my mum's story, it's been part of my family's story, and it's the story of many people in this chamber—first in family to go to university or TAFE or even to complete year 12. This is a bold goal, and it can only be achieved with big changes. One change is in how the system is steered, which is the ATEC—long after many of us are here, the Tertiary Education Commission should still be there steering and shaping the system to fulfil those goals in the accord. Another change is in how the system is funded. I touched on some of that, but if time permits I'll mention more of that.”
“It includes certificates, diplomas, graduate diplomas, and vocational education and training. The system needs to be more integrated, and we need to value all parts of the tertiary system. Tertiary education is absolutely critical for our country's prosperity. It changes people's lives—individually but also collectively—it creates new knowledge, it supports society to solve important challenges and problems, and it supports industry to apply that knowledge. This Labor government's focus on education builds on a fine Labor tradition. It's not about equality of outcome; it's about equality of opportunity. Every kid in Australia, no matter where they're born and no matter their family upbringing or their economic circumstances, should have the same access to education and a fair crack at life.”
“As well as universities, I'll give a shout out to the non-university higher ed providers, who are commonly called private providers or colleges. They teach a large number of students in Australia, international and domestic, and the ATEC needs to have a role in understanding and shaping their contribution to the system, but it also needs to take a broader view for vocational education and training to create a better, more joined-up system to break down the black-and-white barrier between TAFEs, VET and higher education. This is a critical part of meeting the government's bold target, an ambitious target, to see 80 per cent of Australians in the workforce have some kind of tertiary education qualification by 2050. It's not university snobbery, as some might say.”
“The government's judgement, flowing from the accord, is that we need to move past the system that we've created where every university—metropolitan, regional, research intensive, teaching intensive, highly ranked or focused on access—operates under the same incentives, the same funding structure and the same requirements. One of the key recommendations from the accord is to have a trusted, independent commission to steward the system. I acknowledge the previous speaker's comments about seeking reassurance that the ATEC, the Australian Tertiary Education Commission, is intended to steward the system and not be another regulator. That is indeed what the bill provides, and that is the government's intention.”
“That's something we can be proud of, but it's a choice we make as a country. We can choose to fund universities properly, to fund research and create new knowledge, or we can choose not to. Well, this government chooses to chase excellence. Those 1988 reforms set the system up for success. They expanded access to university to millions of Australians who were previously locked out and improved research quality. They set up the institutions for success. But the truth is like any big structural reforms the world changes, and they've run their race. Indeed, many of the architects of those reforms I've seen quoted as contributing—through this debate, from the accord and in other things like this that have flowed from the accord—have said they're surprised that some of those reforms lasted as long as they have.”
“Then, in 1988, as part of the Dawkins reforms under the Hawke Labor government, the judgement was taken that that system had run its race, and the previous Universities Commission was abolished. It did set the system up for incredible success. For all the culture wars and the bagging of universities—there are some social licence issues, no doubt. I met with the Go8 vice-chancellors this morning, here in Canberra, and had a pretty direct discussion about some of that. But, for all the culture wars that abound, we have incredible universities in this country. If there's anything that punches above its weight, surely it's our university system. Three per cent of the world's research and knowledge output is generated here in Australia, which is well above its population share. We have multiple universities ranked globally in the top 100.”
“The Universities Commission was set up first in 1943, but, by July 1945, Commonwealth policy under the Curtin government and then the Chifley government provided for the establishment of a Commonwealth office for education, legislation to place the Universities Commission on a more permanent basis, grants to universities to meet the costs of buildings and facilities and associated expenditure connected with the Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme and the establishment of a truly national university. In fact, it is still the only university that's regulated by Commonwealth statute created by the Commonwealth—the Australian National University. They were big changes.”
“The question was, 'What are they going to do about that?' and he said, 'You should just go and recruit more international students.' And then, at the same time, the same prime minister and the mob opposite were saying the universities have gone and recruited too many international students—to make up for the funding that the Liberals and the Nationals cut. Back to the substance of the bill. It introduces an independent commission to steward the system. The last commission was created, I think, in 1943 by the Curtin Labor government, by John Curtin. It was under Curtin's influence, actually, that the Commonwealth government began to take a bigger role and a bigger interest, structurally and systemically, in education, which, constitutionally, was primarily a matter for regulation by the states.”
“I'm not going to victim-blame like many in the opposition are doing or like the Menzies Research Centre's ridiculous, dodgy so-called research paper they put out a couple of weeks ago using data that was either three years old or that was just made up—it didn't exist. It was a rational response by the regional vice-chancellors to deal with the structural funding problems. We're putting in a regional student funding load to add a load so that a student taught in a regional area will get some extra funding, as they should. I also heard of the coalition's love and fondness for the university sector. I would remind the member opposite—I don't know whether he was a member here under the former Morrison regime, the cabal, with its secret ministries and dodgy decisions. He got up one budget, and they cut $3 billion from the university sector.”
“I'm not going to take lectures, the sanctimony or the little backhanders suggesting that somehow the government's been against regional education. It's quite the opposite. Under their whole previous term of government, a regional student was funded exactly the same as a metropolitan student, even though everyone knew it cost more to teach a regional student than a metropolitan student. In response, over the last couple of decades, many of the regional universities have set up these CBD campuses to teach students, often international students, in the cities; make a bit of profit; clip the ticket; and pass the profit back to help fund the cost of teaching regional students.”
“I think it'll take years or decades for Australians to look back and realise just what a significant moment this is—to recreate an independent commission to steward the tertiary education system, in particular the universities, but not only the universities. And I'll get to that. I just want to affirm one thing the previous speaker said, and that is about the importance of regional education, and then I'll go back to the substance of the Universities Accord (Australian Tertiary Education Commission) Bill 2025. This government agrees with the importance of regional education. It's one of the reasons we've put in place the university study hubs—to improve access to education for regional and outer suburban students—but there's a really big systemic reform.”
“I listened carefully to a few of the opposition speakers, and I feel sorry for them, in that it must be quite painful sitting on the barbed-wire fence. On one hand, there were some very good points made there—they were quoting some of the Senate submissions—but, on the other, I'm still none the wiser as to whether they support the bill or oppose the bill. Time will tell. There were a lot of feelings, a lot of opinions, a lot of anxieties and a lot of worries, but there was not much clarity or anything even resembling a policy or a voting position. This is a huge reform, though, for the tertiary education system.”
“Last term, I had ministerial responsibility, and it was really fabulous to go and see firsthand the staff doing the work—their passion and their commitment. Workforce issues we can deal with another day. They've got a bit of an ageing workforce and a workforce structure problem, largely because of how governments have chosen to procure for many decades. The gig economy doesn't work that well with younger people, so we need to have a look at that with the states and territories. But I really commend the work of translators and interpreters right across the country, and I'm pleased that this legislation has been brought to the House.”
“They've said: 'You know, when we have another look at this, we're not so sure about the legal basis on which everything's been done, so we're taking it seriously. We're methodically going through all areas of government and making sure that they are on a sound constitutional and legal footing.' So I commend the Minister for Multicultural Affairs for doing the proper work of government and bringing this legislation forward so that TIS National can continue to operate. It provides services for all three levels of government as well as the private sector and individuals: 24/7 telephone interpreting supporting triple zero emergency services, hospitals, courts and other urgent needs; remote video interpreting; onsite interpreting; document translation services; and so on.”
“So I give a shout-out to the kids involved, but there are many occasions when those families really should be accessing professional translation and interpreting services. The bill is a comprehensive legislative framework. It gives TIS National a clear statutory basis. Robodebt was an absolute disgrace of the former government, but the royal commission exposed the malfeasance. The most vulnerable in society were sent fake debt notices by the Commonwealth for money they didn't owe. Robodebt has impacted all areas of government post the royal commission—and sometimes, frankly, in a ministerial role it's a pain because the Public Service has taken a recommendation, and taken it seriously, to review the constitutionality and legality of a whole range of things that the Commonwealth has done for years. This is one of them.”
“That defies the silly stereotype we hear too often that they all come to get on welfare. It's kind of offensive when you look at the data. But the kids of refugee families grow up very quickly. Almost always, those kids learn English. They get it in primary school, they speak it, they understand society and they understand the systems. But their mothers in particular are often stuck at home with caring responsibilities for some years before they can even get out of the house to get to the English classes. It's just the nature and reality of life. The kids are often put in situations, from a very young age, where they're being asked to interpret in really inappropriate situations, whether it be family violence, medical emergencies or diagnoses, police or other community organisations, or businesses coming to the door.”
“But for whatever reason—their family circumstances, their cognitive abilities, their opportunities—they've just never managed to master English. They might have gone—and we see it, sadly—to English classes for years. It reminds me of trying to learn to swim as a kid. Mum took me every Saturday; I still couldn't really swim. There you go. I want to give a shout-out, though, to a group of informal interpreters who are often overlooked: the kids of refugee families. A very traditional pattern is that the refugee kids come to this country with families that are hungry and that are entrepreneurial. They're more likely to start a business than any other Australian and to have a crack. In the year 2000, six of our country's eight billionaires had come here as refugees.”
“It's jargon—hospitals, schools, police, lawyers, emergency services, Centrelink, government agencies—at every level. Large swathes of the government and the private sector in this multilingual country could simply not function without the work of TIS National and the broader translation and interpreting profession. We've seen in natural disasters, and we saw during COVID, the importance of having language ability that could quickly be used to get messages out to communities. We see it in emergency services and in hospitals. We see it, as I said, in prosecutions, and we see it with some of the most vulnerable people in society. Some of them, as I referred to earlier, are good human beings and good Australians who love this country.”
“My office in Dandenong literally could not function without the work of professional translators and interpreters and the six, seven or eight languages, depending on who's in on a given day, that my staff speak and use regularly throughout their work. The same is true for our businesses and for our economic sector. Smart insurance companies and smart finance companies are getting this. I made the point before that people can speak perfectly good English, but they think, 'Hang on a minute—I don't want to sign that document without making sure I really understand every word, because there are some really big funny legal words there.' You need a professional translator and interpreter. They might pass an IELTS test to a certain level, but they're still not professional in legal or medico-legal language. Who is, really?”
“There are words that, when any professional translator looks at them, will make their head explode because there's no actual word that's equivalent in another language, and they have to try and explain around that. People come to Australia with other languages as their first language. It might be the language they want to speak when they shut their front door at home or speak with their friends—who honestly cares? I've said clearly that a good command of English is really important to participate in society, but we're enriched by this linguistic diversity. It's something we should treasure. I see firsthand, though, the importance of the work day in, day out in my electorate of translators and interpreters.”
“You know, you couldn't play with your Greek friends on Saturday mornings because they'd be off at Greek school. Now, in my electorate, it's 60 or 70 languages that I've counted that kids are studying on weeknights or weekends, whilst English is also their main language. I was really proud to be part of a government that, at the election, committed another $25 million to the community language schools across Australia. Language also brings new ideas and concepts into our country, in that translation is only ever an approximation of meaning. There are some things—natural phenomena, feelings, ideas, events, people, emotions, concepts—which only exist in their first language.”
“Although English is our official and common language, we are proudly multilingual. We have over 300 languages regularly spoken in Australia—hundreds in my electorate alone—and the language ability of our people, of our citizens, is a bridge to the world. It's a bridge to human understanding. It's a bridge between families and generations, and it also facilitates trade and economic opportunities. People in Australia can speak pretty much every language in the world, and most of the dialects. There are a few from the Pacific islands and others—and PNG and others—that we've struggled with at times because they're particularly rare, but overwhelmingly the breadth of languages and the multilingualism are enormous national assets. It's something that the government values. It's been part of modern Australia for decades.”
“The reality also, for some people who come to our country later in life on parent migration or humanitarian pathways or others—or for people with cognitive disabilities in family groups, who we see through the community—is that, try as hard as they might, they're not capable of getting to the standard of English that allows them to function and participate in society. It doesn't make them stupid and it doesn't make them bad Australians; it's just the reality. There are also many people in my community and across the country who have a reasonable command of English, but it's not sufficient for really complicated things—serious health issues, financial issues, insurance, legal proceedings, justice proceedings and so on. The work that TIS National has done over many years is absolutely critical to the functioning of our society and economy.”
“We provide a lot of support for that. For 77 years we've had the Translating and Interpreting Service in our country. We have the Adult Migrant English Program, we have community based classes and we have the state and secondary classes to welcome new kids who don't speak English. That's really important. But you don't have to have perfect English to be a good Australian. You don't have to speak English to university standard or without an accent—or with whatever accent the previous member seems to think is acceptable; I don't know. You don't have to have perfect English to be a good Australian.”
“People have every right to be concerned about migration, but the conflation with issues of culture and race then does a lot of active harm to people who I represent. Anyway, there you go—something resembling a genuine exchange. The Translating and Interpreting Services Bill 2025 does put TIS National on a sound constitutional and legal footing, and that's critical to the functioning of modern Australia. English is—say it clearly and proudly—our official and common language. It is important these days, and increasingly important, to have a good command of English. We want as many people in our country as possible to speak English. You have better opportunities in the labour market, you can better connect and you can better understand what's going on in society and fulfil your human potential in our country.”
“I know from the conversations we've had about many issues that many—I won't say all, but many—of your intentions are good. But I do worry deeply about the utter meltdown that we're seeing with the so-called alternative government, and I refer you to my Sky News interview this morning. I've encouraged some of my opponents to get their act together for the good of the country because, frankly, I think the opening it's provided to the party you've now joined is a disgrace, and it's causing fear and a spike in racism and hostility in my community. I don't believe that the conflation with issues of race and migration is accidental with the so-called Nazis, those who are more extremist.”
“We would do well to remember this: the other bit is that coming to Australia also comes with obligations—and the Prime Minister has talked about that extensively in recent times and before then—one of which is that you leave your ancient prejudices and hatreds at the door. My definition of an Australian—it's a working definition and always open to feedback—is 'anyone committed to our country, to our democracy and our institutions and our values'. There are values set in the Home Affairs migration stuff. I don't think they're heavily contested. Add to that the principle of mutual respect for their fellow Australians. Hate and violence don't stem from diversity; they spread from polarisation and social distance and misinformation.”
“I do think, though, that a lot of what you expressed there, Member for New England—put aside some of the fears and anxieties, and we can argue about how policy is applied—has already been the traditional expression of multiculturalism. It's the rights that come from individual and communal cultural expression. That includes speaking your first language when and where you want to. English is our common language, and I'll touch on that in a moment. But the rights have always been within defined limits. It's not just in the law but is, as people say, in values. There have always been defined limits. To the extent that some in our society may have lost focus on that and think that these rights are untrammelled, that's a problem.”
“We've always been a multicultural continent. We've had First Nations Australians speak more than 250 languages; 167 of them are still spoken today. British settlement and then the expansion of European settlement changed the face of the continent. It's complex history, but we can have empathy in hearing different perspectives. Then our democratic system of government flowed from that—our institutions that I'm proud of and I think most people here sign up to. But then, of course, there was the miracle of modern Australia, where for 50 years overwhelmingly we've been peaceful. We've been the most successful multicultural country.”
“I'll just respond to a couple of points made there. All Australians are equal under the law, whatever language they speak and whatever culture they have. I don't think there'd be anyone here who would disagree with that. I'll point you towards—you've probably read it but not recently—the Hawke government's 1989 statement on multicultural Australia. In my view, it's probably the best articulation and expression we've had since Al Grassby's work in 1973, taken up by the Fraser government in 1978 and then the Hawke government's seminal statement in 1989. I think after that there was Turnbull and then there was the Gillard government, or Gillard then the Turnbull government. The 1989 statement had a really good definition of multiculturalism. It talked about individual and communal rights to cultural expression.”
“Tomorrow the parliament has important legislation to pass. As the Prime Minister said, the terrorists come with hatred and bigotry in their hearts and guns in their hands, and so we must respond to both the motive and the method. Let's hope that those opposite can put love of country, love of Australia, over their hatred of each other and come together in national unity, as Australians deserve in the face of terror.”
“As an aside—not to claim equivalence or create a binary—the sad reality is that this danger calculation is one that Muslim women and others in my electorate make every day, too. However, that's a speech for another time. Terrorists seek to spread fear and divide us so that we turn on each other. We mustn't let them prevail. Put simply, social cohesion is how we live well together, how we treat one another, how we debate our differences and how we share a sense of fairness, even when we disagree. Social cohesion means respect, participation, belonging, trust and shared responsibility. If we confront antisemitism effectively and renew the Australian covenant, then we make life better and safer for all Australians—for every single one of us today, for all our kids and for all those who come after us.”
“For Jewish Australians this covenant has been broken and must be repaired. The ancient scourge of antisemitism must be confronted. Last week I shared tea with a Jewish constituent who illustrated it like this: everyone knows those bushfire danger ratings signs with the big arrows that sit at the side of the road. They rate the daily fire danger from 'low' to 'catastrophic'. The reality for Jews today is that when they leave their house, when they are visible or when they are gathered together, they are always quietly rating the danger, and it's not low. The risk is made visible by the shamefully necessary spread of security fences, measures and guards at Jewish places. But the silent calculation of danger is always done.”
“We must now confront why and how, and do everything within our power, as a nation, to ensure this never happens again. An attack on any Australian because they are Jewish is an attack on Australia itself—on the very idea and the reality of modern Australia. The promise of modern Australia is the great Australian promise of a fair ago—that everyone gets a fair crack at life here and is welcome, safe and belongs, no matter their identity. In return, Australians expect people to commit to Australia, our democratic system of government, our institutions and our values. They expect them to accept the Australian covenant that all citizens and those welcomed here must accept—that people leave their hatreds and prejudices at the border and recognise the strength that is our diversity and the spirit of mutual respect.”
“This was even more poignantly so because amongst those murdered was Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, who found refuge and shelter in Australia from the horrors of Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime. 14 December was also, for many Australians, a grievous loss of national innocence. We've prided ourselves on the fact that we don't do guns, we don't do mass shootings and we don't do intercommunal violence in Australia. Things like that happen elsewhere—on TV, not here. Yet a toxic mix of antisemitism and ISIS inspired violent extremism fuelled this attack. As others have observed, though, extremism in all its forms is the enemy, including right-wing nationalist Nazis. The very fact that we have to say Nazis in 2025 is abhorrent. Australia failed those 15 people who were killed and also the Jewish community more broadly.”
“The Prime Minister and other speakers have spoken of the remarkable acts of courage that Australians witnessed: first responders whose work saved lives; victims and heroes who risked and, in some cases, sacrificed their own lives to save the lives of others; Boris and Sofia Gurman, who were killed; Reuven Morrison, who was killed; and Ahmed al-Ahmed, a true Muslim, unlike the cowards who murdered the innocent. Australians in my community and across our continent have been utterly horrified by this terrorist attack. It is to our nation's abiding shame that, in the very moment when Jewish Australians should have been safe, celebrating Hanukkah on the beach—an ancient tradition of light over darkness—they were not.”
“The worst ever terrorist attack on Australian soil was designed to spread fear and division, with maximum impact at the iconic Bondi Beach, a place globally renowned, showcasing the best of Australia's egalitarian nature—a place where generations of Jewish Australians had gathered to be and celebrate together, including, as we heard earlier, generations of the member for Macarthur's family. 14 December saw the very worst of humanity—evil, hate and murder—but also the best of Australia: love, courage, sacrifice and solidarity.”
“For the families and loved ones of those 15 people who lost their lives in this horrific antisemitic attack at Bondi Beach, no words can ever be enough. We've been honoured by those who found the strength to come to Canberra and observe today's parliamentary condolence motion. The searing grief and pain does not pass quickly when you lose someone you dearly love. Grief is personal. It comes in waves and ebbs and flows as it does its work over time. But grief is magnified, in these circumstances, beyond what most of us will ever have to bear—the violent murder of loved ones, made worse because it was not random. It was terror, targeted at people simply because they were Jewish. Our hearts also go out to those who survived but who endured unimaginable scenes of horror—trauma which will stay with them but not define them.”