Mr GARRETT (Kingsford Smith) (7.38 p.m.)—I rise to join with parliamentary colleagues across the chamber to register my profound sympathy for the families of those who lost their lives in Bali and to express my very strong condolences to the families of the victims and all those involved. Parliamentarians will have the opportunity tomorrow morning to gather outside the parliament to again express both our sympathy and our support for those affected by this terrible event. One thing we can say is that we see the best of people in the worst of times. I think that has been very much in evidence both here in the parliament with the speeches that have been made and the acknowledgements by members of the efforts not only of family members but also of Foreign Affairs staff, Federal Police and members of the community both in Australia and Indonesia who, when something as terrible as this does happen, jump in and help.

We might describe the events in Bali—the bombing of three years ago and most recently—as the end of innocence for Australians as they travel abroad. Most Australians up to that point in time would not have had exposure to terrorism in any shape or form, thankfully. It is a terrible conclusion to the innocent period of Australians taking their holidays in other countries to find that a fate of this nature can befall them. That end of innocence that has happened in Bali is made all the more poignant because of the nature of the island itself: its very precious physical beauty, its distinct and unique culture and the nature of the Balinese themselves. What a capacity for compassion and solidarity with Australians they have demonstrated through both of these horrible events and associated events.

Yet it is something of a shockwave when it happens again and Australians again lose their lives. I know it is difficult for many people to discern any reason, any sense of coherence, in a random act of violence of this kind. It is clear that the intention is to harm people, and that goes against the grain of all communities, of all countries and certainly of all people who believe that we need to live with a view to peace and peaceful coexistence.

With regret, I note that the shockwaves have been felt very strongly in my own seat of Kingsford Smith. A number of Australians lost their lives in the first Bali event: members of the Coogee Dolphins football team, members of Souths Juniors, members of Brigidine College and members of the Coogee Surf Lifesaving Club. A number of those who lost their lives were living in my electorate and were valued members of the community. Their families and friends, their school friends and their sporting club mates experienced not only the shockwave but the grief of losing people they loved and also the task—which I think is as difficult, particularly after the first Bali event—of coming to terms with what had happened. The unexpected, shocking, sudden and violent nature of people’s passing means that communities experience the psychology of grief and grieving, and it takes some time for them, even with the very good assistance of counsellors, people in the church and school communities and families who provide that support. Notwithstanding the support that is there, the community takes some time to adjust to that psychological grief, and the grief remains.

But I have to note that the community response has been a profoundly empathetic one. In fact, in Kingsford Smith, on the north head of Coogee, we now commemorate the passing of those who lost their lives in the first Bali bombing. I have attended that event. It was one of the first official duties I had as a member of parliament. Despite the great sadness associated with that event, I also came away from it with a sense of the capacity of the community and people to stick together and provide support.

Again, last Sunday, the local community at Malabar held a family day of remembrance for those lost in the Bali tragedy. I will record in the Hansard that this smaller and more private gathering did take place at Cromwell Park at Malabar Beach, where Malabar families of the Bali victims had organised an informal community and family day of remembrance. Each year, nine Australian flags are raised—the flags which covered the coffins of the nine locals who died in Bali—and subsequently there is an opportunity for the community to gather for a sausage sizzle. This year there was a talent quest as well. All members of the community in that particular area—it is a close-knit community—are invited to come along for the day.

I want to take the opportunity to note both victims’ names and also the names of family members who were commemorated on 9 October at Malabar: Gayle Airlie and her family Mr and Mrs Patricia and Noel Minton, Mr Michael Sant, Mr and Mrs Gary and Leanne Forster and Ryan Sant; Abbey Borgia and Deborah Borgia and the surviving family members Mr John Borgia and Mr Ben Borgia; Gerardine Buchan and Steve Buchan and the surviving family members Mr and Mrs James and Brinald Brougham, Candice Buchan, Mr and Mrs Jim and Maureen Buchan, and Dave Seelin and family; Chloe Byron and surviving family members Mr and Mrs David and Tia Byron and Jarrod Byron; Shane Foley and surviving family members Ms Pascale Saad, Mr Todd Foley and Mrs Cynthia Foley; Adam Howard and surviving members Ms Emelia Armytage and Mr and Mrs Don and Joyce Howard; Joshua Iliffe and the surviving family member Mr Peter Iliffe; David Mavroudis and surviving family members Mr and Mrs John and Colleen Mavroudis and Ms Jane Mavroudis; Lynette McKeon and Marissa McKeon, a mother and daughter, and surviving family members Mr Ross McKeon, Ms L McKeon and Mr Steve McKeon; Ben Roberts and surviving family members Mr and Mrs Alan and Janice Roberts, Ms Lucy Roberts, Ms Caroline Chan and Mr Kevin Lynch; Kathy Salvatori and surviving family members Mr and Mrs Noel and Barbara Hackett, Mr Craig Salvatori, Olivia and Eliza Salvatori, Mr and Mrs Simon and Angela Morgan and Mr and Mrs Bryan and Lisa Briggs; Catherine Seelin and surviving family members Mr Dave Seelin, Matthew and Todd Seelin, Mr and Mrs Jim and Maureen Buchan and Candice Buchan; Julie Stevenson and surviving family members Mrs Azelda Stevenson and Mr Rolfe Brown; Tom Singer and surviving family members Mr and Mrs Peter and Megan Singer; Clint Thompson and surviving family members Mr and Mrs Robert and Sandra Thompson, Mr Trent Thompson and Brock, Fallah, Kaleb, Ryan and Ziade Thompson; Robyn Webster and surviving family member Mr Brian Webster; Gerard Yeo and surviving family members Mr Paul Yeo, Mr and Mrs Paul and Kier Yeo and Ms Judi Yeo.

We remembered those people in a ceremony that was simple and meaningful and that brought together the community of Kingsford Smith, and particularly Malabar, to express not only their sympathy but their memory of what this loss means and how the community can respond in a positive way to something as traumatic as this.

What do we take from the Bali experiences? Apart from the great and ongoing necessity to provide support for the families of those victims and apart from the fact that we see a resolve amongst community and friends to commemorate—to move on but also to honour the memory in events such as the one I have described at Cromwell Park at Malabar Beach—in a broader sense we take on a commitment to maintain a connection with the people of Bali to support, through the offices of the parliament that we speak in and also more generally in the community, the democratic impulses in Indonesia which will be so necessary to counter terrorism.

As well, we need to more extensively build our capacity in the region, where the challenges are great—not only the challenges of managing and containing terrorism but the challenges of allowing for people to grow out of poverty and have fully realised lives. Finally there is a better understanding of what all of us can take from the commemoration—a recognition of the preciousness of life and the necessity always to honour and remember those who have gone before us.