ADJOURNMENT
Mr TAYLOR (Hume) (13:18): Can I associate myself with the words of the member for Eden-Monaro on Jim Snow. He was my local member for many years. I have to say, I— An honourable member: How'd you vote?
Mr TAYLOR: I never voted for him; however, my family and I always had a great respect for him as a good man who worked extremely hard as a local member and was very thoughtful. It is sad to see his passing, but his contribution is lasting. He was a great man.
I also rise to pay tribute to the victims of the October 7 terror attacks. I was interrupted in my last attempt at this by a division. But on the second anniversary of this heinous crime our thoughts and prayers go to the families who lost loves ones as a result of October 7.
We are so sorry for their loss and understand how difficult this time is for them. They are not alone in their grief and sadness, and we sympathise with their pain. This was the worst atrocity against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.
It resulted in more than 1,200 innocent people being murdered and tortured. The victims included women and babies and hundreds of young people. Women and girls were sexually assaulted—and, of course, there were the 254 hostages, with 48 yet to be returned to their families.
We very much welcome the peace deal announced today, and I'll say more about that in a moment. The coalition has always believed that Israel has a right to defend itself. Hamas is a listed terrorist organisation.
It knew what it was doing that day and what would follow. The terrorist group thrives on the misery of the Gazan people and wants the destruction of Israel. This government's decision to recognise Palestinian statehood was a mistake.
It rewarded the terrorists. Hamas even praised the decision—and you know when a terrorist organisation praises your policy you have a problem. Sadly, since October 7, we've seen an unprecedented rise in antisemitism across Australia and the globe.
There was the recent stabbing attack at a synagogue in England's north, absolutely abhorrent graffiti in Melbourne glorifying the murder of innocent people and reports of a firearm bring threatened at a place of worship. Society cannot justify hate speech as free speech and legitimise antisemitism as anti-Zionism. There must be zero tolerance for this kind of behaviour.
The issue of antisemitism demands a strong and unified response, with unequivocal leadership. With regard to the protest organised at the Sydney Opera House on Sunday, the opera house belongs to all Australians, not activists and protestors. On a day when the Australian Jewish community would be coming together to mark the second anniversary of these barbaric attacks, the fact that these activists continue to sow division and tear at social cohesion is disgusting but not surprising.
No-one wants to see innocent civilians killed. We want the people of Gaza to have safe access to food and aid. But can I say that today's announcement that a peace deal has been reached, following negotiations led by the United States and backed by the majority of Arab states, is a moment of historic and enormous significance.
This is our best chance for the peace in the Middle East that, I think, everyone unites in wanting to see. It does provide the very best prospect we've seen in years to bring lasting peace and to advance towards a genuine two-state solution. Recognition of Palestine is something that we ultimately do want to see through a two-state solution, but first of all we need to get the prerequisites in place, and I think this agreement puts us in a position where we have a real prospect of that occurring.
It is incredibly important that countries across the globe—including, of course, the Arab states, who will have to play an enormously important role in this—commit to ensuring that this is a successful and lasting peace that is good for Israel and the Jewish people, Israelis, and good for those living in Gaza. This is incredibly important to all of us. In finishing, I stand with the thousands of Australians who have attended vigils to mark the second anniversary of October 7.
The relationship between Australia and Israel has stood the test of time. We hope this continues well into the future and that this peace deal in the Middle East will underpin a far better future for the Middle East than what we have seen in the past.