STATEMENTS ON INDULGENCE
Mr ALBANESE (Grayndler—Prime Minister) (14:07): Last Wednesday, we paused to mark the third anniversary of the terrorist attack in Israel on 7 October 2023. With pain in our hearts, we reflected once more on the devastation that the terrorists of Hamas unleashed on that dark day, and we remembered the 1,200 lives that they robbed from the world. It was the largest loss of Jewish life on any single day since the Holocaust.
We thought of everyone who was dragged into captivity, everyone who never returned home to their families and everyone forever scarred by what they endured. We thought of all who lost loved ones, all who suffered and all who entered that most agonising of vigils, struggling to bear the weight of hope as they waited for news of their loved ones held hostage. We continued to mourn Australian Galit Carbone.
Our hearts remain with her family, who live each day with her absence. And we solemnly vowed—as we vow every day—to never forget what the terrorists perpetrated in all their cruelty. That they chose to target young people at a music festival that was promoting friends, love and infinite freedom sent the clear message to the world that Hamas stand in opposition to humanity.
Time marches on with an ease denied to the human heart. For so many, no day since has been easy, but anniversaries fall with their own terrible weight. And, for many others, what compounds the pain is the approach of the first anniversary of the antisemitic terrorist attack at Bondi Beach.
These few years have been hard beyond measure, but Australia stands with the Jewish community here and across the world. We stand against antisemitism and racism in all its forms because it goes against who we are. We stand against the Islamic extremists of Hamas, which must disarm and can play no role in Palestine's future.
Australia continues to push for the implementation of the Gaza peace plan to end the conflict after such terrible suffering and loss of civilian life. The Australian government encourages and welcomes all genuine moves towards a just and lasting peace in the Middle East underpinned by the State of Israel and the State of Palestine living side by side within internationally recognised borders, in peace and security.
Such a future would be the greatest victory of humanity over hatred. That is the future we must strive for together.