Bondi bloodbath: Parliament resumes to mourn, Albanese, Ley lead tributes for victims | USAEMALL.com

Relatives of those killed in the Bondi terror attack have come to Canberra to hear the names of their loved ones read out in Parliament, with the Opposition Leader declaring they are owed an apology for the Government’s slow response to the tragedy.

Delivering his condolence motion after a minute’s silence, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese labelled the killings “cruel and senseless”, but insisted “it was not random” as he seeks to pass new hate speech and gun reforms this week.

“Our Parliament comes together in sorrow to offer our nation’s condolences to the people who knew and loved them best,” Mr Albanese said.

Among those in the public gallery were family members of victims, their friends and spiritual leaders.

Mr Albanese told relatives and loved ones of those killed in the Bondi massacre that they will “not be left in darkness”.

“Their bravery was an act of shared humanity and that is the spirit in which Australians have responded every day since,” the PM told the House.

“The defining and enduring truth of that fateful Sunday is not fear or bloodshed, it is not the cowardly anti-Semitic evil of the terrorists nor the perversion of Islam they took as inspiration, it is the courage and kindness of people risking their own lives to save others.”

“As Prime Minister, I give you this solemn promise, on behalf of every Australian, we will not meet your suffering with silence. We will not leave you in darkness,” the PM said adding “responsibility starts with me”.

“We will continue to do everything required to ensure your security, uphold your safety and protect and honour your place here with us as Australians.”

Mr Albanese said there was disbelief and anger in Australia following the country’s worst-ever alleged terror attack, but said that must be channelled into meaningful action to ensure an atrocity such as this can never happen again.

“A Holocaust survivor was gunned down in a nation that had given him refuge from the worst of humanity. A 10-year-old girl will never have another birthday,” Mr Albanese said.

“Terrorists, inspired by ISIS, murdered our citizens on our soil.

“In the long days and hard weeks that have followed, so many of us have thought to ourselves and said to each other, ‘This doesn’t happen here. Not in Australia. It’s not the Australian way’. “

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley also paid tribute to the 15 victims and declared: “We must unite as a Parliament to confront and defeat this evil.”

“I say to the families here today, you are owed an apology for how long it took. You should never have had to juggle grieving your lost loved ones with national advocacy for the royal commission you so understandably wanted and deserved.”

Ms Ley used her speech to highlight her and Coalition colleagues’ presence in the Bondi Jewish community in the wake of the attack, which included attending the funerals of victims, vigils, community events and speaking with locals at the scene.

It had come in direct contrast with Mr Albanese, who had been booed and heckled when he attended a memorial one week on.

“In the past weeks, I have attended funerals and memorials. I was with those who sat Shiver with families in their deepest grief and I have held the hands of mothers who lost children, children who lost parents, husbands and wives who lost their beloved partners,” she said.

“At Bondi Beach, a sea of flowers bloomed outside the Pavilion where the attack took place. I was there every day for a week. You had to be present to actually feel the grief, the pain, the bewilderment and, yes, the anger.

“There has been anger through the heartache. So many times we heard, ‘I don’t want your words. I want something to be done’.

“At funerals and on the streets, I saw strangers weep for someone they never knew.”

Independent MP Allegra Spender, whose Sydney electorate includes Bondi, delivered the third condolence motion to Parliament, calling on all her colleagues to unite in response to the terrorist attack and to build better social cohesion in Australia.

“Anti-Semitism has become normalised in this country in a way I’ve never thought I would see,” she told the House.

“We must not tolerate the violent extremism. Social cohesion must be consciously built.

“Each of us, including everyone in this House, must personally reflect on how we contribute to that cohesion and each of us must do better.

“We will disagree passionately but we owe it to one another to disagree well.

“We must not dehumanise one another. We cannot fight hate with hate.

“Australia must become a nation where kindness is louder than hate, where decency is stronger than fair.

“This was the most violent attack of hatred in modern Australia. And I do believe that we as a country can emerge more united, was steadfastly committed to our common values and our shared humanity than ever before.”

Federal Parliament has been recalled this week ahead of schedule for a day of formal condolence motions and to pass urgent laws targeting hate speech, as well as tighter gun controls.

Over the weekend Mr Albanese confirmed the contentious omnibus bill would be split in an effort to win support to pass the legislation through the upper house, but negotiations with the Opposition and minor parties continues.

More to come…