On Sunday evening, as the sun set over Bondi Beach, I witnessed both the worst of humanity and the very best of Australia.
The horrific images of the Bondi terrorist attack have now been seen across New South Wales and around the world. This was a permanent stain on one of our nation’s most iconic places, a beach that reflects who we are as a country: open, diverse and free.
As we continue to grapple with the shock and senseless loss of life, our thoughts are with the families, friends and loved ones of those who were killed, and with the many who were injured.
We owe an immense debt of gratitude to first responders, surf lifesaving volunteers and members of the public who ran towards danger, without hesitation and without regard for their own safety, to help strangers in need.
Now we must confront why this happened.
Once, an attack like this would have been unthinkable in Australia. Yet warning signs have been mounting for some time. This was not just an attack in a public place, it was an attack on our Jewish community, and on the values that bind us together.
We must examine our gun laws. There is no credible justification for any individual in metropolitan Sydney to own or access multiple high-powered firearms. As Leader of the Opposition, I will work constructively with the Government to ensure New South Wales has the strongest gun laws in the country. Community safety demands nothing less.
But laws alone are not enough. If we allow hatred to take root and go unchallenged, those laws will be tested, and our people and our communities will remain at risk.
Antisemitism in NSW has not emerged overnight. It has been allowed to grow through complacency, institutional drift, and a failure of leadership over several years.
Warning signs were visible well before October 7, rising hostility in workplaces, politicisation of public institutions, tolerance of intimidation, and the quiet erosion of impartiality in education, health and public service settings.
Rather than confronting these trends early, our governments too often chose appeasement over enforcement and silence over moral clarity. Antisemitic incidents were downplayed, complaints dismissed, and responsibility deferred.
When hatred escalated into public intimidation, vandalism and violence, the state was unprepared, not because the risk was unforeseeable, but because it was ignored.
This failure to act sent a clear signal, that antisemitism could persist without consequence.
In doing so, governments did not just fail the Jewish community, they weakened social cohesion and allowed hate to take root across our state.
We must demand more from our governments. We now don’t have any other choice.
It’s now time to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish community and use every means possible to stamp out antisemitism for good.
The NSW Liberals and Nationals stand ready to do so.