Hope That Refuses Fear

By Senator Larissa Waters, Leader of the Australian Greens 

This is usually a time to draw the year to a close and reflect on the year we’ve just been through. Instead, we have experienced a devastating week.

The violence at Bondi has left our nation grieving. We mourn the fifteen people who have lost their lives, and we hold their families, friends and communities close as they face this unimaginable loss.

This terror attack on the Jewish community is an attack on all of us. This reprehensible act of antisemitic violence is not who we are.

Our thoughts are with those who are injured, those providing them with care and support, and with everyone who has been exposed to fear and violence at a time and in a place that should have been filled with joy.

For our Jewish community, the first night of Chanukah, a time of light and gathering, has instead been marked by fear and sorrow.

Antisemitism has no place in our society. The demonising of migrants has no place in our society. Gun violence has no place in our society.

They must be named and rejected clearly.

This tragedy strips away any thought that we can simply turn the page on a year and start fresh. It also reminds us how small politics feels next to the pain people are carrying.

How we respond now will shape what comes next.

On that terrible evening, and in the days since, people have responded in ways that matter.

People running towards danger to protect others. The courage and care of first responders. Communities gathering to grieve. People from different faiths and backgrounds opening their doors and offering support. 

These responses don’t erase what happened. They point to a kind of hope that isn’t about things suddenly getting easier, but about people continuing to choose care in the hardest moments.

It comes from seeing, once again, that people refuse to be pulled apart by fear.

It’s communities choosing to show up for one another, offering care without being asked, and choosing connection even in moments of deep pain.

The strength of community I saw in Bondi earlier this week - the solidarity, the outpouring of love, the care for one another - THAT is who we are.

We must continue to take care of each other in the coming days and weeks. To hold each other tightly.
The antisemitic hatred of these men must not, and will not, divide us.

This week sits within a year that has already demanded resilience, solidarity and persistence from our community. 
Looking back, this is the thread that stands out to me: people refusing to give ground to fear or cynicism, choosing to look after one another, and continuing to push for something better.

The response we’ve seen this week is part of that same story.

Compassion, humanity and a willingness to look after each other are not abstract ideals.

They are choices that matter. They shape the kind of community we are, and the kind of future we have ahead of us.

Back to Green Magazine