Ministerial Statement

Paris Terrorist Attacks

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:16): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: On behalf, I am sure, of all members of this house, I wish to acknowledge the lives lost and forever changed in last week's appalling terrorist attack in Paris. More than 120 lives were ended and hundreds more people were injured, and for no other reason than to make some ghastly statement to the world. As is often the case with such events (and Australians have been exposed to them in places like Bali and London), there is little value in searching for conventional logic and meaning.

There is an emotional response to hearing news like this and it is natural to be overcome by anger, sickened by the violence and to want revenge, but we as a community must control our response to these senseless acts and we must respond in the right way. We know the response those perpetrating the atrocities are hoping to elicit. They want conflict. They want the people of France and Australia to see all Muslims as the same, when that is so clearly not the case. Our community should make it clear that we are an open and inclusive society with safety and opportunity for all.

As a community, we can also provide moral support to the people of Paris. For my part, as Premier I sent a message of condolence to France's Ambassador to Australia (who just happened to be in Adelaide at the time) and to the French Honorary Consul in South Australia. I also intend to visit Paris in the coming weeks for the global climate change summit, which I very much hope will continue uninterrupted. The people of our state can demonstrate their sympathy and resolve by refusing to be cowed and by standing in solidarity with the fallen, by responding to an act of hatred with a message of love.

A vigil for Paris will be held at the Soldiers Memorial Gardens opposite the council chambers on Unley Road at 6pm, and I will be there. I want to be there to express my sadness and I want to witness a choir of South Australians of French descent defiantly singing the magnificent national anthem of France. I hope that South Australians from all walks of life will come along this evening. I hope that parents will make a point of bringing along their children. I join members of parliament and citizens from across this state in extending my sympathy to those who are suffering and my appreciation for those who are offering comfort to the victims and their families.