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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-10-18 Daily Xml
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BALI BOMBINGS

Mr ODENWALDER (Little Para) (12:33): I move:

That in the week following the 10th anniversary of the Bali bombings, this house—

(a) extends once again its deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of those Australians and others killed in those brutal attacks; and

(b) condemns those who employ terror and indiscriminate violence against innocent people.

Australians had always considered Bali an ideal holiday place and destination where they could go to peacefully enjoy a holiday but, just after 11pm on 12 October 2002, terrorists took advantage of the island's nature and its hospitality. Bali was no longer the peaceful place it had been for thousands of Australians, nor was it the same place for many thousands of Balinese.

The first bomb, hidden in a backpack, exploded inside a popular tourist destination, Paddy's Bar in Kuta. Approximately 10 or 15 seconds later, a second much more powerful car bomb was detonated. The bomb, which was concealed in a van, was about 1,000 kilograms and was remotely detonated in front of the Sari Club. This explosion left a one metre deep crater in the roadway and also blew out most of the windows in the town. The third bomb was detonated in the street immediately in front of the American consulate in Bali. This bomb, thankfully, caused little damage and only a slight injury to one person, but what was significant about that bomb was that it was packed with human excrement. It was designed to cause maximum moral damage.

This attack, blamed on the militant Jemaah Islamiah (a network linked to al-Qaeda), claimed the lives of 202 people from 22 countries. Australia, which as I said for years saw Bali as a safe haven as a holiday destination, had the most victims with 88. A further 209 people were injured. The Bali bombings were some of the most horrific acts of terrorism ever to occur close to our shores. It was an act that some have referred to as Australia's 'September 11', not only because of the large number of Australians attacked and killed but also because Australian citizens were largely targeted.

There are no real words to describe how we have been changed by what happened. For South Australians this terrorist attack was so much closer to home geographically and emotionally Apparently there were nearly 3,000 South Australians in Bali that day, and as South Australians we grieve for our own—Bob Marshall, Josh Deegan and Angela Golotta. Another victim, Tracy Thomas, was living in Perth, but we consider her a South Australian at heart.

They have huge extended families—mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents, friends and neighbours who are still broken-hearted at their loss; and here in South Australia I am pleased to say that we rallied around to embrace those who were hurt and those who were left behind. When news of the bombings first broke the state government immediately began organising help for the victims, the survivors and their families. The RAH sent three medical teams to Darwin on two chartered Lear jets. Dr Bill Griggs, Dr Peter Sharley and Dr John Greenwood and their teams immediately began treating the injured who were retrieved by the Royal Australian Air Force from Bali.

In the immediate days after the bombing South Australian doctors, nurses, police counsellors and other support workers gave their all. The QEH set up a dedicated trauma counselling service under the supervision of Professor Sandy McFarlane who is a world-renowned expert in post-traumatic stress disorder. The then head of the South Australian Mental Health Service, the late Professor Margaret Tobin, spent her last hours organising help for other people. Of course, she was tragically killed two days after Bali, but she was organising counselling and other support services for those arriving home from Kuta and for the families of the victims.

I am also pleased to say that SAPOL (South Australia Police) played a very important part in the Bali effort. Members of the Missing Persons Section were involved in making initial contact with the families of those who were missing; and 14 SAPOL members from various specialist areas were deployed to Bali to assist with the disaster victim identification process. These specialists often worked under difficult conditions and contributed significantly to the successful identification of 199 of the 202 victims.

Let us honour those who died, those who were injured, those who have lost loved ones and those who worked to serve and to save us and those who helped to heal us. My thoughts go to the families of all those affected by the Bali bombings, and it is something that we should never forget. We should make all efforts in terms of our counter-terrorism activities to ensure that such heinous acts against Australians can never again become a reality.

Mr GRIFFITHS (Goyder) (12:33): I commend the member for Little Para for bringing the motion to the house. The human species can be the most magnificent of beings who exist or, indeed, the worst example of what God has ever created for what it does to itself. I think that the events of 11 September and, indeed, 10 years ago in Bali have exemplified that terror sadly does exist to a great extreme around the world, and it is appropriate that governments around the world put every effort into making sure that its citizens are safe.

As a nation we have lived through the horrors of wars, we have understood the sacrifices that have been made and we have appreciated the terrible ways in which people can be killed, but for 88 Australians to suffer in such a way as they did 10 years ago, and indeed the 202 people who died on that terrible evening, is a sad tragedy.

Any person who was watching television or listening to radio in the weeks and months that followed could appreciate to some small degree the impact that it had upon the families of those who suffered so terribly, and not just those who died but those who have lived with terrible injuries and burns since. As a nation and as a state I think that we can be proud of the response that we made to try to evacuate those who needed help, to bring them home and to give them the best medical attention, and we pay our respects to those within all those emergency services areas who put so much of their time into helping those people in terrible situations.

I have been shocked by the images I have seen just in the last couple of weeks, when the 10th anniversary remembrance processions were held in Bali and I saw the emotion that exists in the people who lived through it and their family members with them now. It makes us all reflect on our own lives, our children, our parents, our relatives and our friends who have suffered in some way. For such people to be together at a time when they should be enjoying themselves and to have such a firestorm go through where they were and to leave such utter devastation is very hard, if not impossible, to accept.

The law has spoken, and some who perpetrated that terrible crime have suffered for it, as they should have, but the sad tragedy is that those who lived through it and were injured or who had relatives who died in it continue to suffer. As a chamber, it is important that the member for Little Para has brought this motion before the house. In some small way it allows us to pay our respects to the people who lived through that terrible time, and it gives us all the hope that, through whatever forces and resources that need to be allocated in future, no community has to suffer in such a way. Well done, member for Little Para.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Manufacturing, Innovation and Trade, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Small Business) (12:41): I also commend the member for Little Para for his motion to remind us all, on the 10th anniversary of the Bali bombings, of that horrific occurrence I agree with these sentiments precisely and also agree with the sentiments expressed by the member for Goyder.

Prime minister Howard put it best when he said that a small piece of Bali will forever be a part of Australia. The way the Australian government reacted at the time showed the very best of who we are as a people. We put our political differences aside to come together over a horrific act, and our prime minister spoke for all of us.

The important thing to remember about those horrific occurrences is what they were designed to do. They were designed to make us be afraid of who we are and the lifestyle we lead. They were designed to make us afraid of our liberties and our freedoms, and the freedoms that we afford women in particular, and they were designed to put a gap between Indonesia, our largest neighbour, and ourselves.

The outcome, of course, has been very different. We cherish our freedoms. Our relationship with Indonesia could not be closer. We saw recently both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition meet with the President of Indonesia. Yes, there were political issues before that meeting, but on the 10th anniversary of the bombings it was a public show of support that what minority terror groups were attempting to do—to radicalise our largest neighbour to the north to turn on its closest friend to its south—has failed.

That is a symbol of the strength of our institutions, a symbol of the strength and resilience of the Indonesian people, the Balinese people and the Australian people. It is proper and right that this house recognises and marks that occasion. There were ceremonies all across Australia, and in South Australia, attended by people who were touched by the bombings, who felt anxiety and grief on the day, and also by people who just wanted to go along and show their support for our country and for those who lost their lives.

It is important that we remember these days—not to celebrate them but to commemorate them and to know why we remember them. We remember them because we are a freedom-loving nation. We are a nation that is confident and outward-looking. Our young people travel the world to see different parts of it, and that is important for who we are as a people. They come back more worldly, having seen different parts of the world, and they bring that experience back home.

Given the last decade's war on terror, it has made our citizens probably more anxious about travel to some of those destinations. It is good to see that tourism to Bali has not waned, that Australians are still travelling there and that we have not let the terrorists change the way we live our lives, which is ultimately their aim. I congratulate the member for Little Para for reminding the house of the significance of that day and the importance that this parliament, with one voice, places on commemorating that day and on remembering the sacrifice of those who lost their lives. They have not been forgotten.

We remember the families who still suffer every day, and will probably continue to suffer every day, for the loss of their loved ones. No-one can return a child, a daughter, a father or mother, but we will remember their sacrifice, and we remember their suffering. Of course, our relationship, most importantly, with Indonesia will not be changed.

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (12:45): I rise to support the motion of the member for Little Para. It is strange how everyday things that you see around you can one day take on a particular significance. For me, it is the wattle blossoms; the first wattle blossoms start to come out in October and, for the last 10 years, that has reminded me of those tragic events in Bali. While I have only been to Bali a few times as stopovers—refuelling aircrafts while flying horses to South-East Asia—my daughter has holidayed in Bali, and you just wonder how you would feel if you were one of the relatives, friends or parents of those people who were tragically killed in those terrorist acts in Bali some 10 years ago.

I have some understanding of soldiers in declared wars and the brave acts that are undertaken by both sides, where they are legitimately fighting for a particular cause. What I cannot understand is the cowardly acts of people like the Bali bombers and other terrorists, particularly when their targets are innocent civilians who are just going about their lives, enjoying themselves, visiting countries, playing with friends and enjoying life as it should and was meant to be, particularly in a tropical paradise such as Bali.

For this to happen is just something that I do not think anybody really understands. I do not think that the terrorists—the people who carried out the bombings—completely understand what they are trying to achieve. If they knew and understood the psyche of the Australian people, then they would know, as the minister has said, this has actually brought us together; it makes you stronger and more determined to stand up against these people who try to tear our lifestyles and our values apart.

The biggest tragedy is the personal tragedies for those involved. It is important that we do have motions like this before parliaments throughout Australia to make sure that all Australians realise that, while we may have our differences and while we may have the bloodline (sword line) here in front of us in this chamber, that is just a representation of the robust parliament and not a reflection on our determination and unification of this parliament against the terrible acts, such as those we saw in Bali 10 years ago.

It is very important that we continue to remember all those who lost their lives, and their families, because as the minister said, the hurt will go on; it never goes away. I think of those family members, relatives and friends of people who were killed in Bali, and every time the wattle blossoms come out, I will continue to think of them.

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (12:48): I, too, rise to speak on the Bali bombings, and commend the member for Little Para on his motion. It was an absolute devastation for not only the people involved in the bombings but also a visual nightmare that people still live with today. The scars that people now have, just to see the outcome and the devastation of death and suffering. As I said, the visual presence after those bombings is something that many people will live with forever.

It is sad; those terrorists who caused the bombings are radical and have little regard for life. They have their beliefs but, in my thinking, it goes against the grain of humanity. The suffering of those affected, the scars, the sadness and sorrow, go on. That was reflected by a gathering only last Friday on the 10th anniversary. I have a close friendship with the Deegan family. Both of the parents, Brian and Virginia, and Nick, Ellie and Pat, brothers and sisters of Josh who lost his life in that bombing, have all been very much affected and are still affected today, and will be ever affected.

I attended a venue in Adelaide to raise money for the Burns Unit at the RAH in recognition of the contribution of the specialised medical staff here in Adelaide. They were rushed up to Bali and some were rushed up to Darwin to deal with the devastation. I was very proud to watch Australia's response in dealing with that. I commend the doctors, the burns specialists and the armed forces that were a great support, and all the volunteers. Most of the specialist support that was put in place, particularly around the Burns Unit, was done in a voluntary capacity, which I think highlighted the Australian spirit through the absolute nightmare when we lost 88 Australians.

On reflection, after taking my young family over to Bali a couple of years ago, it really is an eerie feeling, particularly for my children. Being young as they were when the bombings happened, they walked the streets and constantly asked me, 'Where did it all happen? and, 'Are we anywhere close?' and, 'Would this potentially happen again while we are here?' It is etched into my children's minds and it is etched into every traveller's mind. We have to get on with life, but it shows the impact that sad day had on people, over 10 years ago.

We will always remember that significant event in Bali. Life does move on but the sadness and the sorrow it has inflicted on those people affected, indirectly or directly, will live with us forever.

Mr PEGLER (Mount Gambier) (12:52): I certainly support this motion and commend the member for Little Para for bringing it to the house. My thoughts and prayers go out to those who lost loved ones on that day and also to those who were permanently marred on that day. I think it was a day when the people of Australia and Indonesia came together in a very strong manner to condemn those who caused this atrocity.

It really came home to me that not only did our people suffer but also the people of Bali suffered. My wife and I were over there a few years ago and riding an elephant in the highlands, and the mahout (the bloke who guides the elephant) said to us at the time, 'It's so good to see you people back in our country. After those awful, bad men did that bombing, all you people stopped coming to our country and I could no longer feed my family.' So it was not only the people of Australia who were affected but also the people of Bali. I certainly support this motion and hope that something like this will never happen again.

The Hon. R.B. SUCH (Fisher) (12:53): I will just make a brief contribution. Like other members, I commend the member for Little Para for reminding us of this terrible event 10 years ago. I also extend my sympathy to all those affected. As was said by, I think, the member for Morphett, the pain never stops. I have not had a lot to do with any of the families affected directly. I have met with Brian Deagan and I know the pain that continues to be felt by those families who lost loved ones.

As to the people who perpetuate this ideology of hate, I think we have to distinguish that from mainstream Islam and mainstream Muslim faith because these people are fanatics. As I say, it is an ideology of hate, and they have to be held accountable; some have, but probably not to the extent they should have. We need to remember also that we have many Australians trying to deal with the root cause and the elements involved in these sorts of terror attacks right now. Whether or not people feel that the time has come to take the troops out of Afghanistan, there are soldiers and others from Australia serving there right now.

I will not be too specific, but one of my close relatives came back last Thursday from a tour of duty in Afghanistan, another is over there or about to go, and the partner of one of my staffers is a commando who has served there. We still have people who are trying to deal with this evil element that has a deep-seated hatred of Western society and, in particular, its values. We cannot allow those evil terrorists to have their way, and it is important that we intervene early. It is a pity that it did not happen in the case of Hitler, Stalin and a few other monsters and that they were not dealt with early on because it might have saved a lot of people a lot of pain and suffering.

Mr ODENWALDER (Little Para) (12:56): In closing, I want to thank all those members who spoke with such conviction on this motion, particularly the member for West Torrens. I know that all members join as one to remember the fallen and to recognise the ongoing grieving of these families. As the member for West Torrens said, it is also an opportunity to celebrate our freedoms and to celebrate the truth that these terrorists cannot break our spirits through violence and intimidation and that these acts only serve to unite us and affirm our shared values.

Motion carried.


[Sitting suspended from 12:58 to 14:00]


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