Address to Parliament- Bali Bombing: 20th Anniversary

It was one year and one day after the terrible tragedy at the World Trade Centre in New York and other associated terrorist attacks in the United States of America. Those attacks changed the way we lived. Thereafter no-one could go to an airport without being totally and utterly screened, without having all of those checks take place. The memory of the loss of life on that day of infamy in 2001, 9/11, will live with us forever. 12 October 2002 was another such day. Australians, 88 in total, died in that attack. In total, 202 people died, with a further 209 injured.

I remember very well the heroic stories, and there were many from that, but one of them for Australian football and sporting followers was Jason McCartney, who was injured at Bali. On 6 June 2003—not that long in the scheme of things after the devastation—he returned to the Australian Football League. He'd had a lot of hospital treatment and he had horrific injuries, but he returned to play for his beloved North Melbourne against Richmond. He was heavily bandaged, he wore a long-sleeved top and he had to wear protective gloves. He had the numbers 88 and 202 embroidered into his jumper, 88 representing the number of Australians who died in the Bali bombing and 202 representing the total number of deaths. Those numbers were also held up by many in the crowd. Not before and probably not since has there been such a show of support for a player from two sparring AFL clubs. Supporters from both clubs rose as one. I can remember watching it just on TV, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, because the bravery that Jason showed was quite remarkable—an inspiration not just to sports followers but indeed to us all.

He only had a modest number of possessions, three kicks, one mark and one goal. But the goal brought cheers from both sides. Right towards the end of the game, with just two minutes left on the clock and Richmond in front, Jason collected a bouncing pass inside the forward 50 and he toe-poked the ball through to a teammate, Leigh Harding, who finished by kicking a six-pointer from close range to put the Kangaroos ahead for good. North Melbourne ran out as the winners by just three points. In a nice way to end the night, he retired from AFL. He fought so hard to get himself back on track to play that game, having gone through the Victorian Football League to get himself match fit and ready for the AFL—a more demanding major competition—and then retired on the night. He wanted to do it not for himself but in the spirit of all of those who passed away in the Bali bombing.

In the Riverina, I knew some of those who lost their lives in that tragedy. Three deaths had links to my local area. There was Clint Thompson from Leeton—just a young fellow, who had so much of his life to give and to live; it was taken from him. There was Dave Mavroudis from Wagga Wagga. David's family and David himself lived opposite me in the suburb of Tatton. They were two of six members of the Coogee Dolphins football club. There was also Shane Walsh-Till, originally from Coolamon, and I knew Shane well because I played cricket with him. It won't be any surprise to the member for Hinkler that he was far better than I was at cricket.

Mr Pitt: No surprise there!

Mr McCORMACK: 'No surprise there,' he says! Shane was a very good spin bowler. He was a very solid batsman. He went through the grades and straight into the firsts for Saint Michael's, my club—the club I've been playing with since high school. And the club still to this day remembers Shane, as they should, and honours him.

The Forbes community wasn't in the Riverina electorate in 2002 at the time of the bombings, but it is now and has been since 2016. The Forbes community held a moving commemorative service to pay tribute to Paul Cronin, Greg Sanderson and Brad Ridley. They also died in this awful terrorist attack. They were there as members of the Forbes Rugby Union Club, along with 22 of their teammates, on their end-of-season trip. Many sporting clubs, football and otherwise, were in Bali.

Bali is a destination of choice for many Australians. It's a place of adventure; it's a place of youth; it's a place of high spirit; and, sadly, it's a place of tragedy. Those left behind continue to be strangled by the evil tentacles of terrorism. Having lost a loved one, you could not get over it, but, indeed, their spirit endures. Many of the families who lost loved ones have memorials in their honour. They always remember this day, and the 20th anniversary has been a sombre occasion. They live with the cost of terrorism each and every day. But they are bigger than letting it defeat them, and Australians are bigger than letting terrorism defeat them, as are all people of good conscience and of good faith who are not going to allow terrorism to dictate the way we live.

We all want our freedom. We're a very lucky country. We look at some of the atrocities being committed in other nations, still to this day, and we all should be thankful and grateful that it's not something that we have, but, indeed, the spirit of those Bali bombing victims is always with us. The price of peace is eternal vigilance. We will always fight against terrorism; we will always fight against evil. We remember those we lost, we honour their memory, and we love and respect what they gave to their families.