Ms MACKLIN (2:42 PM) —I would like to join with the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Minister for Foreign Affairs in sharing the feeling of outrage and sorrow at the loss of life and the injuries caused by the terrorist bombings in Bali. On top of the attacks last week, I know that Australians have not forgotten the attacks of 12 October 2002. It is not surprising that Australians take these attacks personally—of course because of the terrible loss of life but also because the targets could so easily have been us, our family members or our friends. We can all picture ourselves sitting at those tables on the beach sharing the company of friends.

Like the other speakers, I regard this terrorist bombing as an attack on Australia’s special relationship with the Balinese people. I am sure all of us who have been to Bali know what that means. They are a caring, peaceful, friendly people who make a great impression on so many foreign visitors to their island. For many Australians, Bali is still their only experience of a foreign culture. Many Balinese families rely on tourism, and they have lost so much because of these attacks. Their financial and physical security has been destroyed by terrorists with whom they have no connection. I think we can all identify with the feelings of a Balinese restaurant worker or artist waiting for work or a sale and wondering how they will feed their families now that the tourists have gone.

As with the other speakers, I would also like to pay tribute to the people who came to the aid of the injured and traumatised after the attack. Australia can be justifiably proud of the way its hospital staff, Defence personnel, police and consular officials have responded to this attack. Many survivors have mentioned the care and efficiency with which they were treated, and I have no doubt the police will do everything possible to bring the perpetrators to justice.

I hope that the people directly affected by this latest attack can, with time, overcome their fears and that those with physical and emotional injuries will fully recover. It is easy to say that the Australian and Balinese communities have survived these attacks, despite the terrible loss of life and livelihood. The reality is that the damage done by these terrorists takes a long time to heal.

Three images from this most recent attack on Bali will stay with me for a long time. The first image is that of charred wooden chairs rolling in the surf, the second is the X-ray of a patient’s chest flecked with shrapnel and the third, and probably the most ongoing, is the courageous smiles on the faces of the survivors arriving at the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle—demonstrating, once again, that wonderful Australian trait of refusing to be intimidated and never losing our sense of humour, no matter what horrors we face.

We must make sure that we learn whatever lessons we can from Bali, London, Madrid and New York and that young people, in particular, are not exposed to inflammatory material at school. This must be given a high priority by governments around the world, and I know that in our own case it will be. We must make sure that students in our schools and colleges are not being exposed to extremism. This, of course, has to extend to making sure that we teach understanding, tolerance and civic responsibility and that, in so doing, we do not ostracise any mainstream community because of some perceived connection with extremism.

I would also like to express my condolences to the people affected by the two terrible natural disasters that have occurred in recent days. The scale of the damage done by the earthquake in Pakistan and by Hurricane Stan in Central America is beyond our comprehension. The loss of life is enormous. The people left injured or homeless now of course need extensive international aid and will be relying on not only the generosity of governments but also the generosity of individuals. I have no doubt that the generosity of Australians will be there for everyone—that we will show our support for the Pakistani people and those in the surrounding countries and also for the people in Central America whose suffering is so great at this time.