An emotional Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner fought back tears as he spoke of the victims of the Bondi massacre, particularly 10-year-old Matilda.
“This would have been their perfect day out, but it wasn’t a perfect day – it was Matilda’s last day, and it was the last day her family will ever be happy,” Schrinner said, his voice breaking.
“That’s [Matilda’s parents’] words. Can you imagine the inextinguishable pain? The innocent, happy daughter taken from them, stolen from them?
“Matilda is our daughter now. Matilda is Australia’s daughter, but our nation let Matilda down.”
Schrinner said political and religious extremism had been allowed “by our weakness as a nation” to grow in Australia. And he had a subtle criticism for the federal government, which has been working with states to further strengthen gun laws.
“Don’t be distracted. This is not about guns – there will always be other weapons,” he said.
Police sweeping King George Square ahead of the event.Credit: Cameron Atfield
“And this is not about immigrants. Just ask Ahmed al-Ahmed, the man from Syria who bravely disarmed one of the shooters, or Amandeep Singh, the passer-by who rushed to help the police restrain the other shooter.
“Both immigrants, both protectors of the innocent, both true Aussies.”
Premier David Crisafulli said the events at Bondi last Sunday had been two years in the making.
“We will do everything we can to make sure that tragedy like this never happens again, but we must address the root cause,” he said.
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“It was those who either turned the blind eye, or indeed even were prepared to stand with those who were prepared to incite violence against people based on faith.
“We can’t do that as a nation – for the sake of those 15 innocent lives lost, for the sake of who we are.”
Other speakers included Opposition Leader Steven Miles, Catholic Archbishop Shane Mackinlay, Anglican Archbishop Jeremy Greaves and Holland Park Mosque Imam Uzair Akbar.
“Australia’s beautiful country is our shared home. It is a place where people of different faiths, backgrounds and histories live side by side,” Akbar said.
“That diversity is not an accident and it is not a weakness. It is a trust and it comes with great responsibility – the responsibility to protect one another’s safety, the responsibility to speak with restraint and integrity and the responsibility to stand together when hatred threatens any one of us.
“Solidarity does not mean that we all think the same. It means that we agree on something far more important, far more greater – that human dignity is not negotiable, and that violence against civilians is never, never acceptable.
“Antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism and all forms of dehumanisation feed from the same source – fear combined with silence.
“When good people hesitate to speak clearly, hatred finds room to grow.”
Before the doors opened, a small crowd sang Advance Australia Fair outside City Hall, followed by a rendition of Am Yisrael Chai – meaning “the people of Israel live”.
