Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:23): Thank you to the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition for your moving words and for coming to our community at one of our most horrible times. Thank you also to the local mayor and the members for Vaucluse and Coogee, who I was proud to work alongside during that terrible week. Everyone in my community knows where they were on the afternoon of Saturday 13 April: at home; at the beach, as it was a beautiful afternoon; maybe heading up the coast for school holidays; or in Bondi Junction, where so many of us find ourselves on any given weekend, going to the movies, doing the weekly shop, buying a birthday present or running an errand—just the normal Bondi Junction sort of thing. But the tragedy of that day was anything but normal, and we are still trying to come to terms with it. The grief and the trauma will sit with our community for a long time. Every one of us could have been there ourselves. Every one of us knows someone who was there. Every one of us had that chilling moment of not knowing if our loved ones were safe. There were many who witnessed terrible trauma and many who were injured on that awful afternoon. Six families are bearing the tragic, unbearable loss that any one of us could have faced. Their hearts are heavy with loss and grief—a burden that cannot be lifted with words or deeds. Their loved ones were like hundreds of other people at Westfield that day: a mum out with her little baby, an artist running an errand, an architect buying a birthday present, a recent migrant to Australia trying to earn money to support his family back home, a student celebrating the end of exams and a bride-to-be preparing for a very special day. All Australians see ourselves or someone we love in that snapshot. Those brief descriptions don't do justice to those we have lost. They cannot be reduced to a phrase. Simple words can't capture their souls, their lives, their complexities and their joys. They were loved; they were cherished. These people were their loved ones' whole world, and that will not change. They were Ashlee Good, Dawn Singleton, Faraz Tahir, Jade Young, Pikria Darchia and Yixuan Cheng, and we are desperately sorry for their loss. The word I heard most often in the days that passed was 'senseless'. It was an act without sense, without reason; purely destructive of life and love. But, as a community, we cannot let that word 'senseless' be the last word. In the words of Ash Good's family, 'As her loved ones come to terms with her immeasurable loss, they celebrate the positive legacy of her 38 years—her practice of gratitude, her diligence and discipline, but, most of all, her selfless dedication and care for her loved ones, as demonstrated in her final act as a mother.' We must celebrate the positive legacies of those we have lost: the difference in the world that they created, the joy and the love, the people they cared for and the memories that will be cherished. We must also hold on to the heroism and kindness that so many showed on the day, which the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition have articulated so beautifully. There was one person who sought to do terrible harm, but there were hundreds who did everything they could to protect others and to provide comfort and care in the darkest hour—like Inspector Amy Scott, who is a local and national hero; like the bollard men, Damien Guerot and Silas Despreaux; like others in the shopping centre who risked their lives; like the retail workers who sheltered and comforted the public; like the first responders; and like the healthcare workers, at St Vincent's Hospital and others, who turned up not on their shift but just because they thought they might be needed and they wanted to be there. We must hold on to the care and support our community gave each other in the days and weeks after that tragedy: in the solemn coming together for the laying of flowers, in the candlelight vigil—in just the support and care that each person showed. Finally, we must heed the words of Jade Young's mum. She said: On a personal level, I want Jade's girls to grow up believing there is security, goodness and love in the world. But also, on another level, I want politicians, both federal and state, to address the gaps in mental healthcare to make it a safer world, for our girls and all Australians. I know that as parliamentarians we can't always stop the awful things that happen in our wonderful country, even though I believe every one of us wants to. Nothing we can do will bring those beautiful people back. But we can use our heads and our hearts to honour Jade Young's mum's words. We can and we must. There were six people whose beautiful lives were cut short that day. They mattered, and it is up to all of us to honour their memories. The whole community, the whole country and everyone in this place is sorry for their loss. The SPEAKER: As a mark of respect to the memory of the lives lost in the tragedy, I ask all present to rise in their places. Honourable members having stood in their places— The SPEAKER: I thank the House. Debate adjourned.