PRIME MINISTER: Thanks for joining us. Today, we mark the National Day of Mourning to honour victims of the Bondi antisemitic terrorist attack. It is a solemn opportunity for every Australian to stand with the Jewish community and remember the 15 lives stolen in this deadly attack. When we look to Bondi, we don't just see a beach. We see it as part of our promise to the world. It's a welcoming embrace, a famous crescent of sand and water where there's room for everyone. And most Sydneysiders will have fond memories of times at that beach with family, with friends, at communal gatherings as well, including, of course, the Bondi Pavilion where I reopened just a short time ago its upgrade as Prime Minister. This is a place where nothing should break except for the waves, but a lot broke that night. It was a tragic attack, not just on Jewish Australians, but on the Australian way of life.
A country where the Australian covenant is that if people have any hate or prejudice when they come to this country, they leave it in the customs hall and they arrive here as part of the Australian agreement, is a place where we cherish our diversity, where we respect people's right to practise their faith, where we respect each other for who individuals are. And for this to happen on the first night of Chanukah, a celebration of the victory of light over darkness, a community gathering that the Chabad Jewish community in Bondi, led by Rabbi Ulman, have conducted for many, many years and a place and a commemoration that's open to everyone, Jewish and non-Jewish alike. A commemoration where they have activities for children to enjoy, where they have music and a sense of joy. And for darkness to descend on that is indeed something that is a stain on our nation.
Today is an opportunity for us to remember and pay respect to the 15 lives. A chance for us to, if we have faith, to pray. If we don't, to hope that those who still suffer from injuries and are recovering, both physical and mental have the opportunity to do so. It's an opportunity for us as a nation to wrap our arms around the Jewish community because people were targeted because they were Jewish Australians. Every Jewish Australian felt that very deeply that evening and ever since as well. Today, we share their grief, a grief with no ending, only a beginning. Grief is love wrapped around an absence and today we remember those people. Those people were deeply loved and we look back though as well on the other thing that happened that night, which was that at the worst of times, we saw once again, the best of the Australian character.
We saw people rushing towards danger. I've had the great honour of meeting people like Yanky Super, who still has literally hundreds of fragments of shrapnel in his torso. Someone who's full of joy and he's so positive about the nation of Australia going forward. I met with him here in Parliament House again, but I've also met with him in Sydney in previous weeks and other members of that extraordinary community. I want to thank the spiritual leader of the Chabad community, Rabbi Ulman, for his extraordinary leadership during this time. I've met with him many times now in his home at the Chabad Centre there in Bondi as well and with his community. And it is him who -- he came up with the theme today, Light Will Win, a gathering of unity and remembrance. So, remembrance, respecting people whose lives were taken so cruelly that night, but a positive message as well. Light will win. How will light win? Through a gathering of unity, by us coming together, and that's what today's about.
I just want to outline some of the activities that will occur today. Flags will be flown, are being flown, at half mast on Commonwealth and State buildings right around the country. Buildings and landmarks right across the country will be lit up this evening. The MCG in Melbourne, Story Bridge in Brisbane, Adelaide Town Hall, Optus Stadium in Perth. Following a request by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, a national commemorative installation titled 15 Pillars of Light will be lit up from sundown in each of these locations around the country. The Captain Cook Memorial Jet here on the lake in Canberra, Bondi Pavilion and Byron Bay Lighthouse in New South Wales, Parliament House in Darwin, the South Bank Cultural Forecourt in Brisbane, Surfers Paradise Esplanade, Adelaide Holocaust Museum, the Tasman Bridge in Hobart, the town hall in Launceston, Flinders Street Station in Melbourne, Parliament House in Perth, and the town hall in Albany in Western Australia as well. At 7:01 tonight, Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time, we're asking for a minute's silence around the nation, including broadcasters. This will be an opportunity to just take that minute to really think about what's happened and to pay respects. And I invite all Australians to participate in observing that minute of silence.
As a symbol of remembrance as well, we're asking or inviting people to show as an act of remembrance of mourning and of solidarity to have a candle on a windowsill or a doorstep in homes or businesses around Australia. The other thing that we're asking or passing on the request from the Jewish community itself is for a mitzvah to take place. A mitzvah is a wonderful concept, I must say. It is that at a moment of darkness or in response to trauma or just because it's a good thing to do, undertake an act of kindness. That can take many forms. It can be knocking on the door or making a call to someone who is alone, is lonely, by themselves, reaching out to someone who might be going through a difficult time. It can be going and volunteering at one of the many charities, distributing food or engaging with people as well. It can be donating money for people who are time poor as well, or it could be engaging in a local community-based organisation. A mitzvah, an act of kindness. What we need is more kindness in the world, less conflict in the world, not just here, but right around the globe.
We live in very difficult times. That is the truth. And in a time of turbulence, I really want this nation to be a light for the world. We have an opportunity to do that. We are the best nation on earth. During what was a very difficult time, we have seen the very best of the Australian character, and that's what I want to see. And I hope that there is very wide and broad participation in the National Day of Mourning Today. Thanks very much.