In the days and weeks following the Bondi terror attack, I’ve reflected on what the role of politicians should be in moments like this and on what leadership looks like.
An obvious example to my mind is the response of Jacinda Ardern following the Christchurch massacre — considered by many to be the defining moment of her Prime Ministership.
It was Ardern’s empathy and compassion, her rejection of violent rhetoric, and her calm inclusivity in a time of national crisis that characterised her response. It set the tone for a whole nation to express kindness, acceptance and connectedness and to work towards making all people feel safe no matter their religion, nationality or other background.
Contrast that with the political response here after Bondi. It took less than a day to descend into an ugly mudslinging match and for blame, hatred and ignorance to be given free reign. Far from seeking to unify the community, these responses only serve to further divide.
In NSW, the lack of real leadership shown by Premier Chris Minns has been predictable.
Over the last two years, we have been calling on the Premier and his government to show real leadership on the war in Gaza and its impact here in Australia. We’ve been asking for an end to simplistic populist right-wing responses that seek to silence, that serve to bolster misinformation and ignorance. Instead, we have called on governments to open up space for honest fact-based discussion on the complexities around wars in the Middle East, how it impacts our diverse communities here, and what Australia’s role in the conflict is.
By conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism and peaceful protest with acts of hatred denies space for the real compassion and kindness of the vast majority of people to be expressed. The Minns Labor government has made matters worse not better.
But rather than the self-reflection needed at this moment, the Minns government has doubled down on their mistakes at a time when we need, more than ever, real leadership.
But that doesn’t mean leadership has been entirely lacking at this time.
I have seen so many examples of real leadership that have inspired and comforted a grieving state, including the First Nations groups who brought people together for a peaceful vigil in Hyde Park the day after the massacre.
There were many who put their own lives at risk to help others on the night of the shooting, shielding each other from bullets, rushing to put their hands over wounds to stop victims bleeding out, seeking to disarm gunmen despite being shot multiple times themselves. There were those who opened their doors to shelter others running from the attack; those who have come together to support all those grieving and offer kindness to strangers. In these acts we see real leadership.
I have seen incredible leadership from those in the Jewish community, despite so many experiencing pressure to be silent both outside and within their own community. They have stood unwaveringly in support of people in Gaza, still dying every day, patiently explaining that standing against genocide is not and cannot ever be antisemitic. Rather, equating the actions of the nation state of Israel with collective responsibility of all Jewish people is itself antisemitic.
Our response to extremism needs to be considered and evidence-based. Extremism doesn’t happen in a single moment; it happens over many years, across generations, as a result of numerous intersecting factors.
An effective response to reduce the threat of extremism means supporting those at risk and doing all we can to avoid them going down that path. It means well-resourced community and mental health services, ensuring people have the basics to survive (such as housing, food and shelter). It means measures to knit connections between individuals and broader society. It means much complex social work, led by governments at all levels.
Instead, Minns recalled parliament on Christmas Eve to ram through knee-jerk legislation. These laws were shamefully combined into one omnibus bill that included the one piece of sensible reform in response to the Bondi attack — a clamp down on the ease with which people can accumulate guns — with measures that have no sensible connection with the Bondi terror attack.
Fear-driven law-making substitutes symbolic reassurance for genuine risk reduction.
Once a dramatic event captures media attention, political rhetoric and public anxiety feed off one another. In those environments, dissenting voices who urge caution, proportionality or delay, are mischaracterised as indifferent to the suffering of the victims or insufficiently committed to public safety.
But this is a misapprehension. Deliberation is not paralysis; it is a safeguard against irreversible mistakes made under pressure. When fear makes rational governance politically costly our democratic societies become most at risk.
There are real forces of antisemitism and extremist and violent ideologies that need to be faced. By misapportioning blame, by cracking down on movements for peace that repeatedly denounce antisemitism, we leave the real danger of antisemitism and violent extremism unaddressed.
That does nothing to keep our Jewish community safe.
[Abigail Boyd is a NSW Greens Member of the Legislative Council. This article is an edited extract from a speech she gave in response to NSW Labor’s rushed Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025, which was passed with the Coalition’s support in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.]