‘Preparing’ to die: Jason Clare breaks down in parliament while recounting story of mum’s Bondi act

Education Minister Jason Clare has broken down in tears while sharing the first-hand account of a friend at Bondi Beach with her daughter when the alleged gunmen opened fire. Mr Clare was among dozens of MPs formally mourning the loss of life inflicted by Australia’s worst terror attack on Monday. Addressing a condolence motion, Mr Clare said his friend Jesse was at Bondi to get jam doughnuts for her five-year-old daughter and her brother when the alleged attack began. “In that split second, Jesse did what any parent would do: she picked up her little girl, and she ran,” he said. Jesse jumped on top of her daughter and held her so tight she was worried she had stopped breathing, Mr Clare said. “She remembers hearing the shots getting closer,” he said. “The bullets hitting people near her, and the spray of blood as it landed on her, and then it stopped, and then she ran again, this time until she found her husband.” In a written letter, Jesse told parliamentarians, through Mr Clare, she had realised in that moment she “was no longer preparing to survive”. “I was preparing for how I wanted my daughter and I to die,” Mr Clare recounted while wiping away tears. “I leaned into her ear and spoke the only words that came to me: ‘go inside yourself, my darling, go to your heart where all the love is. Stay there, my baby, stay there.’” In a separate conversation, Jesse’s daughter asked her mother “can a kid die?”, Mr Clare said. “She’d found out about Matilda, and as they walked home one night from the Bondi Pavilion, she said to her mum: ‘So I could have been a photo too, like Matilda, and you would have had to put a rock and a flower for me’. “Jesse’s helping her little girl to understand all this.” Mr Clare said he wanted to believe what happened that day in December wasn’t Australian. “But, the truth is it was,” he said. “Fifteen Australians had everything taken from them, one of them a little girl with the most Australian name possible, all of them victims of an unfathomable hate – hunted down and killed.” He urged for Australians to “have the courage to carve a new path of heart”. “May we create the country we’ve always dreamt of, a country where all people live and breathe in peace. It’s not impossible,” he said. Wiping away tears, he continued: “Heart can take us there, lead us with heart state. Stay there, stay there, stay there.” Jewish MP’s baby sparks moving moment Jewish Labor MP Josh Burns was earlier interrupted by his newborn while reflecting on the horror of the Bondi Beach terror attack. “I tried to think about what must have been going through the gunmen’s heads when they’re looking down upon the community, seeing innocent people,” he told the House of Representatives. “What are they looking at? What do they think of us? What do they think of me? What do people think of the Jewish people here in Australia? “Well, I’m proud of my community, and our community are a proud people. “We belong here, and we must not dehumanise one another.” He was cut off by his newborn daughter crying. “That’s my beautiful new daughter, forgive me, she’ll calm down, hopefully,” Mr Burns said looking over to her. He continued: “We must not dehumanise each other, because dehumanisation is what leads to exactly what happened in Bondi.” Mr Burns was followed by Deputy Opposition Leader Ted O’Brien, who opened his remarks by acknowledging the interruption. “You need not apologise for the beautiful sound from your child,” he said. “I think it’s a sombre reminder to all of us, that we are here for a condolence motion, but indeed, an obligation to the next generation.” ‘An attack like this hurts all of us’ Earlier, MPs stood to honour those killed as another Jewish Labor backbencher, Mark Dreyfus, recited the Mourners’ Kaddish – a Jewish prayer calling for peace in a time of loss. Mr Dreyfus, a descendant of Holocaust survivors, was nearly brought to tears as he addressed the Lower House and called for “unity” “In minutes, a targeted atrocity against Jewish Australians turned a celebration of light into a moment of darkness,” Mr Dreyfus said. “For every person murdered their families and friends left behind. “A home left quieter, clothes still hanging in wardrobes, photos on walls that will never be updated, children asking when someone is coming home. A seat left empty at the dinner table, a laugh no longer heard.” He also called on members to defend Australian values in the name of the many heroes of the tragedy, including Ahmed Al Ahmed, who ran towards danger. “You don’t have to be Jewish to feel this in your chest. An attack like this hurts all of us,” Mr Dreyfus said. “Our response cannot be confined to grief. It must extend to what we choose to defend and how we defend it. “It was an attack on the kind of country we strive to be, one that is fair, safe and inclusive. We must not and we will not allow those values to be diminished.” ‘Horrific reality’ First to speak on Monday was Anthony Albanese, who introduced a condolence motion. He then named all 15 innocents killed in the attack. “Fifteen innocent people for whom today should be just another Monday morning,” he told the House of Representatives. “Another day in this beautiful country they loved, in the embrace of the family and friends they adored. “Another day in busy lives, reaching passion and purpose, defined by hard work and by humour. “Another day devoted to others serving their community, nourishing their faith. “Another day of school holidays. “Instead, our parliament comes together in sorrow to offer our nation’s condolences to the people who knew and loved them best.” Turning to the families and friends of victims, he welcomed them along with spiritual leaders. “From the depth of grief, you have summoned remarkable strength,” Mr Albanese said. “You have given us a glimpse of who your loved ones were, how much they meant and how brave they proved themselves to be.” NED-14425-Shooting-victims He reflected on how the massacre unfolded, drawing tears from colleagues behind him. “On 14 December 2025, Bondi hosted hundreds of Jewish Australians for the first night of Chanukah,” Mr Albanese said. “They gathered at the world famous spot, a beautiful place at the heart of their community. “In coming together to celebrate the Chanukah message of hope and victory, light over darkness, they reaffirmed their identity – proud Jews and proud Australians. “From grandparents who had survived the horrors of the Holocaust and made a life and home here in Australia, to children playing in the summer twilight. “When the gunshots began, some people in the crowd looked up to the sky to see the fireworks. Others thought it was balloons popping. Then the horrific reality descended.” He went on to acknowledge those who had survived the attack “who will always carry scars from what they suffered and saw on that dark night for our nation”. “We say to all of you who have travelled here today and to those watching at home, on your long road to healing, Australia will be by your side,” Mr Albanese said. ‘I wish we were going harder’ Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said he wished hate speech laws “were going harder” after the government was forced to water down its legislation due to a lack of support from either the Coalition or the Greens. Addressing parliament, Mr Burke said politicians would “need to respond to hatred with the ferocity of laws that are carefully targeted”. “And, I must say, in terms of hate speech, I wish we were going harder than we’re able to go tomorrow, but we deal with the parliament we have.” The government had initially hoped to pass reforms that would have introduced a new federal offence criminalising public promotion or incitement of racial hatred, with a narrow defence for quotation of religious texts for teaching purposes. Mr Burke also thank Wentworth MP Allegra Spender for her advocacy on hate speech legislation. ‘How badly Australia failed’ Ms Spender, whose electorate covers Bondi, told parliamentarians Australia will never be the same, but that “the question is who do we become?” Ms Spender was at Bondi Beach just an hour before the attack. She also took the time to name each of the 15 victims – people, she said, “are not gone if we continue to say their names and remember them”. “In the words of the poet Zelda, each of us has a name given by God and given by our parents,” she said. “As parents, we often name our children for our hopes. “The hope for Australia captured in Matilda’s name is heartbreaking, how badly we have let down her parents and her family, how badly Australia failed the Jewish community.” Ms Spender said December 14 deserved to be “equally cherished” as Gallipoli for the bravery of those who attempted to intervene. “That is the modern Australian spirit, one of courage and of care,’ she said. The Wentworth MP said her commitment to the families of Bondi is that “I won’t move on from this when other people do”. “Australia is one of the most diverse society in human history. It is remarkable, but it is not easy,” she said. “Social cohesion must be consciously built by each of us, including everyone in this House, must personally reflect on how we contribute to that cohesion, and each of us must do better. “We will disagree passionately, but we owe it to one another to disagree well. We must not dehumanise one another.” ‘Tragic and deeply confronting’ Politicians returned to the capital “under circumstances that are both tragic and deeply confronting”, House Speaker Milton Dick said while opening parliament. “The horrific events of the 14th of December, 2025, shook this parliament and our nation to its very core,” Mr Dick told the Lower House. Looking to victims’ families who had travelled to Canberra, he addressed them directly. “To the families, loved ones, community leaders, to all of those directly affected who are with us today in the galleries today, it is a solemn honour to have you here,” Mr Dick said. Mr Dick gave the call to Mr Albanese, who introduced a condolence motion. “Mr Speaker, I move that this House, one, tenders our nation’s heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the 15 innocent people murdered at Bondi Beach on 14 December 2025,” he said. “Two, condemns the atrocity which stole their lives, an act of terrorism deliberately targeted at Australia’s Jewish community gathering to celebrate the first night of Chanukah. “Three, unequivocally condemns the evil of anti-Semitism and vows new action to eradicate it. “Four, honours the courage, composure and quick action of all the police officers, first responders and health care workers whose dedication and skill saved lives. “Five, acknowledges the trauma of the men, women and children injured physically and psychologically, including those who witnessed the horror. “Six, expresses Australia’s deep admiration for the heroes of Bondi every day people who showed extraordinary bravery and selflessness, including those wounded and killed saving others. “Seven, affirms the fundamental right of every Jewish Australian to live, work, worship and learn in peace and safety, to participate fully and freely in Australian public life and to gather in communal association unhindered, proud of who they are and proud of the profound contribution their community has made to our nation’s success. “And eight, stands together in a spirit of national unity, resolve to confront and defeat the worst of hatred and division with the best of the Australian spirit.” ‘How did this happen?’ Sussan Ley said many Australians “never imagined such horror could take place on our shores” as she delivered her remarks. “People who were there told me their stories – covering their children with their bodies, running to safety, screaming and searching for loved ones, while a part of them felt no surprise, just the cold weight of expectation realised,” she said. “It has come to this, just as we knew it would, they said.” The Opposition Leader said they honour victims by asking: “How did this happen and how can we make sure it never happens again?” She submitted that the answer came from a surge in antisemitism in Australia following Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel 2023, which killed 1200 – the worst loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust. “anti-Semitic hate fuelled the terrorists on December 14 but it came out of the shadows in October 2023,” Ms Ley said. “It walked our streets. It marched over our bridges. It took over our landmarks. It camped in university quadrangles. It painted graffiti on our buildings. It firebombed places of worship. It sent children to school behind locked gates and armed guards. “Like a slow creeping disease it festered in plain sight.” She called on the parliament to unite to “confront and defeat this evil”, and in doing so “we must face uncomfortable truths”. “Radical Islamist Extremism caused this,” she said. “Leaders need to be able to express this clearly because if you can’t directly name the problem, you can’t possibly defeat it. “For too long, many in our society, especially in positions of authority, failed to act decisively. “We cannot deny that this hatred was allowed to fester. “It should not have taken the murder of 15 people for us to open our eyes to the danger of antisemitism in Australia.” Praise for Bondi heroes Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles focused his condolence motion on the bravery of those at the scene, singling out husband and wife Boris and Sofia Gurman. The Gurmans lost their lives trying to stop the gunmen as they left their car. “Grainy camera footage captured them trying to confront the gunmen right at the start as they were getting out of the car, without any training – Boris a retired mechanic, Sofia having worked at Australia Post, incredibly, it looks like they would prevail, appearing to disarm one of the gunmen,” Mr Marles said. “But then another gun is found and heartbreakingly, both Boris and Sofia are shot and killed, becoming the first victims of the Bondi massacre. “What I find utterly astonishing about their actions is how intentional they were. This was not a reflex. They didn’t have to put their lives on the line. “Yet in that moment, they staked all that they had, or that they had been, to defend those around them.” He credited the Gurmans and others, such as Ahmed Al Ahmed, with saving hundreds of lives. “Whereas the gunmen might have expected to have it all their own way, for it to be a free for all, they found themselves instead on contested ground and we will never know the names of those who were saved as a result, nor how many,” Mr Marles said. More to come