Bondi Mass Shooting - We All Need to Lead

Consoling victims of the Mass Shooting at Bondi, December 2025

I'm safely writing this article from a seat 3,865 kms away from Bondi beach where this past weekend's horrific mass shooting occurred. I'm also safely ensconced approximately 12,800 kms away from relatives in Lviv, Ukraine, where they and my extended Ukrainian brethren are being bombed and shot at daily by Russia's agents of war.

My family and I here in Australia enjoy a level of peace and safety, and lack of gun violence, that is enviable around the globe. But despite the distances involved, violence such as this affects us all.

It is the Australian community's entire expectation and history that we live here with non-violence as one of our primary goals.

Sadly, there are growing elements in our communities who want to up-end that kind of safety and peace for their own radical, hateful aims.

That's the kind of horrific violence we saw this past weekend at Bondi beach. Jewish families, thousands of kilometres removed from violence in the Middle East, Africa or the gun-related violence that plagues so much of the US, were happily and peacefully celebrating Hanukkah without a hint of a threat to others nor to themselves. And seemingly out of nowhere, this mad father and son began shooting them down.

Before going any further, let's point out something important in Australian culture - the culture the vast majority of us want: it was a Syrian, Muslim, man who wrestled a gun away from the father and doubtless saved many other lives despite being shot multiple times in the process. Australian culture hopes that all of us will regard each other as "Aussies" first who will have each other's back when needed.

We don't want sectarian, political, religious, gang-related, drug, family or any other kind of gun violence on our streets, in our parks, in our homes and places of worship, in our schools, at our beaches or anywhere else. Again, the vast majority of Australians want a peaceful society where we all feel free to walk out in shorts and t-shirt any place any time, without fear of attack.

Yet, despite that, our Australian political leadership has been appallingly silent and remiss over the last few years as Australians of all stripes - Jewish, secular, Christian, Muslim, other religions - have complained and warned about the effects of growing protests and movements allowed to target faiths, to target populations not immediately complying with draconian laws in certain places, and increasing ideological and radicalised politically-motivated threats and attacks. The fact that the nation's appointed leadership has not vociferously and actively defended our own citizens and not continually condemned vile slogans and gatherings (such as the infamous Sydney Opera House protest calling for Jews to be murdered) is graver than abysmal.

But it also points to a greater truth: It is not the political leadership of this country that maintains the culture and vigilance against violence. Nor, clearly, is it our institutions of “higher learning” or other institutions that ostensibly serve to preserve our nation. If we rely on them, we're all doomed. It is up to all of us to be responsible and accountable.

My Russian next-door neighbours and I do not regard each other with suspicion, hatred or threat of retaliation, despite the fact that thousands of kilometres away, we may have relatives in a fight for their lives between them, part of an animosity that has lingered over a thousand years. We are, in fact, friendly Aussie neighbours. That's a privilege that few societies in history have been able to afford. We cannot lose it.

Everyone who has a leader's voice should be speaking out against extremist violence when we see it. I'm not talking about social media posts, Facebook threads and LinkedIn grandstanding. Those are cheap (although I hope you don’t regard this article in the same vein). I'm talking about witnessing language, attitudes and behaviour that should be soundly condemned at the time. If you like, it's Tony Abbott's "shirt-fronting" - pulling someone up when you have the opportunity. And even when you don't feel you do.

But not just that. Leaders need to lead by speaking and acting preventively to keep people in a positive frame of mind and action.

Virtue-signalling won't prevent incidents such as these. Leadership and service greater than self at every point is the only way.

Peter J. McLean