Broadcast 16 December 2025, 11:16am - 11:29am
Transcript
LUKE GRANT, HOST: [There are] people that do their work which involves them running towards things you and I would run away from. Now, the Governor-General, to her great credit, doesn't need credit from me, but I have to say it, has spent the past days meeting with victims, with families, emergency workers, community leaders. I'm delighted to say the Governor-General of Australia, Her Excellency Sam Mostyn is on the line. Governor-General, thank you very much for your time and thank you for being around people at this really difficult time in Australia.
GOVERNOR-GENERAL: Well, thank you so much, Luke, to you and your listeners for having me on. This is a very important time for us to be speaking with one another and reaching out to one another.
I'm very conscious that at these moments of national crisis and hurt that the office and the role of the Governor-General is as my predecessors have always understood and explained. Sir Zelman Cowan said it very early that it's the job of the Governor-General to reflect the light and shade of the country back to Australians and interpret and help deal with where we're at at any point in time. Others have talked about the need for deep compassion. Sir William Deane talked about the need to just be compassionate and be with Australians. And I watched at close range.
My predecessor, General David Hurley, he lived through the COVID years and then very significant bushfires and floods and he gave me very firm advice that you have to be with people on their worst days and their best days and always provide an opportunity for us to think about where we're going as a country.
And I think part of our job is also to see a path through and help people today who are shattered, some very frightened, some angry, many wanting to reach out and build new bonds with people and understand what happened, to make sure we have a path that really does represent the very best of Australian values and that we do look forward with a degree of confidence and but not underestimating this path we’re on and the healing is going to take some time and a considerable amount of work from all of us.
HOST: If I'm able to ask you, have you been in communication with The King?
GOVERNOR-GENERAL: I have. I'm delighted to tell you that I haven't said this publicly yet, so I'm happy to share this with you. I spoke with The King overnight. It was a very special call.
Of course, Governors General represent The King and I was appointed by him on the Prime Minister's recommendation and I have a good strong working relationship with King Charles. His Majesty and Her Majesty had visited Australia just over a year ago, and I spent considerable time with him. I know him to be a man, as a modern king, who cares very deeply about Australia; his time here being educated.
And I thought that the statement he made yesterday, early, that we circulated to all Australians, was exceptional in that he starts in an uncompromising way and describes how appalled and saddened he was by a dreadful antisemitic terrorist attack on Jewish people at Bondi. His language is always clear. He talked about how his heart goes out to everyone who's been affected. He brought in the police officers, those that were protecting members of the community, and he commended all of them and spoke about the heroic actions that, of course, we've been seeing a lot of, most notably Ahmed, but others who were just there and put their own lives second to helping others.
He does end by saying he believes that in Australia, that the spirit of community and love that is so evident here will triumph over the darkness of evil. And having spoken to him last night, we talked about that and he reconfirmed that.
He asked how people were doing. He was pleased that I'll be going to hospitals today that I'd already been to Bondi, to the floral tributes. He encouraged me to keep doing that. It's about being present. And he wanted the best wishes of both himself and Her Majesty provided to all Australians and asked us to keep on with the project of being our best selves. And I think he agrees with me.
When I started in this role, Luke, I said that care and kindness and respect would be at the centre of everything I've done. And in almost every speech I've given In the last 16 months, I end with the need for care, for the way in which we discuss and navigate the toughest issues of our time, always with respect and not with violence or anger or rancour. Being able to argue and debate well, with an interest in us being better.
And this is a moment where I think all of us need to exercise that care and know that we can have these tough debates. There's hustlings ahead, but we don't need to do it in a violent way or separate or divide our nation. At this moment, we're much better than that.
HOST: So, much comfort hearing your words, Governor-General. I have to say I'm sure my listeners agree. So, you're at the scene of the floral tribute, which has grown so rapidly, it's huge and says so much in the way so many of us have gathered around those that. That need our support. And you've been to lots of places and you've encountered lots of things. But what stands out in your mind most about your time at the memorial - let's call it that?
GOVERNOR-GENERAL: Yesterday, I think, Luke, there were a couple of features of it that were very telling. We were at a location that is always full of joy and light and activity. It's a busy, bustling place. Normally it's a beach location, lots of international guests. It's a real happy place. And yesterday, as we walked through in the mid afternoon, there's an eerie quiet at Bondi beach at the moment. Deep reverence. The people standing were standing in deep, deep respect for the lives that have been lost. There was contemplation. The flowers and floral tributes were growing, as you say, people just wanted to quietly stand with one another. And I found as I moved around there were some people who wanted to talk, but most were there in a moment of reverence. And I think they were pleased to see people, people like me showing up and just standing in solidarity with both the Jewish community and to say something about us as an Australian community that will always show up and make sure that we think about what these moments must reflect the very best of our character. Deeply sad. I think there was a degree of fear.
There was a very strong police presence, as you would hope and expect. I went and spoke to a number of the police officers. Many of the ones that had been active during that horrendous evil attack were not, were not on duty. They would be back on duty soon. But these were police officers that come from all over the city and the state. They, they were keen to play their role.
Deep reverence. And there was a lot of talk about the, the heroism and the acts of, I guess, this in the middle of Hanukkah. There were a lot of candles being lit, particularly by Jewish members of the community because we were. This happened on the night of the start of Hanukkah, the festival of peace and light. So, there were candles being lit. There were people speaking about how to bring light to the darkest moment. It was a very poignant. It was very poignant but also very important to see that people felt committed to now what do we do next and how do we deal with the scourge of anti Semitism. How do we come together as a country, as people and pay respect and do that well.
But I think it was the beginning of what then into the evening became a much bigger commemoration and it will grow and grow. And I was asked by many, many Jewish leaders and community members to light a candle in our window at Admiralty House last night. Which we did, and we encouraged all Australians to do that as an act of simple, peaceful solidarity as we begin this work of healing.
HOST: Yeah. There's a number of older Australians listening to you and I talk right now, and I might just be one of them that has the view that Australia is very different now. It doesn't stand still. It can't. As you bring not just different people into the country, but as we have new generations of Australians that perhaps think about things a little differently, what do you say to those, particularly older Australians, that can't - couldn't imagine a time where 15 innocent people might be slaughtered on one of our most famous beaches?
GOVERNOR-GENERAL: Yeah. Well, I'd say to them and to all Australians, but particularly those who've spent their life believing in everything that we do hold dear, that I hope that they can take something from what I have seen in a slightly different context.
The Governor-General has one of the most extraordinary privileges, to see the country at a panoramic view often and in the fine grain. And I travel all around the country to every part I can. I've been around the country twice so far to every state and territory, and I go to communities and I sit quietly. I do what Sir William Deane said is sit down and listen and absorb people's sense of their life.
And earlier this year, at the suggestion of the team at the National Jewish Museum in Darlinghurst, who said, why don't you invite in all of the Holocaust survivors who are now between the age of 90 and 105, who were volunteers at that museum. Why don't you invite them in to Admiralty House and speak with them and learn from them about their long life?
And we did that. And I have in front of me the visitors book that they all signed as they left. And there were two main themes. One was to say thank you to Australia that we had provided shelter and peace for them as refugees and migrants when they were escaping. Exactly the thing that we condemn of the last few days, antisemitism and worse.
But they were saying they came to this country sometimes 60, 70 years years ago to build a life that they were so proud of and had contributed as Australians and Australian Jews. And then they said, so we want people to know we have loved this country, and this has been a country that has been better than anywhere else in the world.
But we have also had times during that period where we've been divided on other grounds, many other things. But they left statements like this, "thanks so much for inviting us survivors. We're survivors, and we beg you to teach details of the Holocaust in Australian schools. Warmest regards. It's been an honour to come here and be treated with such respect. We appreciate that we are people to be admired. Thank you for hospitality and words of support for the Jewish community."
I've got pages of these. But not only were they asking us to make sure we take the lessons of history, they also said to me over and over that their long life in this country and as older people, Australians who are Jewish, they still believe in the fact that we are one of the greatest places that we have to hold onto, that we've been challenged by many, many things.
Luke, this is a particularly bad one, but we have been in dreadful circumstances, we have come away. And I don't believe - unless we let this - I don't believe this is the moment to let this divide us. I see care and kindness in every community I go to and people working hard on a big project of us being united.
Many of those people, as these Holocaust survivors are, came to our country and were born elsewhere. And that is one of the great strengths of our country. We wouldn't be a successful nation without the last 50, 60 years of people coming from other places and becoming Australians. And I think we have to make sure we don't use this moment to fall into the trap of being divided and reassess that.
The Jewish community is a classic example of care for this nation, given so much. So, I'd say to older Australians, let's look for those moments that we do build out of this. We acknowledge the shocking horror and the unacceptable, the despicable acts that occurred on Sunday afternoon and understand there are systemic issues we must deal with.
But we, as a nation, we are good people. And I see that, and I see examples of care and kindness wherever I go. That's what I think we've got to lean into right now. That's my job as Governor-General, to make sure we keep focused on that, but not be Pollyanna ish about the scale of what we need to do.
But I want to give every Australian a sense that we are an extraordinary nation and we're full of very good people. And Sir Zelman Cowan said that the Governor-General's job is to reflect the light and shade of the country and interpret the country back to itself. And we are in a period of shade, but I know there is light. And Sir Zelman is a great example of having lived through many things himself, as you can see, John Monash and many other very significant Jewish people in our storied history. Many things can be true at the same time. And I think the big one is that we are united in our condemnation of what's happened. But we've got to do the work to show love and care for our future and know we can do it.
HOST: An honour to talk to you, Governor-General. You've been so generous. Thank you so much.
GOVERNOR-GENERAL: Look, I'm always happy to come on and I hope we continue these conversations and I do understand people who are angry and scared at the moment, and I hope we find our path through. And I'll always be available to talk to you and your team.
HOST: Thank you. Thank you so much. Australia's Governor-General, Sam Mostyn.
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