On a seemingly typical Monday evening, I was shocked, like everyone else, to see the horrific images of a bishop being stabbed while starting his Monday mass. After verifying the authenticity of the images, I went down to Wakeley's Christ the Good Shepherd Church with my colleague the member for Fairfield in an attempt to de-escalate tensions on the night and support the community. After hours of rumours, misinformation and near riot, the situation thankfully stabilised. In the early hours of Tuesday morning, NSW Police Force Commissioner Karen Webb declared the event a terrorist incident. I commend the police, paramedics, hospital staff and other frontline workers for their work on the night and in the days that followed.
Wakeley and south-western Sydney quickly dominated the news cycle. Sadly, a region often depicted negatively would once again be written about and reported on by outsiders. Despite the media narratives, it is the community's response in the days that followed that defines south-western Sydney, not the stabbing. Contrary to fears of retaliations and attacks on local churches and mosques, the reality has been starkly different. A quiet normality has returned, testament to the deliberate, ongoing efforts of a well-connected and united community. Those connections are the result of enduring relationships forged over decades by political, community, religious, and governmental leaders. As the situation on Monday night unfolded, those leaders used their networks to quickly quell tensions, quash rumours, and ensure a measured response. We worked to separate fact from fiction and ensure that cool heads prevailed. The message was clear: prioritise peace and disregard the inflammatory rumours spreading through social media platforms. Those discussions have continued throughout the weeks since and, thankfully, calm has been restored.
Disturbingly, the events at Wakeley are clear evidence of the ease with which misinformation spreads through platforms like Twitter, WhatsApp and Telegram. Weak accountability mechanisms pose a significant problem and authorities must be vigilant about this threat. These threats are further fuelled by an increasing lack of trust in traditional institutions, for which the media and we in the political class have much to answer for. Selective and detrimental media attention on south-western Sydney has only intensified since the decline of the local newspaper. Traditional outlets have vacated the region, leaving behind a near vacuum filled by under‑resourced online platforms, ethnic media and the wild west that is Facebook. The lack of robust local media infrastructure means scant coverage unless it fits a sensational and predefined narrative. As a result, mainstream media often overlooks the real south-western Sydney.
The region is home to generations that have risen above adversity, including my colleagues—the aforementioned member for Fairfield, and the member for Cabramatta and the member for Liverpool. All of us were elected last year and we are genuine products of south-western Sydney. We come from working class and migrant backgrounds. We have overcome significant odds to be the first generation to attend university and get where we are. We left successful careers and now have the privilege of serving the communities that supported and raised us. We do so to ensure that future generations from this region can do the same.
The events at Wakeley have only strengthened that resolve. While MPs are afforded an office, staff and a salary, many community and religious leaders continue their essential work as volunteers while balancing work commitments and ever-forgiving families. Their tireless work is often unacknowledged but should never be forgotten. Just 24 hours before the attack at Wakeley, I attended a Chaldean event with members from across the community: Christian, Muslim, Mandaean, atheist and agnostic. Fellow MPs, councillors, and the local police commander were also in attendance. We came together to celebrate a cohort of young HSC and university graduates, showcasing our regions' best and brightest.
Hundreds of such events take place each year in south-western Sydney. Their regularity makes them seemingly unremarkable. However, the fact that people of diverse cultures, religions and beliefs come together every week to celebrate each other's success is a remarkable trademark of our multiculturalism. Despite the headlines, this is the true story of south-western Sydney. It is not one of intermittent chaos and crisis, but of continuous, quiet resilience and unity. That narrative is rarely celebrated but it remains the bedrock of our community's identity. It deserves as much attention and respect as any sensational headline. The stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel is an aberration, and we hope to never see anything like it again.
