Australia has tried to respond to the war in Gaza with empathy, restraint, and balance. It has been one of the few Western countries willing to recognise Palestine and push publicly for peace, even when that meant standing up to pressure from Trump and others.
That approach matters. It reflects Australia's belief that foreign conflicts should be handled through diplomacy and fairness so it does not have spill-over effects at home.
The Bondi terrorist attack makes one thing painfully clear. Our current approach, centred around diplomacy, is no longer enough to protect Australians at home.
The horrific terror attacks committed by Hamas, and the war crimes of the Netanyahu government in response, have exposed how outdated Australia's counter-terrorism framework has become. The world has changed, conflicts have changed, and the way radicalisation spreads has changed with it.
Our systems have not kept up.
This Is Bigger Than One Attacker
What we are seeing is not about one individual, one household, or one isolated incident. It points to a deeper, systemic failure.
What we all need to agree is that Australia now has a serious problem with Islamic terrorism, and avoiding that reality makes us less safe. We must work hard to ensure that no attack like this happens again. Whatever we are doing right now is clearly not enough.
At the same time, this issue keeps getting hijacked by people with other agendas, and that is making the problem harder to solve.
This Is Not About Migration
This is not about migration, and pretending it is only distracts from the real danger.
Historically, terrorism has existed regardless of migration patterns. The IRA (Irish Republican Army) killed civilians during periods when migration was not even part of the political conversation. Closer to home, Australia witnessed the Christchurch mosque attack carried out by an Australian extremist.
Blaming migration allows people to feel like they have an easy answer, while doing nothing to stop radicalisation itself.
Control equals Safety
There is a fact Australians should find deeply confronting. Jews currently feel safer in the UAE than they do in Australia.
That should force us to ask hard questions about how safety, authority, and religious extremism are actually managed.
If you study Islamic empires historically, you will see a consistent pattern. There was never freedom to choose a sect within Islam. Rulers dictated which sect was followed across the entire country. Religion and political power were tightly linked.
Ignoring this reality prevents serious discussion about political Islam and how it operates.
Political Islam Cannot Be Ignored
Australia should seriously examine restricting or banning political Islamic sects or parties. This would include Wahhabi Islam and Khomeini Islam and their political movements such as those aligned with Iran's Revolutionary Guard ideology or Hezbollah.
This is a very complex task and the last thing we need is to turn it into a discussion about race or Islamophobia. The moment it does, Muslims leaders become defensive and stop taking a critical look at internal problems. At the same time, white nationalists conveniently forget their own extremist elements and project everything onto others.
Both reactions protect extremism rather than confront it.
Mosques and Schools Must Be Part of the Defence
It was an Australian named Ahmed El Ahmad who heroically stopped one of the Bondi beach attackers. It shows why we need more Ahmeds in our Muslim society. We need to tackle this issue with similar courage and forthrightness. Islamic schools and mosques should be centres for countering terrorism, not places where radicalisation goes untreated.
Every mosque and every Islamic school must be actively turned into a frontline institution for preventing extremism. That requires clear standards, real oversight, and accountability. A school with Wahhabi or Khomeini books cannot achieve the outcome that we need.
We will overcome this. Australia has been very successful compared to the West in handling the wave of terrorism that emerged from 9/11, the Iraq war, and the establishment of ISIS. This is another level which we can collectively win as well.
Today it is the Muslim community, tomorrow it could be anyone else who feels desperate and defeated about some overseas or even internal conflict.
Defeating this new wave will make us prepared for a safer future for all Australians.