Thursday, 19 June 2025

 Nick McGOWAN (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (10:22): My thoughts today are with the women, men and children of Iran and with the women, men and children also of Israel, and we cannot also forget those countries in between, so we are talking of course of Saudi Arabia, of Iraq, of Lebanon and the neighbouring countries. I had the good fortune of living in Jordan for some time, and so to them go my thoughts also, because at this time, minute by minute, hour by hour, missiles are flying in both directions. I only hope that none of them find their way into that country. It is bad enough for those civil populations that they are going through what is an awful torment. It will scar generations to come. It will result in untold death and destruction of those civilian populations. If there is anything I have learned in my time overseas it is that almost all people are sensational people. They all want what we want: they want their families to be safe and they want their children to grow up and have a happy, successful, healthy life. That so many families are being destroyed – so many innocent people that have nothing to do with this and have no malice in their heart – is a tragedy for all of us. My thoughts are with them all.