Thursday, 14 November 2019

 Dr KIEU (South Eastern Metropolitan) (09:57): For 65 years Pellegrini’s Espresso Bar has been more than its famous long black or its traditional pastas. Pellegrini’s is the story of Melbourne. It is the realisation of the journey of hundreds of thousands of Italian migrants that came to our shores. On 9 November last year Sisto Malaspina left Pellegrini’s to purchase chocolate and flowers for his colleagues. Moments later he spotted a burning car. His gut reaction was to run towards the flames to lend a hand, only to be stabbed and killed by a lone terrorist. Riposare in pace.

The 9th of November marks the anniversary of Sisto’s death, a day that will be etched into the minds of Melburnians for decades to come. Melbourne has mourned not just the loss of a much-loved personality but also a loss of innocence, since we are not immune to terrorism. But in the words of Premier Dan Andrews:

… we won’t be cowed by it. We haven’t changed our way of life. Multiculturalism is our greatest strength. I think there is a real sense of purpose in Melbourne that we will not be defined by these terrible acts.