Ten years ago, twenty million Ausralians in a sense extended their arms of comfort to those who had lost so much, on that terrible night, and who in other painful ways, were victims of a foul and evil act of mindless terrorism, that could draw no comfort or support, from any religious or ideological belief.
And today, a decade on, we renew that offer of comfort and compassion, and struggle to understand the continuing pain that so many of you must feel.
That terrible night and the days that followed tested the character of our nation, Australia.
and it passed that character test with flying colours. We saw in those days, those two great qualities that our nation has; strength but also tenderness.
The gentle efficiency of those who medically evacuated in 37 hours 66 badly injured people.
And those who were responsible for this terrible deed may have hoped a number of things; they may have hoped that they would have driven Indonesia and Australia further apart.
Instead of that, they brought Indonesia and Australia closer together.
Within minutes of the explosions, the commissioner of the Australian Federal Police was in touch with you sir, then in charge of the Indonesian police, and the days and weeks that followed, the cooperation between Australian and Indonesian police meant that those responsible for committing this terrible act were brought to justice.
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