Hope Over Fear: Leaders Join Rev Bill Crews to Serve Christmas Lunch, Boost Food Relief and Honour Bondi Heroes Amid Rise in Antisemitism
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has used a Christmas Day visit to the Reverend Bill Crews Foundation in Sydney to highlight both Australia’s compassion for vulnerable people and the nation’s resolve in the wake of the recent antisemitic terrorist attack at Bondi Beach.
PM’s Christmas message of hope
Speaking alongside Reverend Bill Crews in Ashfield, the Prime Minister praised the Foundation’s “world’s best practice” model of caring for people doing it tough, from free meals to healthcare and welfare support. He said the Christmas gathering embodied “kindness, generosity, compassion, and togetherness,” stressing that every Australian no matter “how low they are in the pecking order of life” deserves to know they matter.
Albanese acknowledged that this Christmas feels different following the Bondi attack, describing it as a moment where Australians had seen “the worst of evil and the worst of humanity,” but also “the best of humanity” in those who rushed toward danger to help others.
Support for Rev Bill Crews Foundation and food relief
The visit also highlighted a major funding boost for front-line community services that support Australians facing hardship over Christmas and beyond. The Federal Government has delivered a $10 million commitment to secure and expand the work of the Reverend Bill Crews Foundation, helping provide more free meals, domestic violence support, literacy programs, and GP and dental appointments for people in need.
Minister for Social Services Tanya Plibersek announced an additional $2 million for national food relief organisations including OzHarvest, SecondBite, Foodbank and Good360, noting that “this has been a very tough Christmas for some people” and that millions rely on these services each year. She described the work at Ashfield as “compassion on steroids,” saying Reverend Crews is there “every single time” a community is in need.
Honouring Bondi heroes and backing Jewish community
Albanese confirmed that the Commonwealth has written to the Governor-General to establish a special national honours process to recognise the bravery and service of those who confronted the antisemitic terrorist attack at Bondi. The new awards will sit within the Australian honours system and acknowledge both civilians and first responders who showed extraordinary courage.
The Prime Minister said this period must also be one of solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community, just 11 days after what he called “Australia’s most serious terrorist attack” motivated by antisemitism and ISIS-inspired extremism. He condemned reports of further antisemitic incidents, calling them “beyond comprehension,” and urged Australians to “wrap our arms around” Jewish communities and “root out any evil that is antisemitism across the board.”
NSW Premier backs volunteers and tightens protest controls
NSW Premier Chris Minns joined the visit, paying tribute to the Foundation’s volunteers and to emergency service workers, police, paramedics and hospital staff who work through Christmas. He said the organisation offers both meals and “an antidote to loneliness” for people who might otherwise spend the day alone.
Minns also backed the NSW Police Commissioner’s decision to use new legislation to temporarily ban authorised protests in three parts of metropolitan Sydney for 14 days, with the option of renewal up to three months. He described the powers as “extraordinary” but “absolutely essential” to maintain public order after promised “peaceful” demonstrations included chants such as “Globalise the Intifada,” which he characterised as hate speech that risks tearing at social cohesion.
“Hope over fear” at Christmas
Amid the sombre national mood, Albanese said Christmas must remain a time where “hope over fear” and “kindness over violence” define the Australian story. He pointed to the overwhelming numbers of people volunteering at the Bill Crews Foundation so many that some are turned away as proof that the country is still driven by compassion and a desire to look after one another.
For the hundreds of people sharing a Christmas meal at Ashfield, the presence of the Prime Minister, the NSW Premier and senior ministers added symbolic weight to the message that no one should feel forgotten at this time of year. As Reverend Bill Crews told the gathering, “in the place where you least expect it, when you least expect it, and who you least expect it from, new hope comes.”
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