Premier Mike Baird has recalled the "incredible moments" of unity after the horror of the Martin Place siege when young Muslim leaders told him they had never felt so much a part of NSW.
Hosting an Iftar dinner at Parliament House on Monday night, when Muslims broke their daily fast for Ramadan, Mr Baird reflected on the December atrocity when Man Haron Monis and two of his hostages died.
They were "obviously desperate, terrible times when there were incredible scenes", Mr Baird said.
"And one of the most incredible was standing there with young Muslim leaders ... and they said to me they'd never felt more part of this state than they did in those days.
"What an incredible thing. What an incredible thing happened among us. And I thought, yes, they're young Muslim leaders but, more importantly, they're young NSW leaders."
The budget on Tuesday will include funding to work with the Muslim community to address extremism among young people.
Mr Baird told the gathering that he and his wife, Kerryn, had fasted on Monday before the Iftar dinner.
And he had fasted on Saturday before another Iftar at the family home of his driver. The Taha family was there in force at Parliament House on Monday night. When Mr Baird asked all the MPs in the room, government and opposition, to stand, an elder at the Taha table stood with them. Mr Baird asked her to remain standing.
"There's my favourite grandma in the world," the Premier said. He no longer had his own grandmother, so he had adopted this one.
"If we grabbed that sense of what's special about Ramadan," Mr Baird said, "that sense of looking after others - denying self - and we took that from this room and we took it to this city, this state, this nation, well, how much different would it be?
"And I think that's the challenge at this time for all of us."
