Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

When people look for a definition of overreach, they will search for this motion that's been moved by the Leader of the Opposition. There is no issue too big for him to show how small he is. The weaponisation of, or attempt to weaponise, antisemitism in this chamber to make it a partisan issue is frankly beyond contempt. I spoke in this chamber on Monday about the events in Caulfield and about the events in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. There was no qualification whatsoever in my condemnation. I've spoken since to people, including the Israeli ambassador and, this morning, Jillian Segal. Moshe Kahn, the rabbi from that community in Balaklava in the electorate of Macnamara, sent me a message saying, 'Thank you for speaking out so clearly and so unequivocally.'

So to come in here, move this motion and link antisemitism with the decision of the High Court is beyond contempt. This is the same political party that tried to repeal section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, and I stood with Peter Wertheim and other members of the Jewish community at that time. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry said:

That would be the worst possible message to send at a time of increasing fear, insecurity and polarisation. It would be a serious abrogation of principled leadership by government.

And indeed it was, which is why it was defeated. They failed to deliver the religious discrimination bill they moved in here, and, when an amendment was passed to carry antivilification provisions, they voted against it and trashed their own legislation before it was passed.

I make no apologies for standing up against antisemitism, and I will do it unequivocally as I have, as someone who led a campaign against a council my own electorate, against the BDS campaign—two decades ago, I think. I have a track record on this and I'm proud of it, but I also have a track record of standing up for the rights of and justice for Palestinian people. I make no apologies for being a consistent supporter of a two-state solution. I make no apologies for trying to bring communities together, not divide them, because that's the role of political leaders. At a time when there is social division, leaders have a choice. They have a choice to either bring people together or divide them, to look for unity or look for opportunism. And what we have seen from this bloke here is consistent with his entire political career. It has been based upon division.

Jewish Australians are fearful at the moment. The sort of activity that is occurring is scaring them, and I stand with them. No-one should threaten people because of their religion or their race in this country. But it is also the case that Arab Australians, Islamic Australians and women wearing hijabs in the streets of Sydney and Melbourne are being threatened, and I stand against that as well. The idea of selective human rights is one that I stand against. I'm opposed to any innocent life being lost, whether it be as a result of the terrorism of Hamas in Israel—those dreadful occasions. I'm against innocent babies being killed in Gaza. We have responsibilities, as a democratic nation, to say that democratic nations must stand up, consistent with the international rule of law. That is something I have done and will consistently do. That's something I will have meetings on at APEC, in San Francisco. I stand up for Israel's right to defend itself. I've done that consistently. I also say that how Israel does it matters. And I say that we need to care for all civilians.

We then have, somehow, a link between that issue and the issue of the High Court decision—a High Court decision that, in the words of the Leader of the Opposition himself, having been responsible for these issues for six years, went on 2GB yesterday and said:

I'm not going to comment on individual cases because in some of those cases, I will have been a decision maker, and in relation to that case, I believe that I was. So, if the matters go to the Court again, I don't want to interfere or taint that process.

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