Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I second the motion. There was a recent university survey done by the Social Research Centre that showed 64 per cent of Australian Jewish university students have experienced antisemitism at university—64 per cent. Over half of all Jewish students, 57 per cent, have hidden their identity at university to avoid antisemitism. Three-quarters, 76 per cent, of Jewish students would be more confident about making complaints if their university adopted a definition of what antisemitism is.

We have seen some of the most grotesque actions by those who would seek to bring the Jewish community down, not just in Australia but across the world. In particular, the ground zero of where we've seen it is at these so-called place of enlightenment. We've seen it at these so-called places of enlightenment not just in Australia but across the world, the Western world.

But let's just concentrate on Australia where we, in this place, can make a difference. The member for Berowra has moved this motion on three occasions, and, on each occasion, the government has effectively gagged this motion. I say that is atrocious. That is appalling. This is an opportunity for the government to show leadership. This is an opportunity for the government to demonstrate that it supports the more than 100,000 Jews living in Australia.

I was at a function in Sydney a couple of weekends ago and I met a young gentleman in his early 30s. I didn't know him from a bar of soap. He came up to me, he hugged me and he said his name. He said, 'I just want you to know: thank you for what you're doing in relation to Israel.' He started to tell me about how his grandparents were survivors of the Holocaust. He said, 'I just want you to know this is the first time in my life where, as a Jew, I have felt unsafe in Australia.' He told me, 'I am seriously, seriously considering moving my family to Israel.' This guy was very intelligent. He was telling me that he is thinking about moving to Israel. I had another gentleman, who is a principal of a school, speak to me. Guess what? He has probably already moved now. He was telling me that he and his wife are moving back to Israel because they felt safer living in Israel—in a war zone—than living in Australia.

How could we have got this so wrong? In our universities, the places of so-called enlightenment, people like Mark Scott, vice-chancellor of the University of Sydney, are saying, 'This is a matter of free speech.' How could we have got this so wrong? It reminds me of the Greens saying, 'Well, it's okay to deface our war memorials because that's a matter of free speech.' What is happening to this country?

Last night I spoke about how the far left are now so aggressively hating on the Jewish community and the far right are so aggressively—and have been for many years—hating on the Jewish community. We've got the far left and the far right coming up around the back and meeting. We are losing our way in this country, and we are losing our way because of the lack of leadership in this country. This country needs a leader who will stand up and say: 'Enough is enough. This is unacceptable.' Jews, no matter where they are—whether they're at university, at work, at schools or on the playgrounds—have just as much right to an education and to live life as every other Australian.

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