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

There's been a lot of talk this morning about what the government has done or wants to do to address antisemitism. But I think it's important that in this chamber, at this time, we actually deal with some facts. Part of the reason we are where we are today and for the rise of antisemitism is the appalling lack of political leadership and, it has to be said, the appalling lack of leadership from our leaders. That's not the men and women of the police and security services on the ground. It's a lack of leadership at our utmost top levels in those security and policing services.

In the last year alone, this federal Labor government has delayed a visit to Israel by senior ministers and then refused to visit the sites of the atrocities. When the foreign minister visited Israel—I think it was in early 2024—she refused to visit the sites of the atrocities. That was our foreign minister. I've been to the sites of the atrocities, and for our foreign minister to have travelled to Israel shortly after the incident but to have refused to go to those sites is a travesty, and she stands condemned for not doing so. In fact, it was only a couple of weeks ago that this government's Attorney-General visited Israel. That was in the last couple of weeks.

This government reinstated funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine despite an ongoing investigation into the agency's complicity in the 7 October attacks. This investigation inevitably proved that as many as nine UN relief workers were involved in the murder of 1,200 innocent Israeli people and the kidnapping of 251 men, women and children.

This Labor government called for a ceasefire and a two-state solution just months after the 7 October attack, and this announcement, by this government, came on a Jewish high holiday—of all days!

This government has consistently refused to instigate a judicial inquiry in relation to the antisemitism that has pervaded our university campuses, instead opting for a parliamentary inquiry.

This government voted to recognise the state of Palestine at the UN General Assembly, breaking with allies and decades of bipartisanship on this matter.

This Prime Minister watched on as the trade union movement backed Hamas and the two-state solution in a public statement, another affront to the long history of trade union antisemitism.

Labor chose cowardice over courage when the International Criminal Court issued warrants for Israel's democratically elected leaders.

This government failed to hold the Australian Human Rights Commission to account for antisemitism within its senior leadership.

This government dithered and delayed instead of responding to vile antisemitism on our Australian university campuses. This government has since refused to support an urgent judicial inquiry into antisemitism on those campuses.

This government were woefully slow to act when their own Senator Fatima Payman chose solidarity with Hamas and the Greens over the Jewish people.

This government tried to stand on both sides of the barbed wire fence by abstaining on a UN General Assembly vote, proposed by Palestine, to demand Israel cede its territory and end its so-called occupation.

Under this Prime Minister the Australian Labor government sided with UNRWA and its Hamas affiliated counterparts after Israel's elected legislature voted to revoke UNRWA's right to operate on Israeli sovereign territory.

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