Michelle Ananda-Rajah (Higgins, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I sat in this chamber when the leader of the Greens political party, who is present today, accused Labor MPs of being complicit in genocide. Within hours, an online campaign was launched calling for a 'national day of action against Labor MPs complicit in genocide'. Those were the exact words. The next day, offices were vandalised and rendered unusable. Staff were scared. Scarce resources like police, the AFP, cleaners and tradies were diverted. The words spoken in this chamber ricochet around this country, tearing at our social fabric, and the gun gets fired here. The Greens, with their signals, whip up hordes in masks and keffiyehs, armed with their weapon of choice, self-righteousness, because it is the perfect justification for anything, even incitement to violence.

Resist the impulse to pull the trigger, because it's less like firing a gun and more like detonating a bomb. The fallout goes far and wide—for Jewish Australians, Arab Australians and ordinary Australians, as well as businesses supporting Aussie jobs. Don't pretend that this is about the war. This is squarely about weaponising a devastating conflict for political gain. The Libs dog whistle on migrants and the Greens incite violence, while this Labor government is trying to hold this country together. Yes, people are frustrated and distressed with this conflict, including our government. But the Greens should try and disagree respectfully, because your failure to do so is whipping up social unrest.