Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to move the following motion:

That the House:

(1) unequivocally condemns the attacks on Israel by Hamas and other terrorist organisations that took place one year ago and the vow made by the perpetrators to repeat these attacks indefinitely;

(2) recognises that these heinous acts of terrorism took place after a long period of quiet at the Israel-Gaza border and involved the deliberate targeting, murder, rape and mutilation of civilians including women, children and the elderly, Jewish and Arab, as well as the taking of hostages and indiscriminate rocket fire by the terrorists at civilian population centres in Israel to inflict maximum damage;

(3) calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all remaining hostages;

(4) condemns the murder of hostages and the inhumane conditions and violence, including sexual violence, that hostages have experienced;

(5) stands with Israel and affirms its inherent right to defend itself and protects its citizens;

(6) recognises that Israel shares the same liberal democratic values as Australia and other western nations and affirms that Israel's battle is a battle fought against the enemies of civilised people everywhere;

(7) recognises that this entire conflict is between Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran, and that the Islamic Republic of Iran acts through its proxies, all of whom are committed to the destruction of the State of Israel;

(8) acknowledges the devastating loss of life and mass displacement of Israelis and Palestinians as a result of the war sparked by Hamas on 7 October 2023;

(9) condemns antisemitism in all its forms and the jealousies and falsehoods that lie at the foundations of this hateful prejudice;

(10) pledges to redouble efforts to work with Australia's Jewish community to ensure that the rise in antisemitism in Australian society is properly repudiated and addressed;

(11) emphasises the importance of mutual respect as individuals go about expressing their diverse views on the conflict in Australia;

(12) condemns all acts of hatred, division or violence, affirming that they have no place in Australia;

(13) reiterates the responsibility of each Australian to safeguard the harmony and unity that define our diverse society, especially in times of adversity;

(14) condemns the actions of those seeking to celebrate and promote the barbarous actions of terrorist organisations;

(15) reaffirms that symbols of terror and discord are unwelcome in Australia and undermine our nation's peace and security;

(16) condemns all forms of hate speech and violent extremism, including antisemitism, as repugnant to our shared national values which uphold the freedom and dignity of every Australian; and

(17) notes that fostering fear and division undermines social cohesion and risks Australia's domestic security.

Leave not granted.

Unbelievable! I move:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Leader of the Opposition from moving the following motion—That the House:

(1) unequivocally condemns the attacks on Israel by Hamas and other terrorist organisations that took place one year ago and the vow made by the perpetrators to repeat these attacks indefinitely;

(2) recognises that these heinous acts of terrorism took place after a long period of quiet at the Israel-Gaza border and involved the deliberate targeting, murder, rape and mutilation of civilians including women, children and the elderly, Jewish and Arab, as well as the taking of hostages and indiscriminate rocket fire by the terrorists at civilian population centres in Israel to inflict maximum damage;

(3) calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all remaining hostages;

(4) condemns the murder of hostages and the inhumane conditions and violence, including sexual violence, that hostages have experienced;

(5) stands with Israel and affirms its inherent right to defend itself and protects its citizens;

(6) recognises that Israel shares the same liberal democratic values as Australia and other western nations and affirms that Israel's battle is a battle fought against the enemies of civilised people everywhere;

(7) recognises that this entire conflict is between Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran, and that the Islamic Republic of Iran acts through its proxies, all of whom are committed to the destruction of the State of Israel;

(8) acknowledges the devastating loss of life and mass displacement of Israelis and Palestinians as a result of the war sparked by Hamas on 7 October 2023;

(9) condemns antisemitism in all its forms and the jealousies and falsehoods that lie at the foundations of this hateful prejudice;

(10) pledges to redouble efforts to work with Australia's Jewish community to ensure that the rise in antisemitism in Australian society is properly repudiated and addressed;

(11) emphasises the importance of mutual respect as individuals go about expressing their diverse views on the conflict in Australia;

(12) condemns all acts of hatred, division or violence, affirming that they have no place in Australia;

(13) reiterates the responsibility of each Australian to safeguard the harmony and unity that define our diverse society, especially in times of adversity;

(14) condemns the actions of those seeking to celebrate and promote the barbarous actions of terrorist organisations;

(15) reaffirms that symbols of terror and discord are unwelcome in Australia and undermine our nation's peace and security;

(16) condemns all forms of hate speech and violent extremism, including antisemitism, as repugnant to our shared national values which uphold the freedom and dignity of every Australian; and

(17) notes that fostering fear and division undermines social cohesion and risks Australia's domestic security.

The reason that this is so important and that the parliament should deal with this issue now is that yesterday, across the country, indeed across the world, people of decency and good heart commemorated the slaughter of 1,200 people—innocent men, women and children—12 months ago to the day. It's incumbent upon this parliament to pass a motion which reflects that sorrow and which records our deep regret at the actions that Hamas, a listed terrorist organisation, took against unarmed civilians—the murder, rape and slaughter of people in their homes and the mowing down of young, innocent people celebrating a music festival.

The opportunity for us today to speak with a united voice is represented by this motion. This motion was first put to the Prime Minister on the weekend in a spirit of bipartisanship, in a spirit of sending a united message to the Jewish community here, to the State of Israel and to all good people around the world that this parliament strongly and without equivocation condemns the actions of Hamas, and we commemorate the lives, we thank the heroes who saved lives on the day, and we repeat our want for antisemitism to come to an end in our country.

October 7 is not the day, is not the occasion—on the 12-month anniversary or any anniversary subsequent to this, when we should concentrate on matters other than that which is most immediately at hand. That's the point we make here today. Over the past 12 months, as has been commented on by Jewish leaders and as was obvious in Melbourne last night—where the Prime Minister was booed by the Jewish people who were in attendance at that function—people have found the Prime Minister's position completely and utterly untenable. Australians across the country ought to know that their Prime Minister can stand up for a view and argue it on behalf of Australians, to prosecute his position and ultimately to prevail. But this is not that Prime Minister.

This Prime Minister has tried to walk on both sides of the street, and it was evidenced in the failed motion put forward by the government today. It tries to please everybody, as this Prime Minister always seeks to do. And ultimately he pleases no-one at all. Out of respect today, we ask the Prime Minister to come back into the chamber, to reassess his position and to support this motion. The minister wouldn't give us permission or grant leave for this motion to be brought on. So, we seek to suspend standing orders so that proper debate can take place, because people who are living in this country at the moment—Holocaust survivors, for example—who for the first time in this country, in their new life that they started in this country after the end of the Second World War, feel scared. They are open in their condemnation of the antisemitism that is now rife within our community, that in large part sprung to life in our country on the steps of the Opera House on 9 October.

On 9 October, the Prime Minister didn't have words of condemnation. The foreign minister was calling for restraint from Israel on the day of the attacks on the kibbutzes and at the music festival site. That's what the government had in its heart and its mind from the very first day. Since that time, on university campuses, for months and months and months, the radical protesters have known no boundaries. We see the elements out on the weekend within the community, and following up on protests from last week, where they're flying Hezbollah flags and celebrating the life of a listed terrorist organisation leader who had been responsible for the death not just of Israelis but of people across to Middle East—a person who had masterminded a number of terrorist attacks, resulting in the loss of life of people from many countries. Those people were able to march, and at the time we were told that there was no offence for marching, waving flags and holding up photos of that dreadful individual. The world is a better place for him having left it. That's the reality.

Yet this Prime Minister tried to tell us that there were no offences, that the Australian Federal Police had looked at it and there was nothing to see here. As it turned out, that was not true. All it has done is exacerbate the pain and the hurt of the Jewish community in this country. The Prime Minister today, in a motion which should be solely dedicated to remembering the lives of those who were slaughtered on 7 October, has extended it well beyond that, for the reasons I have outlined. The fact that on the weekend we saw people who were willing to march on the streets in our country to celebrate the one-year anniversary of people being slaughtered demonstrates how far from reality this debate has swung and how the Prime Minister of our country could have looked to any one of his predecessors, Labor or Liberal, and taken a different path but has chosen not to. He has departed from decades of Labor Party policy.

Why would that be the case? Why would the Prime Minister be at odds with the Jewish community? Why would he be at odds with the people of Israel and the State of Israel, for whom Australia has been a reliable partner and ally for decades? Why would the Prime Minister be at odds with Howard's position, with Hawke's position, with Keating's position, with Abbott's position, with Rudd's position and with Gillard's position? It's because this Prime Minister sees domestic political advantage in the position that he's taken. That is how disgraceful the position is. And the fact that the Prime Minister doesn't seek to associate himself with this motion and support it, not just in essence but in spirit as well, reflects so poorly on his character and his weakness of leadership.

I say to the Jewish community here in Australia: the coalition dedicate ourselves to making sure that we stamp out antisemitism in this country. I don't want to see armed guards standing at schools and preschools in Jewish communities. I want to see every Australian treated equally. I want to see no Australian discriminated against. I want to see no racism in our country. But the point today is that this Prime Minister has had the opportunity—and has squibbed it—to support a motion which is truly dedicated to supporting the memory and lives of those 1,200 who were slaughtered. (Time expired)

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and support the Leader of the Opposition's call for urgency on these matters. This House must speak with moral clarity. This House must speak with one voice. October 7 for Jewish people all around the world is what September 11 is for the American people—an extraordinary terrorist attack that rocked the world and changed people's perceptions of it. The Leader of the Opposition is right; this is a time for moral clarity. That's why today and yesterday were days where we in this parliament, where we as Australians, should be standing with Israel, standing with the victims of terror and standing with those hostages who are still being held against their will in appalling conditions in Gaza.

What has amazed me since the events of 7 October has been the moral equivalents we have seen everywhere. Jewish people in this country did not have even a moment to grieve for what had happened on 7 October before there were antisemitic incidents right across the country. I want to talk about and remind people of the antisemitic incidents that occurred in those first weeks, even before Israel had commenced its operations in Gaza.

The Leader of the Opposition is right to point to the issues that occurred at the opera house on 9 October, because I think that everything that we have seen subsequently in this country comes from the failure of leadership and the failure to bring people to justice for burning flags, lighting flares, spitting on Jewish Australians and saying horrendous things about Jews on that day. Since that time all sorts of antisemitic protesters have tried to push the envelope and see how far they could get.

We had the worst set of protests at the weekend, where people were basically aping the flag of Hezbollah—an organisation that we in this country list as a terrorist organisation—and coming out in Hezbollah colours, thumbing their nose at the police and thumbing their nose at the laws of this country because so many of these protesters, so many of the people engaged in these antisemitic activities, believe that the law doesn't apply to them. They believe it shouldn't apply to them. They don't believe in Australia and its democratic traditions. They are, in fact, trying to undermine and attack the multiculturalism which has denoted the brilliance of this country right from European settlement and which has only been enhanced generation after generation, as people have come here. I think that this is a major attack on the country.

Even before the 9 October protests, on the very next day after 7 October, in Western Sydney we saw a gathering that was addressed by Sheikh Ibrahim Dadoun, who said:

I'm smiling and I'm happy …

I'm elated, it's a day of courage, it's a day of pride, it's a day of victory. This is the day we've been waiting for.

They were his words in relation to the terror attack. Nothing has been done.

On 10 October we saw people in a car stop and ask a man on a street if he knew where any Jews were. The man asked, 'What will you do if you find Jews?' They responded, 'They know what we're going to do once we're done with them.' Another passenger said, 'We're hunting for Jews.' That was in Melbourne on 10 October.

On 11 October, there were death threats against a rabbi and his eight-year-old son. On 13 October, outside the Sydney Jewish Museum—a museum which teaches Australians about the evils of the Holocaust and hatred—three men gave a Nazi salute and goosestepped. This had nothing to do with the Israel government, nothing to do with Middle East politics; it was rank antisemitism.

In Melbourne the following day, there was an 'Expose Jewish Power' banner by the National Socialist Network, and they were handing out business cards on a train and questioning passengers to see if they could find any Jews on the train. On 15 October, Melbourne heard chants of 'Khaybar, Khaybar, Oh Jews! The army of Muhammad will return!' which refers to a massacre of Jews by Muslims in Khaybar at 628 CE. It was used as a war cry to threaten and attack Jews at an anti-Israel rally in Melbourne. That same day, at an anti-Israel rally outside the QV building, there was a cartoon placard of Netanyahu in a coffin, draped in a Palestinian flag, being put into an Auschwitz-like crematorium, along with a sign that said, 'Arbeit macht frei'. This was all before Israel had commenced its operations in Gaza.

The antisemitism in this country has reached a terrible point, and I commend the Leader of the Opposition for his strong stance against it. I see that the Minister for Education, who is a good man, is at the table today. I say to the minister: please support the judicial inquiry into antisemitism on campus, because so many of these bad ideas, which we saw even in the week that followed 7 October, develop on our campuses. It's high time we stop subjecting students, many of whom are still teenagers, to this level of hatred in our country.

Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the debate be adjourned.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question before the House is that the debate be adjourned.