Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I find it remarkable that I'm having to be sat down on multiple occasions due to interjections on an issue like this.

We must continue to stand as one against an ideology that is most associated with acts of genocide, mass murder and other forms of persecution. As a nation, we have successfully stood against Nazism in a number of ways, and we should seek to continue to do so. We do so through active remembrance, awareness and knowledge. The horrors of the Holocaust must never be forgotten, and I, alongside former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and many other members of the former government, are proud of what we did to establish Holocaust museums in a number of cities around Australia to ensure that we raised that type of awareness. We do so through efforts, at home and globally, to call out and to stamp out antisemitism.

A powerful example of this is Australia's membership of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, membership that we took up on 4 June 2019, becoming the 33rd member country to do so, and in doing so adopting the following nonlegally binding wording of the definition of antisemitism:

Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.

This working definition provides a strong basis, through IHRA and the work of many, to make sure that we are able to call out and weed out antisemitism where and when it occurs.

We stand against, and protect ourselves against, Nazism by balancing our commitment to freedom of speech and freedom of association with actions to identify, monitor and act against ideologically motivated or religiously motivated extremism, especially where it can manifest itself in acts of violence or intimidation. For that, we have throughout the years increased the funding, the resourcing, the reporting, the openness and the transparency of our security agencies. We work with others, including the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, who report frequently on acts of antisemitism and, concerningly, have reported their growth in recent times.

We have an individual responsibility to call out such actions. I did so recently myself when I came home from Canberra to find a brochure in my letterbox. 'Calling all white Australians', it was headlined, and it called to action to associate with organisations that I find repugnant in the promotion of their actions and their approach. It is for all of us to take every opportunity to do so, and we must also protect ourselves against Nazism and antisemitism by preventing the glorification of them in any way. That is what this bill, which we seek to bring on, does.

We seek to bring this bill on in light of the rise of antisemitism that has been reported. We seek to bring it on in light of debates that have occurred in and around this place during the course of this week which we think means it is important to send a strong united signal on these matters. This bill is a modest and proportionate measure that responds to the risk to our country of civil discourse. We want to make sure that through this bill we are modelling it against similar legislation. I urge the Senate to enable this bill to be considered so we can take the type of strong and united stance that we should.