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

Such chants and phrases have no place in the type of political debate we should wish to see in our country, nor in the expression of free will that we should encourage and enable in our country. They have no place because of the way in which they are used to encourage division, to inflame hatred, and through acts of antisemitism.

We should, we must, stand against antisemitism in all of its forms. That includes the requirement to stand against the use of language that fuels, drives and underpins antisemitism. The coalition is very clear in our position in relation to this, and we have been very clear since the horrific attacks of 7 October, that the rise in antisemitism has been one of the most profound and concerning aspects of the reaction to those attacks and to the consequential war that has been undertaken.

Tragically, we saw antisemitic acts within hours of the 7 October attacks. We saw them on the steps of the Sydney Opera House. We've seen them subsequently in motorcades and protests deliberately targeting suburbs known to have higher Jewish populations, deliberately targeting places of worship and congregation. These are deliberate acts to intimidate Jewish Australians.