Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I have zero trust in a party whose leader is Mr Dutton to push for any good-faith review into racism. I have zero trust in Senator Henderson, who thinks that there is no issue with Islamophobia, to push for any good-faith review into racism.

Let's be clear: this bill is a thinly veiled attempt to attack student encampments and tarnish students and staff who are calling for justice for Palestine, a free Palestine and the end to a genocide in which Israel has already slaughtered more than 37,000 Palestinians. It is also an attempt to force the IHRA definition of 'antisemitism' onto universities. This definition has been widely criticised, including by many progressive Jewish organisations, for its ability to stifle academic freedom, silence Palestinian voices and prevent legitimate criticism of the state of Israel. More than eight months into a genocide perpetrated by Israel, with complete impunity and in flagrant disregard of international law, the need to apply scrutiny to Israel's actions has in fact never been greater.

The Greens are firmly on the side of students and staff and everyone fighting for a free Palestine. We condemn the actions of universities, like Deakin and ANU, that have cracked down on student camps. We praise the brave students who have won concessions from their universities to disclose investments in weapons companies. The encampment organisers have made clear many, many times that these are anti-war protests that are opposed to all forms of racism and discrimination, including antisemitism. Jewish students and staff have played significant roles in many of them.

Shame on the coalition, and Labor too, for being more concerned about those protesting the genocide than the genocide itself, in which Israel has mercilessly slaughtered more than 37,000 Palestinians in the last eight months and reduced much of Gaza to rubble.