Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the Commission of Inquiry into Antisemitism at Australian Universities Bill 2024. In May university chancellors rejected calls by Jewish Australians to shut down copycat Gaza solidarity encampments because they said the Australian protests hadn't degenerated into violence like the ones in the US had. I think they should look at the definition of violence. I've been told by Jewish Australians working in our universities that their workplace, the universities, does not feel safe. Many have already resigned, and others are considering doing so. The Guardian reported on 10 May that Nazi salutes were used at a student association meeting at the Australian National University. At the Queensland university, a 23-year-old woman broke into a Jewish academic's office and urinated on the floor. At Sydney University, Jewish staff, students and academics have to walk past protesters chanting 'From the river to the sea'.

According to the Age newspaper, the pro-Palestinian encampment at Sydney University has been infiltrated by a group that has been declared a terrorist organisation by the UK, Canada and many Muslim countries. This group, Stand For Palestine, works in coalition with other Palestinian groups who are often unaware of their extremist connections. Stand For Palestine was set up by Hizb ut-Tahrir. Twenty years ago, NSW Police counterterrorism had a list of organisations they considered to be terrorist organisations. Guess who was on the list? You betcha: Hizb ut-Tahrir. This group's stated aim is to establish an Islamic caliphate and call on Muslims living in Western countries like this one to 'come out of their illusion of their cosy relationship with the West and embrace the struggle of Islam versus non-believers'. Twenty years ago, our counterterrorism experts were watching this group. Twenty years later, not only is this group still operating but it is infiltrating these protest groups on our streets and in our universities, spreading their extremist filth and whipping up hatred. In just a few months, this front organisation, Stand For Palestine, has gained thousands of followers, has stepped up its presence in our mosques and is radicalising our youth.

Hizb ut-Tahrir has been banned in the UK and Canada and is also banned in most Arab countries. When British Home Secretary James Cleverly announced that they would be declared a terrorist organisation, he said that the group was 'an antisemitic organisation that actively promotes and encourages terrorism, including praising and celebrating the appalling 7 October attacks'. Deakin University's extremist expert Josh Roose told the Age that Hizb ut-Tahrir has seized on the violence in Gaza as 'their chance to shine'. So what the hell is the Australian government doing about this? Not only have we not listed them as a declared terrorist organisation but a charity directed by one of their founders has been approved and granted charitable status.