Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (NT, Country Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Hansard source

I stand to support the Commission of Inquiry into Antisemitism at Australian Universities Bill 2024 (No. 2). I was brought up in a household with a parent who was a history teacher who taught me the importance of understanding not only our nation's history but also world history, because our history teaches us what we should do in order to avoid atrocities from occurring. We, as an entire world, understand what the Jewish people have endured through world history. Yet, here we are, in Australia, in 2024, where there has become a huge rise in antisemitism throughout our democratic nation and, of particular concern, in our education institutions. Universities are supposed to be a place of learning, challenge, academia and safety, where our young people can learn within an environment where everyone is treated equally and where they don't have to be subjected to racism or prejudice.

In our past we have been victim to terrorism. If we can all think back to the Lindt Cafe incident not so long ago. Following on from the Lindt Cafe incident, our Australian community was encouraged to ensure that we did not subject our entire Muslim community to any kind of prejudice. However, that same attitude or respect has not been applied to our Jewish community in this country, and, most importantly, in our universities.

I would hate to think what would happen if the same sorts of behaviour were projected towards Indigenous students. Imagine that. Imagine the outcry, the uproar and the calls of racism that would take place. But for some reason in Australia in 2024, it has been acceptable for terrorist flags to be flying out the front of our universities and for terrorist chants to be used at the front of our universities.

Let's look back to history, shall we? It really wasn't that long ago, in 1926, that the Nazi Party founded the National Socialist German Students' League. Part of their role was to foster ideological training of young people on university campuses. This is where it all begins. If we don't stand up and recognise the signs now as to where this can all go, then we are not learning from history.