Maria Kovacic (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Commission of Inquiry into Antisemitism at Australian Universities Bill 2024. I commend my friend in this place Senator Henderson and my friend in the other place the member for Berowra for their work on this incredibly important matter. Before I turn to the matter of university campuses, I want to reflect on this point. As honourable senators would know, Julian Leeser is my good friend. I have worked closely with him for many years in his service of the people of Berowra. Julian has had to deal with many things that other members and senators would never think of, particularly during election campaigns. I particularly remember the 2019 federal election when our campaign office was vandalised and defaced with antisemitic symbols. After that we had to lock ourselves in for our own safety. In 2019, in Sydney, we had to lock ourselves in our campaign rooms for our own safety.

Julian is a proud Jewish Australian, and, as a result, he is targeted by hate and intimidation. This is something that Jewish Australians right across our country sadly have to deal with. But the clear message from the Jewish community is that this is the worst that it has been in living memory. The level of discrimination that Jewish Australians are facing at the moment is extraordinary. It is the worst that I have seen. At its crux, this bill is responding to some disgraceful behaviour that we have seen on our university campuses. What we are seeing is a group within our society who are facing untold amounts of discrimination on the basis of their race at Australian university campuses, places where young Australians go to learn so that they can better contribute to our society.

Unfortunately we have seen a clear lack of appropriate action from this government. A commission of inquiry, as proposed in this bill, is in stark contrast to the Albanese government's establishment of a racism study led by the Australian Human Rights Commission into various forms of racism—a study led by the AHRC rather than action now. This study is a woefully inadequate response to campus antisemitism. The AHRC doesn't have the independence, powers or personnel to adequately deal with campus antisemitism. To make matters worse, the AHRC will not hand down its final report until after 30 June next year. That's the priority which this government gives this problem. The report is not even due until after the next federal election. This further reflects the government's weakness in combatting antisemitism on university campuses.

We're also concerned that the AHRC is not fit to run such a study, as we revealed in Senate estimates. It has failed to expressly condemn the Hamas terrorist attack, and its employees include individuals under investigation for antisemitic slurs published on social media. Let's think about that. It's important to also note that the AHRC does not have the confidence of the Jewish community. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the Australian Union of Jewish Students, the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, and the Australian Academic Alliance Against Antisemitism all reject an inquiry led by the AHRC and support a judicial inquiry.

For a government that speaks frequently on the importance of consultation and co-design in social policy, it makes me wonder why they are listening to Australia's Jewish community. Education minister Jason Clare, who should be throwing the book at university vice-chancellors, has done very little here. He has failed to directly condemn the kids' excursion at Sydney University that encouraged young children—let's think about this—to chant anti-Israel slogans such as 'Intifada' and to participate in a march calling Israel a terrorist state. This is a school activity. This is a children's activity, on an Australian university campus. These are children.

I think this is something the education minister needs to reconsider. He suggested that terrorist slogans like 'Intifada' and the slogan 'River to the sea' mean different things to different people. Well, they mean very bad things to Australia's Jewish community. The minister continues to draw a false equivalence between antisemitism and other forms of racism, such as Islamophobia. The minister has also failed to condemn university encampments which are fuelling antisemitic and incitement.

These are Australian government funded campuses. Can we think about this? We are funding these campuses that allow this behaviour to continue unchecked. The coalition has consistently called out the minister for weakness of leadership, raising concerns that he has not shown the moral courage that is needed. This is a time for strong and clear leadership. I understand that the minister has concerns in relation to his own electorate. That's a separate matter and should not be a consideration here.

On 28 May 2024, the coalition announced that a coalition government would use provisions of the migration act to cancel visas of any student protestors found to be involved in spreading antisemitism or supporting terrorism—and rightly so. That should pretty much be a given, shouldn't it? Under section 116 of the act, the ministers for Home Affairs and Immigration have significant powers to cancel the visas of any person who is or may be a risk to the health, safety or good order of the Australian community or any segment of the Australian community. Section 501 of the act gives ministers the power to do so if visa holders show contempt or disregard for the law of our country or human rights, including terrorist activities and political extremism and for vilifying a segment of the Australian community or inciting discord in Australia. These laws already exist. Yet there is no evidence that the Minister for Home Affairs, Clare O'Neil, or immigration minister Andrew Giles have cancelled one student visa under the significant powers available to them under the Migration Act. Why? Why have they not acted? How much longer will Jewish students have to fear for their safety when they go to classes at university before this government acts? Let me repeat that: how long do they have to fear for their safety before this government acts?

Australia respects the democratic right to protest and free speech. But we will not tolerate racism, antisemitism or the public support for a terrorist organisation like Hamas. Australians are witnessing a failure of leadership from this government and some university authorities, which have profoundly failed to combat antisemitic hate and vilification on campus.

Senator Henderson's private senator's bill before the Senate today mirrors the private member's bill introduced into the House of Representatives by the member for Berowra, Mr Leeser, on 3 June 2024. He has been a leading voice in our parliament in fighting to combat the scourge of antisemitism. I thank Senator Henderson for her work on this as well.

It is regrettable that, despite multiple invitations to endorse this commonsense bill, this government has provided no public acknowledgment of or support for the proposal. They have completely ignored it. I think it's called 'ghosting'. This government has provided no public acknowledgment of or support for the proposal. Members of the coalition have directly reached out to the Attorney-General, inviting him to discuss this bill and this issue. He has not responded, despite promises to do so. On behalf of coalition senators, Senator Henderson has taken up the fight for a judicial inquiry by way of introducing this bill into the Senate. We note with concern that the Assistant Minister for Education, Senator Chisholm, said in budget estimates that the government would not support a judicial inquiry into antisemitism on university campuses. Why? I especially ask why given that, in this time, the situation at many universities has become worse. This government needs to act.

The situation at universities includes the endorsement of the horrific actions of Hamas by some academics and students and classroom invasions where those who don't support activist causes are photographed and vilified for evidence, like something from the 1930s. Think about it. If you don't do what they want and you don't stand with them, they'll take your photo and use it for something down the track. It's extraordinary. It's absolutely extraordinary, and it's happening on Australian university campuses, taxpayer funded campuses. In the face of this weak leadership from the Albanese government against antisemitism on campus, the coalition will keep fighting for what is right. The coalition will not tolerate universities becoming a law unto themselves.