Alex Antic (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answers given by the Minister for Foreign Affairs to questions without notice asked by Opposition senators today relating to the 7 October 2023 Hamas Attacks.

Last year on 7 October, a Saturday evening, I watched the horrendous events play out in Israel, on the border of Gaza, with genuine shock, I have to say—shock at the brutality, shock at the trauma and shock generally at the horrendous scenes. It felt on that day like that part of the world was the very epicentre of evil. It was probably made all the more real by virtue of the fact that those were places which I had actually visited, places which I had seen with my own eyes and places which I had touched. It's very hard to accept that those places and those people were caught up in such horrendous scenes.

But the shock, I have to say, sadly, was not necessarily left on the day. The shock that really hit me was the shock of what transpired after the event. I don't know that any of us were truly ready for the shock of watching the widespread nature of antisemitism in this country unfold at our universities, on our streets on a wider level and, frankly, even in this very building. The children of people at those kibbutzim and towns were swept away by what happened to them, swept away by the villainy of the far left in this country. I don't think any of use were ready for the scenes we saw at the Sydney Opera House, watching people who hold themselves up as preachers of peace, tolerance, diversity and unity but who, in actual fact, practise something quite different—a form of antisemitism and vitriol that was under the surface in this country and that I think many of us had hoped we had seen the last of. But I think people in this country probably have all been quite naive to that. What we've witnessed over the last period of time is people simply replacing the word 'Jewish' with 'Zionist' and thinking that that's enough to get them off the hook for their intolerance.

We've seen, as a result of some of those scenes, the way being cleared for the organisation Hezbollah to praise the anti-Israel rallies across the country here in Australia. We hear so often the empty words out of the mouths of people in this building that words matter, but when it comes to this issue they don't seem to be practising what they preach. I think this has emanated largely from the disappointment that many of us have seen in this very far left government, which is completely out of touch with Australian values and people in this country who are rightly appalled by the events of October 7. We've seen a government that has been all over the shop, trying to be all things to all people, trying to appease those in their own ranks who have a very different worldview to everyday Australians, particularly on this issue.

The country of Israel has every right to defend itself. It has every right to defend its territory and it has every right to defend its people from external threats. We on this side of the chamber want to be on record saying that a coalition government, if elected, will restore moral clarity and act with courage on this issue, because if ever there has been a time which has needed moral courage it has been during the events of the last 12 months. We'll make it clear that the law has to be enforced readily, not reluctantly, against those who are inciting this sort of hatred and violence. The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has made it clear that we would hold a judicial inquiry into antisemitism on our university campuses, because, frankly, the Jewish people and the Jewish community of this country deserve nothing less. Some of the stories coming out of those campuses, of parents with children who are frightened to send their children to university because of the nature of the backlash, are nothing short of appalling and un-Australian.

Finally, we'll make sure that young Australians are equipped with a shield of knowledge to deflect this hatred. Of course, this is part of a wider issue about what our children are being taught in universities and schools and by the media. These are issues which need to be addressed and these are issues which a coalition government will address.