Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of this motion moved by Senator Lambie—I thank her for doing so—and moved by the member for Wentworth in the other place. We have seen a devastating rise in antisemitism in this country. We have seen actions which have appalled us all—the vandalism and arson of a Jewish MPs office, the Adass Israel Synagogue firebombed, antisemitic graffiti, words of hate sprayed on cars and on buildings, a caravan laden with explosives, vile acts of hate, attacks on places of worship, antisemitic slogans and the torching of cars and premises.

This has been so distressing for the Australian Jewish community—such a valued part of our pluralist nation. This has been so distressing for so many Australians, because we are a nation that welcomes different races. We are a nation that welcomes different religions. We are a nation that welcomes different views. We are a pluralist nation, united by respect for each other's humanity and united by respect for each other's right to live in peace. People in this country should not only be safe but feel safe.

I've previously said these attacks are an attack on the Australian Jewish community, but they are also an attack on who we are as Australians. They're an attack on our values—the values of this country which has welcomed so many from so many parts of the world and which has a commitment to respect for one another's beliefs and one another's faiths. So it is important and appropriate that today, across the chamber, we stand together to unequivocally condemn antisemitism in all its forms, just as we should condemn hatred, in all its forms, directed at any group in our community.

The scourge of antisemitism doesn't respect international borders, and we know it has deep roots across the world and a long history. Last week, I had the honour of representing Australia alongside Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus; the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal; and the Deputy President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Robert Goot, at the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The words of the Holocaust survivors that day will stay with me forever. They spoke of being stripped of their humanity, of feeling powerless and abandoned and of the desperate cries that still haunt their souls. Amongst the stories of destruction and depravity, Holocaust survivors implored us to remain vigilant about the horrific reality of where hatred—of where antisemitism and intolerance—can lead.

Leon Weintraub was one of those survivors. He was only young when the war began. He and his family were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where his mother and her sister were both murdered. He's now 99 years old. This was his advice to all of us who were gathered: 'I urge all people of goodwill, and, especially, I ask of the young people: be sensitive to all expressions of intolerance and resentment towards those who are different, regardless of their skin colour, their religion or sexual orientation. At this time of worsening antisemitism here and around the world, it is more important than ever for us to stand together across beliefs and across politics.' To take Mr Weintraub's words to heart, to make practice of them in our lives and to insist, 'Never again,' let us all stand in defence of Australian values, values in which I believe so deeply and that I have articulated and advocated for all my life—values of respect, of acceptance and of inclusion—because they are the foundation of who we are, and we must defend them.