Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answers given by the Minister for Foreign Affairs (Senator Wong) to questions without notice asked by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Senator Cash) and Senator Paterson today relating to antisemitism.

Both are very important questions, and I do want to again reiterate what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said of the attack on the Adass synagogue in Melbourne, as was raised by Senator Cash:

Unfortunately, it is impossible to separate this reprehensible act from the extreme anti-Israel position of the Labor government in Australia.

Senator Cash also raised the deep concerns of Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister, Sharren Haskel, who said in relation to her meeting with Attorney-General Dreyfus:

I expressed to him my disappointment with the shift in the Australian government's attitude towards Israel. I emphasised our deep concern regarding the shocking rise in antisemitism in Australia and the clearly ineffectual response from the Australian government and state governments. There is no doubt this has been caused in part by the Australian government's ongoing campaign against Israel.

This is what it is: an ongoing campaign against Israel, which has fuelled antisemitic hate and division in our country through a weakness of leadership from this weak and incompetent Prime Minister. It is unbelievable that, since 7 October 2023, we have seen our country deteriorate—

The Deputy:

Senator Henderson, there's a point of order.

Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would ask Senator Henderson to withdraw that reflection on the Prime Minister.

Andrew McLachlan (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It wasn't necessarily a reflection. It was a criticism and wasn't a reflection on the Prime Minister's motives, but I'd ask, Senator Henderson, that you be measured in your language in this difficult debate.

Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Deputy Prime Minister—I mean, Deputy President. I've just promoted you! As I say, the condemnation that we have seen from the Prime Minister of Israel and Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister is a shocking reflection on this weak Albanese Labor government. What are the consequences? The consequences are horrific. Over recent months, we've seen a synagogue firebombed, the former home of a Jewish leader vandalised, synagogues sprayed with hateful symbols, and even a Jewish childcare centre attacked in the middle of the night.

Jewish Australians are frightened. Jewish Australians are living in fear. Jewish Australians' homes are being targeted with horrific antisemitic graffiti. High-profile Jewish Australians are waking up in the morning and seeing horrific slurs against Jewish Australians on their fences. It is shameful that this government has been so weak. This government could not even support the coalition's senators' bill here in the Senate or Mr Leeser's private member's bill to legislate a judicial inquiry into campus antisemitism.

The hate and incitement on university campuses is out of control, and we saw that again just last week at Queensland University of Technology, again fuelled by Labor's weak leadership. The education minister, Mr Clare, has failed to call for the encampments to be shut down, failed to condemn extremists like members of Hizb ut-Tahrir protesting on university campuses and failed to take this seriously. The government have failed to listen to their own appointed antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal, who backed the coalition's call for a judicial inquiry along with every leading Jewish organisation, and the Zionist Federation of Australia have again backed this in.

This is, as I say, intolerable. Senator Paterson also raised very important questions about what the Prime Minister knew and when he was first briefed on reports about the discovery of the caravan in Dural. It is shocking that we know so little about this and that Australians were kept in the dark. Australians deserve answers on the handling of what could have been one of the most catastrophic acts of terror seen in Australia. A week on from the breaking of this report, we still remain none the wiser, and that is a disgrace.

Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I begin by saying that the government utterly condemns antisemitism in all its forms. Hate and extremism have no place in Australian society, and we've established a special operation, Avalite, to investigate threats, violence and hatred towards the Australian Jewish community.

Earlier today in this chamber we had around an hour and 30 minutes debating a motion put forward by Senator Lambie. The motion passed in this house; it also passed in the other place. I would have thought that, as leaders of our communities, our roles both here and in the other place would be to bring people together and stamp out this behaviour from our society—and working together to do that.

I do note that law enforcement are taking the investigations on the Dural incident seriously, and they do not believe there is an ongoing threat. The matter is being investigated by the joint counterterrorism teams, so there is an investigation under way. It's a bit rich for people to say that they're not getting any information and that we're not doing anything. There is an investigation under way. ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess said that Australia's terrorism threat level remains at 'probable', and, obviously, there are investigations going on into these matters.

The government is committed to protecting the community from those who promote extremism, who promote hatred or who seek to incite violence. That is not the type of country that we want to live in, and we are acting to condemn all these forms of antisemitism. We believe that no Australian should be targeted because of who they are or what they believe in. No Australian should be targeted because of who they are or what they believe in.

The Albanese Labor government has introduced legislation to create new criminal offences and to strengthen protection against hate crimes. People might say we're not doing anything, but that is actually not correct. There's a bill that will create new criminal offences for directly threatening the use of force or violence against a group or a member of a group. That bill will protect groups or members of groups distinguished by race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, disability, nationality, national or ethnic origin, or political opinion. The bill is long overdue and represents very significant reform to Commonwealth offences. We hope that the parliament will unanimously pass this bill to bring together Australians. There is no place in Australia for the kinds of antisemitism, hatred and violence that we've recently seen. I think that's something that we all agree on; we all agree that there is no place in Australia for that. It's despicable and it won't be tolerated. That's why we're taking a series of actions to crack down on antisemitism.

Here are some of the measures that we've taken. As I mentioned earlier, we've established Special Operation Avalite with the AFP to combat acts of antisemitism. We've put a landmark ban on Nazi salutes and hate symbols, a ban which came into effect in January 2024 with penalties of one year imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $16,500. We've criminalised doxxing—the malicious release of personal information—which the opposition voted against. We're working with states and territories on a national database to track and coordinate on antisemitic incidents. We've brought legislation to appoint Australia's first National Student Ombudsman.

In the weeks following the 7 October terrorist attack, the Albanese government committed $25 million for improved safety and security at Jewish sites across the country, including schools, and an additional $32.5 million for security measures for schools and synagogues. Legislation now before parliament is to criminalise hate speech, including the urging or threatening of force or violence against individuals or groups because of who they are or what they believe. There is more that I could go on with, but instead I'll say we believe that antisemitism has no place in this country whatsoever.

Dave Sharma (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's clear, from the answers given to my colleagues Senators Cash and Paterson, that, regardless of what we hear from those opposite, the government is not taking the issue of antisemitism seriously. They often say the right things, but their actions do not match their rhetoric. Ultimately, government is about priorities. It's about what you choose to address and what you choose to ignore. For too long, this government, this Prime Minister and senior ministers within this government have chosen to ignore, diminish, discount or even insult people who have called out the rise in antisemitism in our community.

What have we seen in Australia these past 16 months? We have seen a sustained campaign of harassment, intimidation and vitriol targeted at one specific Australian community in a way that, to my mind at least, is unprecedented in our history. It has taken on undertones and manifestations of a terrorist campaign in the last several months, and the targeting is being done solely on the basis of the religion these people observe or the faith that they uphold.

Two days after the worst terrorist attack in Israel's history—the equivalent of like a dozen September 11 attacks being inflicted on a nation; the largest single loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust, in a single day—we saw the opera house protests erupt, where we saw the most hateful and vile slogans being uttered at Jewish Australians—not at Israel but Jewish Australians. We saw Israeli flags being burnt. Since then, we have seen a slow but sinister and inexorable descent of this campaign into lower and lower depths. It has gone from slogans, chanting, protests and doxxing to harassment, graffiti, campus intimidation and, in recent months, property damage and the torching of vehicles. Most recently, there was the firebombing of a synagogue, the firebombing of a childcare centre only last week and now the discovery of a caravan laden with explosives designed to cause a mass casualty terrorist attack targeted at a Jewish institution. This is shocking, in Australia. We had the intent, the ingredients and the capability to stage a mass-casualty terrorist attack in Australia, directed at one specific part of our community.

And what have we heard from our Prime Minister on this? He will not even tell us whether he was aware of this plot. He is not able to say whether he was briefed on this plot. He is not able to reassure us that he has convened the National Security Committee of cabinet, our security and intelligence chiefs, to get to the bottom of this plot. Chris Minns, the Premier of New South Wales, knows what's going on. As soon as this became public, he fronted the media. He told them what he knew. He told them the steps he was taking to reassure the community of their safety, as well as the Jewish community of Australia.

Anthony Albanese, the Prime Minister, has been AWOL. This is not about revealing operational details or compromising intelligence or methods; it's about reassuring all of us that the person in charge of the country, in charge of the government, is on top of their game, that they are taking the issue seriously. Where is the Minister for Home Affairs on this? He's missing in action, he's in hiding, he's AWOL, because he doesn't want to confront and tackle this issue, because of his own local, domestic political imperatives, if you like

The Prime Minister has form here. You will recall that, after the 7 October terrorist attacks, Peter Dutton, the Leader of the Opposition, asked Anthony Albanese to convene the National Security Committee of cabinet to consider what the security implications would be for Australia. Anthony Albanese refused to do so. He refused to call Prime Minister Netanyahu for several weeks to express condolence at the largest loss of life in a terrorist attack that Israel has ever experienced. He refused to convene the national cabinet after his own special envoy to combat antisemitism recommend he do so. He was forced to do so only under pressure. Even addressing caucus this week—his own party—he didn't take this issue seriously. This tells you everything you need to know about this government's approach to this issue.

Jana Stewart (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to contribute to this debate on the really important issue of antisemitism. It is a real shame to see it politicised in the way it has been during this question time. When there are so many in our country who are hurting, who are afraid for their lives right now, to see it weaponised by the opposition in this way really tells you something about who they are. Instead of working with us to keep the community safe, they continue to politicise it, and that is a real shame.

The Albanese Labor government has absolutely taken steps to combat the rise of antisemitism across the country. We've seen some really abhorrent things happen in the last little while that have made our Jewish brothers and sisters feel unsafe, and no doubt they are existing in a constant state of worry and anxiety right now. That is really an unacceptable way for anybody in the country we are in today to live. To not have to teach your kids to experience hate and harm because of who they are is a real privilege. It's not one that's been extended to First Nations people, in the same way that it hasn't been extended to Jewish people. It is common for us to have to teach our kids, when they go to school, to experience hate and harm because of who they are, and that is what our Jewish brothers and sisters are having to do right now.

The constant weaponising of this conversation is really unacceptable. We have taken measures that are similar to those of other countries, like Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Japan and Korea. I'd be interested to know if the opposition are also criticising the positions of those countries. It's certainly not helpful to the Australian community, when we are trying so hard to unify people here. One of the things you have seen our government immediately do is inject a bunch of money for social cohesion across the country. To then see leaders in this country try to inflame debate is really entirely unhelpful. What we're trying to do is bring people together, like we saw in this very Senate chamber earlier today. We have seen the Senate chamber come together to condemn antisemitism. That is what we should be doing to help Australians to feel safe.

We have seen a devastating rise of antisemitism across the country and across the world, and that is entirely unacceptable. We have condemned and rejected antisemitism wherever it has occurred. It has absolutely no place in this country. We stand in this country for values such as acceptance and inclusion. We should always advocate for them, just like we on this side have always done. We should be encouraging a tone of conversation that allows people to come together and have empathy and care for our fellow Australians and not try to inflame the debate and bring it to our front doors. That is the experience of so many of our Jewish brothers and sisters right now.

We have seen it politicised by those opposite. I want to encourage us, while the hurt and trauma is real and alive right now for so many people, to be really careful and considered about the language we use in this place, because it matters, especially while people are traumatised. The language that is used in this place can retrigger.

Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Multicultural Engagement) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Language does matter, but so does action. I pity Senator Stewart that she has to come into this place and defend the Albanese Labor government, who have just been too slow to act in relation to the reign of antisemitism we are experiencing in this country.

Senator Urquhart referred to the hate crimes bill. I am the deputy chair of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee. I sat on the inquiry that looked into the hate crimes bill. Consider this: the hate crimes bill improved some of the key pieces of legislation in our Criminal Code dealing with hate crimes. Most of it is an absolute no-brainer. In fact, my additional comments in relation to the bill were 2½ pages. I proposed an amendment but agreed with the bill, as does the opposition. Tell me this, Senator Urquhart—through you, Deputy President—why was it that the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 was referred to my committee on 12 September last year, 2024, to report on 14 November, two months later, but the hate crimes bill, dealing with, in my view, a very easy amendment, was referred on 19 September to report by 12 December. Why was the AML bill, the bill dealing with anti-money-laundering, referred to my committee on 18 September, about the same time as the hate crimes bill, but its report was due on 13 November, a month before the hate crimes bill, when the AML bill was dealing with far more complicated matters? Why was it that the Family Law Amendment Bill was referred to the legal and constitutional affairs committee on 12 September, to report by 31 October, less than two months later, when the hate crimes bill was referred on 19 September, to report by 12 December? We didn't even get the chance to debate the hate crimes bill during 2024. That could have been in place now. It should have been in place over a year ago. This is the issue with the Albanese Labor government: it's too slow to act. It's having devastating consequences for our Jewish community.

You can't tell me that introducing anti-money-laundering red tape on our real estate agents, lawyers and accountants was more important than protecting our Jewish community in the face of this torrent of antisemitism. Was it more important to introduce the statutory tort of privacy, which has been kicking around for over a decade, than it was to protect our Jewish community? Was it more important to introduce amendments to the Family Law Act dealing with the custody of pets than it was to protect our Jewish community? But these are the priorities of the Albanese Labor government, so don't come into this place accusing the opposition of weaponising this issue. We are doing exactly what we were elected to do—that is to keep the government to account, especially in circumstances when there is a very vulnerable minority in this country, our Jewish communities, who are suffering this outrageous explosion in antisemitism.

I want to read to you an excerpt from the additional comments I made in relation to the Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill, which should have been passed 18 months ago. It should have gone through this place 18 months ago—an absolute no-brainer. I want to tell you the story of Dr Max Joseph. He was actually in Berlin during Kristallnacht—the night of broken glass—which occurred on 9 and 10 November 1938. He was in Berlin when the synagogues were attacked, burnt to the ground, and Jewish businesses were attacked. Some 91 Jews were murdered. He was actually in Berlin and then found refuge in Australia. He brought with him a foundation stone from a synagogue that was burnt to the ground in Berlin and placed it in the foundation of a synagogue in Sydney. He passed away in 1971. I wonder how Dr Joseph would feel to know that in 2024 and 2025 Jewish synagogues and childcare centres are being attacked in the country in which he found refuge. That is why we are so strong on this issue, and we make no excuses for it whatsoever.

Question agreed to.