August 7, 2024
ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess did not mince his words in response to a shocking anti-Semitic tweet by Iran’s Ambassador to Australia.
“The comments were disgraceful and, given the current security climate, deeply unhelpful,” Mr Burgess told Sky News Australia host Sharri Markson.
The social media post was all that and a lot more.
Revealing his hope that “wiping out the Zionist plague out of the holy lands of Palestine happens no later than 2027” the ambassador suggested this was a “divine promise.”
If ever there was a case to haul in the Iranian ambassador for a meeting with the Foreign Minister or kick him out of the country this was it.
“The late leader of Hamas Resistance Movement, Martyr #Sheikh_Ahmed_Yasin rectified wiping out the Zionist plague out of the holy lands of Palestine happens no later than 2027,’’ he wrote.
“Looking forward to such a heavenly & divine promise Insha-Allah.”
What did the Albanese Government do in response?
Well, it asked the ambassador to have a chat with a senior DFAT official face-to-face meeting.
No dressing down from the Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who is in the United States.
No threats to kick him out of the country for doing the very thing that ASIO chief Mike Burgess warned about when he increased the terrorist threat level this week.
Why? According to the government this was the pro forma response.
Contrast that response to Australia’s response when it rebuked Israel’s action in Gaza. It hauled in Israeli ambassador Amir Maimon and had him dressed down by a – junior – government minister Tim Watts.
The Prime Minister seemed at first caught unaware about the post.
Speaking to media in Sydney on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said Mr Sadeghi’s comments were “abhorrent” and “have no place”.
“We have called in the Iranian Ambassador to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as is the protocol when something like this happens,” he said.
“I make it clear – there’s no place for the sort of comments that were made on social media by the Iranian Ambassador.
“They’re abhorrent, and they are hateful, they are anti-Semitic, and they have no place.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong called the social media post “repugnant”.
“Those comments are inflammatory, and they are repugnant,” Ms Wong said
“They are inconsistent with Australia’s values.”
But opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson urged the government to take further action.
“If he wasn’t an ambassador, it’s highly likely (the comments) would fall afoul of Australia’s anti-incitement and racial vilification laws,” he said.
“If he is wantonly breaking the law like that and inciting violence against the community … it is incumbent on the government to take action.”
Indeed, the national security boss cautioned this week the language used by Iran’s top diplomat risked a broader normalisation of violence.
“Inflamed language can inflame emotions and inflame action,” he said.
“I again call on all parties to reflect on the words they use and the impacts they can have.”
It was a warning that the ASIO boss had fleshed out at a press conference with the Prime Minister in Canberra to lift Australia’s terror level from possible to probable.
The decision, he said, reflected that the security environment is degrading.
“It does not mean that we have intelligence about the current attack planning or expectation of an imminent attack,’’ he said.
Mr Burgess said the decision was not taken easily.
“Our decision is not a direct response to the tragic events in the Middle East. At this stage we do not believe any of the terrorist plots we have investigated in the last year have been inspired by Gaza,’’ he said.
“Terrorist leaders offshore are not inspiring attacks onshore. This is why we did not raise the threat level in the immediate aftermath of 7 October.”
“I want to reassure Australians that probable does not mean inevitable and it does not mean it is intelligence about an imminent threat or danger.
But the advice that we have received is that more Australians are embracing a more diverse range of extreme ideologies and it is our responsibility to be vigilant.”
Regardless, the Iranian ambassador’s social media contributions are whipping up exactly the sentiment that the ASIO boss was warning Australians about.
The Australian Government’s response has been weak.
