December 11, 2024
RAY HADLEY: In the meantime, the shadow Home Affairs Minister, Senator James Paterson is on the line. Senator, good morning.
JAMES PATERSON: Good morning, Ray.
HADLEY: Look, just before we get into what we're going to talk about, that's the attack which is now been labelled a terror ... or terrorist police are investigating to put it at its bluntest. But Penny Wong, we've got the Prime Minister with tears almost in relation to what happened in Melbourne. Then this morning, this heart filled announcement by the Prime Minister about how we've got to stop anti-Semitism, how we've got to stop the anti-Jewish hate. And then we've got Penny Wong with this campaign against Israel, comparing the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu with those of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. So in other words, the democratically elected government and leader of Israel is a despot like Putin and his Chinese counterpart. I mean, how can in any way the Prime Minister's alleged sincerity be mixed in with what Penny Wong is saying? And then she put in a media release basically saying the same thing, oh this is dreadful. It must stop. She's the one that is indirectly encouraging it, I'm saying.
PATERSON: Ray, it's absolutely extraordinary on two different levels. One is that Penny Wong thought that this week was a good week to deliver yet another speech vilifying the Jewish state when we're in the middle of a domestic terrorism crisis targeting the Jewish community, she decided to pour more fuel on the flames. But the second thing is the content of the speech. As you say, she compared Israel, a friendly liberal democracy who had previously provided intelligence to Australia that's disrupted terrorism attacks on our soil and against our soldiers in the Middle East, to two authoritarian states. One of them Russia, who's headed by a dictator, Vladimir Putin, who kills his political opponents, who unjustifiably invaded Ukraine and killed hundreds of thousands of people. And the other, China run by Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party, which is Australia's number one source of foreign interference, number one source of espionage, number one source of state backed cyber attacks, number one source of state backed intellectual property theft. And has also been accused of interning 1.5 million Uyghurs, an ethnic minority group, in re-education camps. Now, Israel does not stand accused of doing any of those things, either to Australia or to their neighbours. They are fighting a defensive war against three listed terrorist organisations and a genocidal regime in Iran. And Penny Wong thinks it's fair and reasonable to compare them. I think this is an outrageous misstep and the Prime Minister needs to step in today. He needs to haul in Penny Wong, he needs to reprimand her and he needs to say he does not agree with her offensive comparison of Israel to Russia and China.
HADLEY: Well you know that won't happen because he hasn't interfered previously with Tanya Plibersek's lunacy about the gold mine at Blayney and other ministers, including that dolt that you heard the introduction there. Cashing over Bowen. So he's not likely to take on a powerbroker like Penny Wong in the Senate. So the plea for him to interfere is as weak as water James. He's as weak as water. There's a very coarse expression I sometimes use, I won't use it in the company of Marsha, but he is as weak as that as well.
PATERSON: I fear that that's exactly right. He is a weak Prime Minister and he won't do anything about this. But if that is the case, then let's ignore all of his platitudes about anti-Semitism. Let's ignore all of his platitudes about standing with the Jewish community. It will be proven to be hollow if he doesn't haul Penny Wong in and reprimand her over this reckless and offensive speech because it's getting worse out there. It's not getting better, and it's on their watch.
HADLEY: Okay, just listen to this. This came from yesterday, Patricia Karvelas on the ABC.
[CLIP START]
CHRIS BOWEN: He said that they shouldn't be, that Islamophobia shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence as the Prime Minister has done. If James Paterson thinks there's no Islamophobia in Australia, he's wrong.
PATRICIA KARVELAS: He didn't say that, though. He said that when something happens, it's it should be enough to just denounce anti-Semitism.
BOWEN: He went on to say that they're not at the same levels. Look, but the point I make-
KARVELAS: Hang on a minute, are you saying they are the same levels? Because we've just seen a targeted attack on a synagogue.
BOWEN: I'm saying Patricia, that both exist and I'm saying that both can be called out.
[CLIP END]
HADLEY: Your response to that insanity?
PATERSON: Yet another train wreck interview from Chris Bowen, who has failed yet again the test of leadership. When we have synagogues and cars and electorate offices belonging to Jewish community members being blown up in fire bombing attacks, that is a full blown anti-Semitism crisis and it should be called out. No reference needs to be made to any other form of racism when we're calling out anti-Semitism. If any other form of racism occurs, of course we should call that out to when it occurs. But when it's the Jewish community who are being persecuted like this, they deserve our solidarity and our unambiguous denunciation of what's happened to them. And you don't have to take my word for it. The director general of ASIO, Mike Burgess, has said since the 7th of October there's been far more anti-Semitism than any other form of hatred. And Victoria Police statistics show almost ten times the number of reports of anti-Semitic hate than any other type of hate crime.
HADLEY: Can you remember any time a mosque has been set on fire?
PATERSON: The only time that happened in Australia in recent years on a serious level was in 2016. And it was by supporters of Islamic State. And they were charged with terrorism offences and they went to jail for 20 years.
HADLEY: So, hang on, It wasn't the Jewish people, it wasn't the Jewish people who set fire to it?
PATERSON: Of course not. It was the supporters of Islamic State who targeted a different part of the Muslim community. They were charged with terrorism offences and they went to jail, as they should.
HADLEY: By the way, while other ministers in the Federal government have posted their own statements, many of them pasting and copying or copying and pasting, what the Prime Minister did. Chris Bowen has not made any statement about the overnight attack in Woollahra. He's only reposted the Prime Minister's post. He can't think of something to say I suppose.
PATERSON: Well that is sadly typical Ray.
HADLEY: What about, just finally what's happened in Sydney? One would have thought, you know, when my staff said to me very early, there's been another attack, about half past four this morning they started talking about it and I said, Where? And I said, no, it couldn't be Woollahra. That's where there's two blokes refused bail. One's not back in court till February, the other one's back next week before a court. They're facing, I think, 21 charges each. I mean, you think, no, there couldn't be anyone out there that stupid? They can't spell, by the way. They slip an extra I into Israel. But it just beggars belief. It absolutely beggars belief.
PATERSON: It does and also it doesn't, Ray. Because when there's been no consequences for the breaking of the law that we've seen in our country over the last 14 months, when the warnings of the Jewish community and the Opposition to the government have been ignored, it actually isn't a surprise that we're seeing more of this. It isn't a surprise it's escalating because extremists have become emboldened. They don't fear the consequences. They don't think this government has their heart in the fight against anti-Semitism.
HADLEY: Thanks for your time and I appreciate your valued input to the program over a long period of time and we will catch up privately sometime in the future.
PATERSON: Good man. Thank you Ray. Thanks for your service.
ENDS
