December 6, 2024
Senator James Paterson: Good morning everyone, thank you very much for being here on what is a terrible day for Melbourne’s Jewish community. I am here with a number of colleagues including federal member for Macnamara Josh Burns, David Southwick the member for Caulfield Tim Wilson, the candidate for Goldstein, Benson Saulo, the candidate for Macnamara, and a number of community leaders who might like to make some statements as well. I just want to first say here, on behalf of the Federal Coalition, that what happened this morning to the Adass Synagogue is totally and utterly unacceptable. It has no place in Australia. And everybody should work with the police to help them make sure that they can get to the bottom of this and for decisive and serious action to be taken against the alleged perpetrators of this incident. We must send a message as a country after the last year that actions like this have consequences, that people will not get away with this kind of behaviour. That in Australia, we do not tolerate violence against religious centres like the synagogue behind us, because if this behaviour continues to be tolerated, this will get worse. There will be more incidents like this, and next time someone will be hurt. That is something that should have no place in Australia, something we should all agree cannot, and should not, happen. I’ll now invite Daniel Aghion to step up and say a few words on behalf of Josh Burns, who's lost his voice.
Mr Daniel Aghion: Josh, unfortunately, has lost his voice. I'm going to read this statement. I do so mindful of the fact that I have representatives of both the government and the coalition, and I wish to say on behalf of the community - the Australian Jewish community - we recognise and are grateful for the bipartisan presence and bipartisan support. Josh's statement is as follows: Adass is a proud and peaceful community built on Holocaust survivors who came to Australia looking for a peaceful home. The synagogue behind us is the centre of Jewish life, of learning and spirituality. I've been inside many times and to see it burnt today is devastating. The attack was a disgrace and extremely dangerous. The rise in anti-Semitism in Australia is shocking and it needs to stop. I'm standing here with James because we need to confront this together. I hope those injured make a full recovery, and may those who committed the crime feel the full force of the law.
Senator Paterson: Thanks Daniel, David?
Mr David Southwick MP: I wanted to firstly begin by recognising the Adass community that is with us today and to say to them, we are with you. And the incident that you've seen, we've all seen, has no place, absolutely no place here in Melbourne, in the heart of Melbourne's Jewish community. And for over 12 months now, the Jewish community have had to deal with targeted attacks, hate, incitement, anti-Semitism and unfortunately there has not been consequences and no one unfortunately would have ever expected that it would have got to this. But I've got to say, we need more than words: we need action. We need action from all governments. We cannot have what's happened here today happen to anybody of any faith, of any background. Victoria has always been the great multicultural state. That is what we have been proud of. That is what we have always championed. But this today is an absolute disgrace. It's a disgrace. Our community is broken. Our community is shaken, and our community deserves action. No more words. Our community deserve action. Where are the consequences? And I would say, and I wanted to thank Victoria Police for how quickly they've stepped in, but once we catch the perpetrators, there needs to be action and consequences for what they have done. There also needs to be proper security for our community going forward. This is the eve of the Sabbath where many of our community will be out and about with their families and with their loved ones and should not have to be hiding. Our community should not have to hide. No community should not have to hide. But unfortunately, that's what it has come to and that is what the government has allowed to happen. The government should have the community's backs, not turn their back on the community, and that's what we have seen. It is not good enough. It is not good enough. And the government must act, and the government must act now.
Senator Paterson: Just very quickly does anyone else want to make any statements? If not, we will take some questions.
Journalist: James, what response would you like to see from Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton, is there bipartisanship on this?
Senator Paterson: Well, I think the Prime Minister's put a statement out this morning, and that's very welcome. What we need to see is consequences for those who are responsible. Peter Dutton and I have been calling for 12 months or more to make sure that there are very serious consequences for people engaged in this behaviour. If you can protest in the streets with a Hezbollah flag or Hamas logo and no one is charged and no one is arrested and no one sent to jail, then unfortunately, the extremists that we do have in our community will become emboldened, and we need to see decisive action to punish the perpetrators for the crime that we all know happened here this morning. Otherwise, I fear they'll continue to be emboldened, and this will get worse, and next time someone will get hurt.
Journalist: Police say they don't suspect terrorism. Do you buy that?
Senator Paterson: Well, it's not for me to do a running commentary on police. They should be allowed to conduct their investigation. What I absolutely understand is why members of this synagogue, why members of this community fear exactly that has happened to them. That's exactly what they have feared would happen to them for the last 12 months. They've been living in a climate of fear. We need to do much more to support them to make sure this is a safe and secure country for everyone.
Journalist: David, you were in Sydney and decided to come back here, can you explain why, and what was your reaction when you first heard about it?
Mr Southwick: Well, I was on a plane about to go to Sydney and I immediately came back here. And because we're a great community, this is a fantastic community. But at the same time, when these things happen, I mean, it's unprecedented. We've seen attacks like this on synagogues happening around the world. No one would expect that this would happen here in Melbourne. There is no question that since October 7th, we have seen a huge rise in anti-Semitism and there has been the fear. But unfortunately, this has realised more than fear, but it's actually come out to play in the most horrible and horrific way. No one expected this. No one would ever expect that the community would have to deal with this, nor should they have to deal with this. And as James rightfully said today, no matter who you are, and no matter what your background, you should be able to come and pray and do that in a respectful, peaceful way and know that you're safe to do that. This is a huge breakdown in what is social cohesion, and every bit of the fabric of Melbourne. If the Government didn't know they had a problem before, well wake up. There is a problem now, and we cannot allow this stuff to happen. We can't. The community needs more than words. They need reassurance that the government is actually going to act and do something, because I think most people that I speak to are sick and tired of weasel words. They want action. They want consequences. And when those people targeted communities, whether it be the Jewish community or any other community, it is simply not on, and there needs to be consequences to that action.
Journalist: Do you think there’s a case for Parliament to come back early to consider the laws that have been proposed? State Parliament?
Mr Southwick: Whatever needs to happen, it needs to happen. The Premier needs to be out today and telling the community and all Victorians what is she going to do to ensure that people are safe in Victoria? What is she going to do to guarantee people's safety? That is the first job of any Premier or any Prime Minister to guarantee the safety of their constituents, and that's what the Government should be doing now. That should be the priority of the Premier, and I expect the Premier to come out today and tell us exactly what she's going to do to guarantee safety for the Jewish community and for every single Victorian. Because today it’s the synagogue, tomorrow it could be a church, a mosque, who knows where? And simply it is not good enough. And it's something that the government needs to step on, and step on before it's too late.
Journalist: Mr. Burns, what would you say to people in the community, well, his spokesman…
Mr Aghion: I’m not his spokesman.
Journalist: … that blame the Labor Party for appeasing the anti-Jewish sentiment, that Jew hatred, the mobs that were protesting last week outside of a synagogue? What do you say to them?
Senator Paterson: I don’t think Josh is in a position to answer, I don’t think Daniel’s in a position to answer for him. What I do want to say is that there will be other Shuls and Synagogues in the area tonight contemplating Friday night prayers and wondering whether they're safe or not to do so. I think it's incumbent on the government and Victoria Police to provide all the necessary security to provide that reassurance that you can safely go about your faith and your worship in this state without any fear of consequences.
Journalist: You think banning protest outside synagogues is a good start? Because we've seen two in the last week and this is a clear escalation?
Senator Paterson: It's astonishing to me that anybody thinks that it's a good idea to protest outside a synagogue or any other place of worship. It should not be tolerated in Australia that you can have a protest outside a synagogue, and unfortunately, we have seen that many times over the last year. A year ago Caulfield Shul not far from here was evacuated on Friday night on police advice because they feared for the safety of the occupants because of a menacing protest that was outside. Now, when that's allowed to happen, when there are no consequences for that, don't be surprised when people are emboldened, they become more extreme, not less, and we have events like we're seeing this morning.
Journalist: Daniel, can I ask you a question? So, I mean, every Sunday since October last year, we've had these rolling protest events. It's always been angry. At times it's been hateful. Do we have to have a serious consideration whether that has to come to an end, that it is basically fuelling the kind of sentiments that leads to this sort of attacks?
Mr Aghion: So let me first identify who I am. I’m Daniel Aghion KC, President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. The issue with the demonstrations and protests in the city is that they are disruptive and they are creating a climate of social dissent. And that's not a Jewish issue. That's a general issue. Go and ask the storekeepers in in Swanston Street whether they want these protests on Sunday, which are affecting their businesses. Go and ask the people who live and work around the CBD whether they're in favour of these protests and they'll tell you they're not. From the Jewish community’s perspective I've heard from many, many people within the Jewish community that quite frankly, don't go into the CBD on Sunday. Or if they do, they will take their skullcap off. They will de-identify as Jews for fear that if they wear this in the central business district, they are at risk of being a target. Now what kind of country have we come to be that a person cannot express their faith according to their religious law for fear that if they do so, they become a target. That's the issue that I have with the protests in the city on behalf of the Jewish...
Journalist: …so at what point do we say enough is enough? If you can't have tolerance any more… <unintelligible>
Mr Aghion: Well, this is the problem. There's an old saying, and I think it was Justice Brandis in the United States who said freedom of speech does not give you the right to shout fire in a crowded theatre. When people talk about freedom of speech and the right to speak politically and the right to the right to protest and demonstrate, there's a natural limit to it. And the natural limit is when it creates fear and lack of safety and risk for others. That's the natural limit. And we passed that limit a long time ago. And that's the reason why I say that the protests, there needs to be a permit system. The protests need to be brought to an end. I mean, the people who are organising, I don't see how they could possibly think that would be assisting their cause to anger Victorians. But that's what they're doing, and they are creating risk and creating fear.
Journalist: And to any of the politicians here, anyone willing to say that those protests should come to an end, those protests on Sunday?
Mr Southwick: I think that goes without saying. I mean, I think we've had enough. The fact that these protesters… we’ve got opportunities, as they showed on the steps of Parliament House, for people to freely express their views. These people, literally, take over the city like it’s theirs. And as we heard Daniel say, it's not just the Jewish community that ultimately bear the brunt of this. You've got traders, you got people that live in the city that have had to deal with it week in, week out. You can't simply have people not only protest, but the kind of inciteful and hateful messaging that with these protests, some of the leaders, what they have said, that that there has been no convictions to any of those. And we've had individuals that have said that we should be targeting Israel, Jews, the US on the United States Independence Day, build tunnels like they did in Israel. We've had people say that. And there's been no arrest and no consequences. So little wonder why we're seeing the kind of activation because it's a free for all in Victoria. And that just should not happen. It should not happen. And ultimately we've got to have a situation where you don't have one group that targets another, without any kind of consequences and ultimately it's going to continue to happen. We've got move on laws, they should be used and there should be any laws necessary, if they need more laws, let's get them. But let's not have excuses from a government and let's not part… what we're seeing for the last 12 months is the Premier blame Victoria Police. Victoria Police saying we don't have enough powers. Enough of the blame game. Let's get some answers and let's ensure that there is safety for all Victorians. No matter who you are, no matter where you come from.
Journalist: The protesters for a year have insisted that it's not about Jews, it's about Zionism. This is not a Zionist synagogue. Why do you think they attacked this synagogue?
Senator Paterson: Well, when people say ‘globalise the intifada’, I think this is what they mean. I think they mean bring the violence from the Middle East here in Australia, and we don't want that. And we have to send a very clear message as a country that it's not acceptable here that we won't tolerate that here, and that there will be real consequences for people who have done these acts and who have incited these acts. And it is astonishing to me that there are still people who are selling stickers that are anti-semitic in our CBD every weekend, that there are still people who think it's okay to protest outside a synagogue, that there's still people who think it's okay to wave the flag of a listed terrorist organisation in defiance of the law. But unfortunately, there are some people who feel that way because they haven't met the consequences of their actions over the last year. And until they do, we can expect to see more of this.
Journalist: There were some comments overnight from the office of Benjamin Netanyahu about the Albanese government. Not to draw any links but are you concerned about what they've said, and given what happened in the UN in the last 48 hours?
Senator Paterson: Look, I've been very vocal about this for many months. I'm very concerned about the state of bilateral relations between Australia and Israel. Israel is, outside of the Five Eyes, one of our most important intelligence and security partners. There have been terrorist attacks in our country which have been thwarted by the assistance of Israeli intelligence. And I'm very concerned about the state of bilateral affairs when it comes to former ministers of Israeli governments being blocked from coming to our country, when it comes to our votes at the United Nations, I think that has damaged that relationship. It's an important relationship, and we should be stewarding it and protecting it and not trashing it.
Journalist: …do you think it's fair that a lot of the community is blaming the government for the escalation in anti-Semitism, the lack of convictions, the lack of actually doing something about it?
Senator Paterson: Well, again, I've been very clear on this. I think the governments, state and federal, should have been stronger earlier in confronting this problem. I think they should have been more moral clarity on these questions. I think there should be more law enforcement when it comes to these questions. And I am concerned that things will get worse until that happens. I think, though, we're going to have to leave it there. Thanks, everyone.
ENDS
