January 22, 2025
ANDREW BOLT: Joining me is James Paterson, the Opposition's Home Affairs spokesman. James Paterson, thanks for joining me. The Prime Minister says we were wrong to report that it had picked Sue Lines, an anti-Israel campaigner, to represent us at Auschwitz, where a million Jews were murdered, which seems highly inappropriate for her to be there. To believe that he didn't know anything about it. And that the story is wrong.
JAMES PATERSON: No, I think the Prime Minister is being dishonest yet again. Your colleague Cam Reddin has the facts in black and white. An email from the Department of Home Affairs dated in December last year, which names the President of the Senate, Sue Lines, as the delegation leader and even named a member of her staff who would be accompanying her along with other delegation members. It seems very clear that the government made a bad decision, that they regretted it and they're now trying to cover up their tracks. And it is a shocking decision because Sue Lines is one of the most anti-Israel MPs in the Australian Parliament. But the government's backup plan is not much better. I can tell you that the decision to send the Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, has gone down almost as badly with the Australian Jewish community as Sue Lines has because Penny Wong has led the international vilification of the state of Israel, while it has been defending itself from a listed terrorist organisation that conducted the worst atrocity against Jews since the Holocaust.
BOLT: Then again, you'd be hard put to find anyone in this government that has been a friend of the Jewish community in Australia and senior enough to represent the government at Auschwitz. It is just such a scandal. It's a disgrace. Meanwhile, the Australian Federal Police and Anthony Albanese have said today that overseas actors may be behind some of this anti-Jewish terrorism here. Does that seem credible?
PATERSON: Well, it's theoretically possible. It's certainly something that an overseas actor might be willing to do, but it's not something that should be put into the media without a very solid foundation, without strong intelligence and strong evidence. And from what I understand, that does not appear to be the case. And putting this out here today has struck incredible fear in the hearts of the Jewish community. I have been contacted by multiple members of the community to ask me whether or not the IRGC, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran, is trying to kill Australian Jews as a result of this public statement. Now, I think that's irresponsible, I think that's dangerous that this speculation has been allowed to be put out there. And the Prime Minister does need to be more upfront about what he knows, when he found out about it and what he's doing about it, to make sure that our community here in Australia is safe.
BOLT: Now my guess, shall I call it that, is that they're probably looking at criminal gangs. Middle Eastern criminal gangs. But Middle Eastern as an Australian Middle Eastern. And that Iran, who knows, Iran might have hired them. In fact, Iran overseas has reportedly used criminal gangs already in Britain, France and Germany. If it's done that here as well, what does it mean? How should we react?
PATERSON: Well, it means that the Prime Minister's weak and slow response to this crisis would be even worse than we thought it was because he wouldn't have just failed to deal with a domestic terrorism crisis but potentially an international state-sponsored terrorism crisis on his watch targeting the Australian Jewish community. It means the response from him should have been even tougher and stronger and swifter because it's the most serious national security crisis we've faced outside of wartime. It's the most serious peacetime security crisis we would have faced. And does the government give you any sense that they're treating it with that level of seriousness, that they're putting that level of resources or energy behind this task? I mean, he has to be convinced to hold a national cabinet. And even when he finally agreed to do so, the only outcome was a new database tracking antisemitic incidents. We already have databases tracking antisemitic incidents. And that's not going to stop terrorists blowing up synagogues or childcare centres.
BOLT: I'm just wondering if he can, if it turns out, in fact, that it is true that some of the worst attacks have been caused by people overseas hiring maybe criminal gangs here or just low lives to torch Jewish buildings or whatever? If that does prove the case, does that mean then that you can't keep blaming the worst attacks on Albanese's weak leadership?
PATERSON: No, Andrew, because strong action and deterrence could have helped prevent this in the first place and could still help prevent further attacks like this happening as well. Because even if people are being paid to do this by foreign actors, they still fear the consequences of the law. And locking them away with strong mandatory minimum sentences would not only send a strong deterrence effect to those people but would also help get them off the streets and remove the danger that they pose to the community. So I think it would be an even further and more serious indictment on the Prime minister's weakness if this is, in fact, the case.
BOLT: Senator James Paterson, thank you so much indeed for your time.
PATERSON: Thanks, Andrew.
ENDS
