October 10, 2024
PETER STEFANOVIC: Well, two students have been arrested by police during a pro-Palestinian protest at Western Sydney University.
[Clip of students protesters and police]
STEFANOVIC: Let's go to Canberra. Joining us live is the Shadow Home Affairs Minister, James Paterson. James and Western Sydney Uni isn't alone here. You had anti-Israel protests at the University of Melbourne in your state, accusing a Jewish professor of being a war criminal, according to The Australian this morning. So what are your thoughts on all of this still happening?
JAMES PATERSON: There's been some really alarming and concerning displays at university campuses around our country in the last 12 months where extremist students and some non-students have behaved with total impunity. Too many universities have adopted a soft approach to this issue, have tolerated this behaviour, and I'm particularly concerned by what happened at the University of Melbourne, where a Jewish professor had his office invaded while he was racially harassed and vilified by these students. That's totally and utterly unacceptable, but it's not surprising when universities have taken such a soft approach.
STEFANOVIC: Well, on that. WSU says it's committed to free speech. Is this free speech?
PATERSON: Well, credit to Western Sydney University because its chancellor, Jennifer Westacott, has been actually one of the most outspoken university leaders on these issues with some real moral clarity very early in the debate around these protests. So I give her credit. I'll be very interested to see how they handle this issue. It is quite a step to see police called to campus to deal with protesters. They would not do that lightly. Police, frankly, have been reluctant to go onto campus to deal with these matters. So I suspect they did so under extreme provocation and I look forward to seeing whether any charges can be laid.
STEFANOVIC: These students of the leaders of tomorrow James. What do you think about that?
PATERSON: Well, the good news Pete, is that although we do have some problems with extremism on campus, this really is an extreme minority. You know at the University of Melbourne, for example, there's 50,000 students and at that sit in protest earlier this year, there was about 300 students involved. So about 98% of the university campus was going on about their studies in a normal way. It really is a tiny minority, but that's one of the reasons why it's appropriate for universities to take a tough approach here. They're actually disrupting the study and the learning of every other student who has no interest in their extremism, and they're taking over university spaces that they're not entitled to. And frankly, trespassing and camping on campus shouldn't be permitted no matter what the ideology behind the movement is. That's not a protest. That's an occupation. And police and universities should deal with it much more firmly then they have.
STEFANOVIC: Okay. Let's close on a lighter note here. According to the Herald Sun, James, there is this push because Question Time was moved yesterday. So the Prime Minister go could go to ASEAN. Now there's this push to move question time so that everybody can watch the Melbourne Cup in November. Are you one of those?
PATERSON: Well, this is a great virtue of being in the Senate Pete, because the Senate question time is from 2:00 till 3:00. It's been quite common for us to sit on Melbourne Cup Day in the past and we managed to finish question time, doing our jobs, and still watch the Melbourne Cup afterwards. So there you go.
STEFANOVIC: So is it more important, I mean, if it's elsewhere or is it more important to watch the Melbourne Cup than run the country?
PATERSON: Well, I'll just make the point that Anthony Albanese is moving question time for his own convenience. He said that it was so he could leave to go to ASEAN and he finished question time after only just one hour in the House of Representatives yesterday. Normally it goes for longer than that, because he had to get on a plane. But 40 minutes later, he was talking to your colleague, Kieran Gilbert on Sky News. Now far be it from me to discourage anyone from coming on Sky News. That's an important endeavour. But he clearly wasn't rushing off to the airport. He was hanging around his office, probably having a few meetings, having a cup of tea, having a chat with Kieran. Then maybe he went to get on the plane. So I don't think you need to reorganise question time if really it's about a media commitment and a meeting rather than actually travelling for important international business.
STEFANOVIC: Point taken. James Paterson, good to chat as always. We'll talk to you soon.
ENDS
