Another chance for the government to stop hate

When Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appointed Jillian Segal as Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism in July 2024, we opined here that the government’s true test would be whether or not it listened to her.

The government failed that test last year when it did not back a judicial inquiry into antisemitism at universities, which Segal had joined community leaders in calling for.It then ignored the Executive Council of Australian Jewry’s plan to tackle the scourge presented in February this year.

In the meantime, things have only gotten worse, as evidenced by the horror show of hatred we witnessed in Melbourne earlier this month.

Now, the government has another opportunity to seriously tackle the problem, and we welcome Albanese’s stated commitment to begin adopting some of Segal’s points, with the hope that concrete action will follow. At a bare immediate minimum, hate crime and vilification laws need to be strengthened, Holocaust and antisemitism studies need to be taught in every Australian school, and universities should be closely monitored for their tolerance of antisemitism.

To tackle the problem at its root, Segal’s recommendations relating to regulating online hate, addressing antisemitism in cultural spaces and screening visa applicants for extremism are also essential.