Coalition’s antisemitism blueprint
"Stronger action and stronger national leadership could have prevented this," says Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.
In the aftermath of the arson attack on Adass Israel shule, now a declared terrorist act, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Victorian Liberal Senator James Paterson have laid out a comprehensive strategy to combat rampant antisemitism in Australia, including an antisemitism taskforce.
The Coalition also panned the Albanese government’s announcement of an Australian Federal Police (AFP) taskforce it claims falls “a day late and a dollar short” of the Opposition’s model.
Unveiling the Coalition’s strategy on Monday, Dutton stated, “The firebombing of the Adass Israel synagogue on Friday morning is the sadly predictable outcome of Labor’s failure to heed the warnings of the Australian Jewish community and the Coalition.
“Stronger action and stronger national leadership could have prevented this. A Dutton Coalition government will act from day one to fix Labor’s law enforcement crisis through a number of new policy measures.”
Meanwhile, flanked by AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw and Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) director-general Mike Burgess on Monday, PM Anthony Albanese announced Operation Avalite, “a Commonwealth-led taskforce that will work with state and territory police forces”.
But Paterson, the Coalition’s home affairs spokesman, later said of the government initiative, “It’s not a taskforce, it’s a specific operation.
“What we have asked for is a standing taskforce that brings together not just the Federal Police and ASIO, but all other arms of law enforcement, security and intelligence at the federal level.”
The Coalition model, according to Dutton and Paterson, would comprise a taskforce led by the AFP and incorporating ASIO, but would additionally tap the resources of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, the Australian Border Force, and state police. It would also be empowered to deport any visa holders involved in antisemitic activities.
Other components of the Coalition antisemitism blueprint include a new ministerial direction to the AFP to prioritise addressing antisemitism, including any outstanding complaints and unsolved crimes against the Jewish community since October 7, 2023, including doxxing, public display of terrorist symbols, incitement and harassment.
The Coalition would amend the character provisions of the Migration Act to ensure antisemitic conduct is captured in law and applies retrospectively to acts of hatred towards the Jewish community since the 2023 Hamas attacks.
comments