Josh Burns: ‘I’ve been in there fighting for the community’
Burns is keenly aware of the frustration felt by many in the Jewish community.
Josh Burns has held Macnamara since 2019, an electorate where around 10 per cent are Jewish.
Asked why he believes he is the best candidate, Burns replied, “I have been able to use my position to get outcomes for the community and ensure that we have a strong voice inside government.”
He added, “I’ve been in there fighting for our community and for me … it’s not a choice … this is who I am, and this is something that I take extremely seriously … I want to make sure that our community has people fighting for them in government.”
He said he is proud of his work as chair of the Parliamentary Joint Commission on Human Rights, which led an inquiry into antisemitism at universities, which made “serious recommendations around improvements of university governance”, shining a light on “the way in which universities have managed or mismanaged antisemitism in an attempt to change the culture of Australian universities”.
Burns said he has also pushed for legislation to ban the Nazi salute and swastika, laws against doxxing and supported over $50 million in funding for Jewish security.
Regarding Labor’s pledge of over $30 million to rebuild the Adass synagogue, Burns said it was important that a message was sent that “Australia does not accept a synagogue being burned down, and the federal government will do everything it needs to, to ensure that it is rebuilt.”
Burns has personally faced threats and violence, his electorate office was firebombed and vandalised last year.
Burns is keenly aware of the frustration felt by many in the Jewish community that Labor has not sufficiently supported Israel. He publicly criticised Australia’s vote at the UN boosting Palestinian recognition.
He told The AJN that Australia cannot “force anyone to do anything over there”, so the focus should be on countering vilification in Australia, and supporting positive initiatives such as the $4 million pledged to Project Rozana, an Israeli-Palestinian health collaboration.
Macnamara was once a safe Labor seat, but Burns says he fears a Greens victory. He declined to preference the Greens, concerned by their extremism and is running an open ticket.
Burns remarked, “It’s not just me saying that the Liberals are not going to win … I’m not just asking people to strategically vote one Labor. I’m asking you to vote one Labor knowing that I’m going to fight for the community.”
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