Judicial inquiry into campus hate rejected

The Senate Committee considering legislation to establish a judicial enquiry into antisemitism at universities has recommended rejecting the Bill, and instead suggested an inquiry be undertaken by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights.

In its report handed down on Tuesday afternoon, the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee said it was “deeply troubled” by the experiences of Jewish students and staff on campus and that “university responses to incidents of antisemitism, and the fears of Jewish students and staff, have been woefully inadequate”.

“Clearly, further action is required to address the current tensions on university campuses and protect the safety of students and staff,” the Committee’s report said.

“However, the committee does not consider this Bill the most appropriate mechanism for doing so. The committee is concerned that a commission of inquiry would be too slow.”

Instead, noting that “it is entirely within the power of Australian universities to take action to address antisemitism now”, it called on all Australian universities to “urgently review their complaints processes and give effect to any and all changes necessary to ensure these processes are known to and understood by students and staff, and deliver real and meaningful outcomes for complainants”.

It further recommended “the Attorney-General immediately refers an inquiry into antisemitism at Australian universities to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights”.

The Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) said the organisation stood ready to work with the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights “to ensure Jewish students’ voices are heard and amplified”.

“The damning evidence that came out of this inquiry highlighted that Jewish students need tangible action now,” it said in a media release.

“While we support a Judicial Inquiry into antisemitism on campus, we hope a parliamentary inquiry will bring much-needed accountability for what Jewish students have endured. We need a truth-telling process that reveals the prevalence of antisemitism and highlights the deficiencies in university responses.

“A parliamentary inquiry cannot be used as a mechanism to delay and distract from the urgent action needed to address antisemitism on campus. It must lead to lasting reform.”

As Chair of the Human Rights Committee, Member for Macnamara Josh Burns said he would welcome any referral given by the Attorney-General.

“Personally, I’ve seen the courage and wisdom shown by Jewish students and staff. They deserve to be able to go to university free from discrimination,” he said.

“Clearly, there’s urgent work which needs to be done to ensure that they can.”

But expressing disappointment at the outcome, Shadow Minister for Education Sarah Henderson and Senator Paul Scarr expressed concerns that the Committee had not listened to the recommendations of the government’s own recently appointed Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal.

In a dissenting report, Senator Henderson said the case to establish a judicial inquiry was overwhelming.

“Given Labor’s failure of leadership on campus antisemitism, the Prime Minister must start listening to his Antisemitism Envoy and major Jewish organisations which strongly support a judicial inquiry,” she said.

“Jewish students should not be forced to choose between their education and their safety.”

Senator Henderson said that with the anniversary of the Hamas-led October 7 massacre “just days away”, the Jewish community was grappling with the ugly spread of antisemitism across Australia.

“That is why urgent action on campus antisemitism, including financial penalties for universities which fail to comply with student safety policies, is crucial,” she said.

“The proposal by the government-controlled committee for another parliamentary inquiry, without the powers, resources and expertise of a judicial inquiry, is inadequate.

“Similarly, after the distress and harm suffered by Jewish students and staff for almost a year, any suggestion universities should be responsible for reviewing their own policies is untenable.”

Federal MP Julian Leeser has accused Labor of deserting the Jewish community by dismissing the evidence in hundreds of submissions calling for a judicial inquiry.

“Labor has ignored the calls of Jewish students and staff,” he said.

“They have ignored the calls of every major Jewish organisation in the country and the recommendations of the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism who was recently appointed by the Albanese Government.

“Labor is running out of excuses to oppose a judicial inquiry given such an inquiry is not opposed by either the Australian Human Rights Commission or Australia’s universities. Indeed, a great irony is that Sydney University Vice Chancellor Mark Scott took this process seriously, but Labor hasn’t.”

Leeser said the recommendation that the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights inquire into the issue of antisemitism at Australian universities is “tone deaf” to the wishes of the Jewish community.

“To throw this issue to a parliamentary committee at the end of a parliamentary term which is unlikely to report this side of the election, if at all, is an insult to Jewish students and staff who are having to confront these issues every day,” he said.

Leeser added that Jewish Australians “will be treated like a political football” at a time when Jewish students and staff are feeling especially vulnerable.

“To expect witnesses to have confidence in giving evidence before people like the Greens Senator David Shoebridge, who addressed the Melbourne riot and condemned the actions of police, is insulting,” said Leeser.

Similarly, Member for Wentworth Allegra Spender, who has supported a judicial inquiry from the beginning, she she was and disappointed that it has been rejected.

“The hearings of the Inquiry have shone a light on the terrible experience of Jewish students. Antisemitism is a significant problem in our universities and we need to find ways to address it,” she said. “This Parliamentary Inquiry must provide much needed accountability and lead to lasting reform – we can’t let this be politicised any further.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Peter Wertheim expressed “shock and dismay” on behalf of the roof body that a judicial inquiry had been rejected.

“The government has not listened to the hundreds of Jewish students, staff and community members who told their stories to the Committee and urged it to call for a judicial inquiry, or understood the depth of their concerns,” he said.

“An inquiry conducted by a senior judge would take the politics out of the issue, whereas another parliamentary inquiry will put the politics back in.  it is in the interests of the whole country, not just the Jewish community, to get to the whole truth about the nature and extent of antisemitism at Australian universities.”

Wertheim said the parliamentary Human Rights Committee “does not have the remit or the compulsive power to deal with the issue more broadly”.

“The presence of a Greens and former Greens Senator will also raise trust issues and may deter Jewish students and staff members from coming forward a second time,” he added.

Zionist Federation of Australia CEO Alon Cassuto commented, “The Jewish community called strongly for a judicial inquiry, and it’s a shame the Senate hasn’t heeded our calls.

“The overwhelming consensus—from Jewish organisations, students, staff, and the government-appointed Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism—was that only a judicial inquiry can deliver the much-needed systemic changes at our universities. It is disheartening that this recommendation has not been adopted.

He added, “It’s concerning that universities are being tasked with solving the very issues they have failed to address. Self-regulation is not the answer. University leadership has repeatedly fallen short in tackling antisemitism, and we do not have the confidence they can deliver the meaningful changes needed.”

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