Mark Dreyfus set to be dumped from cabinet
'It is regrettable that internal factional politics, rather than any considerations of merit, are pointing to his departure from the Cabinet,' says ECAJ president Daniel Aghion
There will be no Jewish Member of Parliament on a federal government frontbench for the first time in 15 years if, as expected, Mark Dreyfus is dumped from Labor’s cabinet today.
News reports emerged on Thursday that factional negotiations within the Labor caucus, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, would see the Attorney-General dumped in favour of second-term Hawke MP Sam Rae. Muslim MP Ed Husic is also set to be dropped.
The AJN understands Prime Minister Anthony Albanese does not plan to intervene.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion said Dreyfus “deserves kinder treatment from his party and the government”.
“As federal Attorney-General in the Albanese, Gillard and Rudd governments, and in other Cabinet positions, Mark has been a safe pair of hands and a key intellectual leader,” Aghion said.
“In close consultation with the Jewish community, he initiated important legislative reforms to make our anti-incitement laws more workable, and to ban the public display of Nazi and terrorist symbols, the Nazi salute and the trade in Nazi memorabilia.
“His department continues to work with the ECAJ to oversee the allocation of grants totalling $57.5m for Jewish community security. We had been advocating for the introduction of these measures for ten years, but they were only brought into effect under Mark’s leadership.”
Aghion described Dreyfus’s corporate memory and depth of understanding of these issues as “second to none”.
“It is regrettable that internal factional politics, rather than any considerations of merit, are pointing to his departure from the Cabinet,” he said.
“We thank Mark for his friendship and his service to Australia, and wish him well for the future. We look forward to working with Mark’s likely successor Sam Rae.”
Aghion also paid tribute to Husic, saying, “Ed has been a moderate, sensible voice in Labor politics for many years. As the first Muslim to be elected to federal parliament, as well as the first Muslim to be made a Minister in the Australian Government, he has set a high bar for anyone seeking to follow in his footsteps.
“His dealings with the Jewish community have always been honourable, and a model of how Australians of Jewish and Muslim background should engage with one another.”
Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said, “Mark Dreyfus has made an enormous contribution to the Government, particularly in the area of national security, and has supported the Jewish community in its time of need.
“His departure would represent a significant loss to Australian public life.”
Australia/Israel& Jewish Affairs Council executive director Colin Rubenstein congratulated Dreyfus “on his long and devoted service to his party and the nation”.
“He has always been attentive to our community’s needs and concerns, for which we are very grateful. His legacy as Attorney-General includes important and badly-needed reforms to anti-incitement legislation and significant enhancements to communal security, and his term in office will also be remembered for his warm bridge-building visit to Israel representing the Government this past January,” Rubenstein said.
“It is clear he lost his portfolio due to factional politics, and this loss should not in any way undermine the great respect he earned for his meritorious contributions to Australia as a Minister. As a prominent MP, we trust he will still have much scope to make important contributions to dealing with the pressing problems and opportunities Australia faces in the challenging times ahead.”
Dreyfus came under fire from the Jewish community for preferencing the Greens second on his how-to-vote cards along with most Labor MPs and candidates prior to last weekend’s federal election.
However, as Attorney-General, he has overseen the passing of a slew of legislation aimed at combatting hate and keeping the Jewish community safe.
The Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024, passed in February, “is a direct response to the shocking rise in antisemitism over the past year”, Dreyfus told The AJN at the time.
In November 2024, a doxxing ban introduced by Dreyfus was passed into law. That followed the doxxing of 600 Jewish creatives in WhatsApp group early last year.
In December 2023, the Attorney-General said a ban on performing Nazi salutes and publicly displaying or trading in Nazi hate symbols “sends a clear message that there is no place in Australia for acts and symbols that glorify the horrors of the Holocaust.”
While Dreyfus has been Attorney-General, the Jewish community has received $57.5 million in security funding from the government.
During a National Press Club address in July 2024, Dreyfus said singling out Israel and applying a standard to Israel that they do not apply to other countries “absolutely can be” antisemitic.
Jewish Labor MP Mike Freelander slammed the decision to dump Dreyfus as “pathetic” on Wednesday, according to the Daily Telegraph.
He said he told a Labor Right faction meeting that “there was an ill wind blowing through this parliament, and the effect of which we won’t know for some time, but I thought that we should be ashamed of ourselves for what we’ve done”.
Also according to the Daily Telegraph, former Prime Minister Paul Keating said the decisions to dump both Dreyfus and Husic displayed “poor judgement and unfairness”.
“As the cabinet’s sole Muslim member, his [Husic’s] expulsion from the ministry proffers contempt for the measured and centrist support provided by the broader Muslim community to the Labor Party at the general election,’’ Keating said.
“And to round out the day, the factional lightweights also dumped the cabinet’s most effective and significant Jewish member, the attorney general Mark Dreyfus, a showing of poor judgment, unfairness and diminished respect for the contribution of others.”
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