Pesutto wants action on social cohesion

The Victorian Opposition Leader, John Pesutto, has called for stronger government action to protect the Jewish community.

Speaking at a multicultural press conference on Wednesday night, he said government agencies need to move beyond “words of comfort” to take concrete action protecting vulnerable communities.

“It’s not enough for governments to say publicly words of comfort, as important as they might be, to any particular group in our community. Those words are important, but they’re not enough on their own,” Pesutto said.

The Opposition Leader outlined specific measures he believes are needed to protect social cohesion, including a stronger response from law enforcement.

“Victoria Police needs to crack down on incitement to violence, and that’s not just incitement against the Jewish community through antisemitic incidents. It’s any group in society that is the target of incitement,” he said.

Mr Pesutto criticised key Victorian institutions, particularly the Victorian Multicultural Commission and the Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, for failing to take sufficient action to protect community harmony.

“I want to see those agencies engage in active work to condition public opinion, raise awareness in an active way,” he said.

Pesutto expressed frustration at the apparent lack of concrete programmes targeting risks to social cohesion, noting that agency reports often fail to demonstrate meaningful action.

“When you go through the reports of these organisations, you often struggle to discern evidence of actual work to address those risks and to target cohorts in the community that might be prone to engage in behaviour that threatens social cohesion of any group,” he said.

The comments came in response to questions from The Australian Jewish News about mounting concerns over antisemitism and its broader impact on relations between majority Australia and minority communities.