Protesters disrupt Beazley’s AUJS oration
DEMONSTRATORS interrupted Australia's former ambassador to the United States, Kim Beazley, as he was delivering this year's Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) Sir Zelman Cowen Oration.
DEMONSTRATORS interrupted Australia’s former ambassador to the United States, Kim Beazley, as he was delivering this year’s Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) Sir Zelman Cowen Oration at the St Kilda Town Hall auditorium.
In two separate incidents during Beazley’s landmark March 1 speech on the Australia-US relationship, two groups of protesters sprang from their seats, producing placards and chanting slogans condemning the ALP elder for his corporate links to American defence contractor Lockheed Martin. Thirteen minutes into Beazley’s address, the first group rose and began chanting, “Lock up Beazley, Lockheed shill, how many children did you kill?”, continuing their chants for more than a minute before being forced from the auditorium by security officials.
But seven minutes later, the former Labor Opposition leader and senior frontbencher’s words were drowned out again by another group, chanting, “Bomber Beazley, you can’t hide, you’re committing genocide”. The second group continued their chants for around 30 seconds until they were ejected, and Beazley completed his speech.
The protests focused on news last year that Beazley had joined the board of Lockheed Martin Australia, a subsidiary of the US aerospace, defence and security giant. AUJS national vice-president Lexi Kowal and Victorian president Saul Burston later apologised to Beazley from the podium but the veteran politician was philosophical about the protests. Identifying them as Lockheed-related, he told his capacity town hall audience that worse had been done to him in his public life, including blood being hurled at him, and becoming the target of airborne soup.
But the noisy interruptions did not deter the former Washington envoy from delivering an insightful analysis of Australia’s relationship with the US. Beazley said the trans-Pacific relationship is strong and can withstand the current climate of “insecurity, disrespect and demagoguery” he linked to Brexit, the election of far-right politicians in Europe and the victory of US President Donald Trump.
Beazley argued the Australia-US bond was cemented by investment, with America’s total business investment in Australia worth $1.5 trillion and Australia’s investment in the US at more than $600 million. Meanwhile, China lagged at around seventh on the ladder of nations’ investments in Australia.
He paid tribute to Australia’s Jews, naming Sir John Monash, Sir Isaac Isaacs and Sir Zelman Cowen as three of its greats. Sir Zelman, whose memory the oration honours, calmed the national debate as governor-general after the divisive dismissal of the Whitlam government in 1975, said Beazley, and, in contrast to today’s global discourse, “was the essence of liberal decency, of considered speech aimed at healing, not hurting … it’s impossible to contain that kind of logic, that kind of exposition, in a 10-second grab on TV”.
Introducing Beazley, Rabbi Dr John Levi lauded Lady Anna Cowen, who was in the audience among 16 members of the Cowen family, as “a model of stamina, inspiration and personal courage”.
PETER KOHN
comments