Senator apologises for remark

Queensland Liberal Senator Paul Scarr has apologised for comments he made during a Senate debate on September 8, in which he used the analogy of the “Dreyfus Affair” to refer to the alleged ministerial conduct of Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus.

Arguing that Dreyfus may have breached the Ministerial code of conduct due to indirectly owning shares in a company that funds litigation, Scarr said, “This will be known as the Dreyfus Affair. Just as Captain Dreyfus ended up on the literal Devil’s Island in French Guinea, I suspect the Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus will end up on the devil’s island of the ministerial code of conduct.”

Writing to The AJN this week, Scarr said, “During a heated debate … I made reference to the Dreyfus Affair. I apologise for doing so.

“I am very familiar with the injustice perpetrated against Captain Dreyfus. My familiarity with the case is even more reason for me to apologise for the reference.”

Responding to the apology, Dreyfus stated, “As Senator Scarr should have known, the Dreyfus Affair involved an innocent French army officer persecuted for being Jewish. While I have not heard from Senator Scarr directly, I am pleased to hear he now understands this and I welcome his withdrawal and apology.”

Macnamara MP Josh Burns, who criticised Scarr’s reference last week, welcomed the apology, noting the initial remark “was a completely inappropriate comparison and a good reminder that we must remain vigilant against antisemitism no matter where it appears”.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Peter Wertheim said it had been “a surprising and disappointing lapse by Senator Scarr who is a long-standing friend of the Jewish community and is usually well-informed”.

“Senator Scarr was right to apologise, and his apology should be accepted,” he added.

Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said Scarr had reached out to him personally to apologise.

“He’d become fully aware of the inappropriateness of his remarks. I thanked him for reaching out and his genuineness in doing so,” he said.

Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council executive director Colin Rubenstein, whom Scarr also approached, called the remark “inappropriate and ill-considered”, welcomed the Senator’s “expressions of regret personally to us and other communal leaders”.

“Senator Scarr has otherwise a fine record of support for Israel and condemnation of antisemitism and we look forward to working constructively with him on these issues in the future,” he said.