We cannot say we weren’t warned

When I entered the Victorian Parliament, I never imagined that one day Australia would be confronting a national crisis of antisemitism serious enough to warrant a Royal Commission.

As the Member for Caulfield, home to one of Australia’s largest Jewish communities, I have spent years listening to victims of antisemitism, supporting families affected by hate, and advocating for stronger action to protect a community that has increasingly felt vulnerable in its own country.

It is my hope that this Royal Commission provides an opportunity to examine how we arrived at this point and, more importantly, what must be done to ensure future generations never experience what so many Jewish Australians have endured in recent years.

The firebombing of Melbourne’s Adass Israel synagogue shocked the nation. It was an attack on religious freedom, on the values that underpin our multicultural society.

The Bondi terrorist attack, which claimed 15 lives and remains Australia’s deadliest terrorist attack on home soil, was a devastating reminder of the consequences of allowing hatred and violent extremism to go unchecked. These events captured national attention, but the uncomfortable truth is that neither occurred in a vacuum.