We have to work with the government
Antisemitism has not gone away and we have to work hand in hand with our government to combat it.
The Australian people have spoken and they have resoundingly endorsed Labor to govern for another three years.
Labor’s decisive majority is good news for stability and certainty. The fact it is not a hung Parliament will provide some relief to the Jewish community who worried that the Greens may hold the balance of power.
At the time of writing, the Greens have held steady in the Senate but face a wipeout in the House. They have lost at least two of their Queensland seats in Brisbane and Griffith, they have failed to win target seats including Macnamara, and even Adam Bandt is trailing in Melbourne. This is fantastic news. I have been one of the Greens’ strongest critics for their radical and extreme anti-Israel positions and at times blatant antisemitic rhetoric and propaganda, especially since October 7.
There will be many groups who want to claim victory for this result, but make no mistake, the Greens have done badly because Labor has taken votes from them. The proof is there for anyone who doubted this message – the way to stop the Greens from winning seats like Macnamara is to not just vote against them but to actively vote for Labor.
I’m ecstatic for my friend Josh Burns, who will remain a strong advocate for the Jewish community and Israel in a second-term Albanese government.
Josh has rebuilt Labor’s primary vote since inheriting Macnamara and Labor’s two-party preferred vote is currently sitting at 65 per cent. He has finished first in primary votes two elections in a row and now has the highest Labor primary in this seat in 15 years. At the time of writing, he has seen a swing to him on primary not only in every booth, but on pre-poll and postal voting as well. The evidence indicates that Jewish voters did not abandon Josh at all, they swung to him.
This should also be a lesson to some fringe Jewish groups who targeted Josh relentlessly, urging the community to abandon him or claimed that a vote for Labor would risk a Greens victory, when the opposite was true. Working with right-wing group Advance Australia – who leaked a poll to the Herald Sun claiming Josh would come third and lose – this was a dangerous and distasteful partnership.
Thankfully, the community saw through this and have rejected the politics of fear, intimidation and abuse.
I don’t hide from the fact that there will be challenges to rebuild relationships with Labor, especially around their changing position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, both sides need to be mature enough to admit that we have both got work to do.
Labor’s approach to combating the rise in antisemitism should have been stronger earlier, though the Prime Minister’s leadership became strident in the latter parts of 2024, leading with legislation to outlaw doxxing, Nazi salutes and symbols, and stronger anti-vilification laws, all important measures to combat antisemitism, as was the appointment of Jillian Segal as special envoy to combat antisemitism.
The other thing to say about these legislative efforts is credit must go to the Attorney-General for spearheading them. Mark Dreyfus is a proud Jewish Australian who has let his actions as our first law officer do the talking. He has responded to our call for stronger legal protections against antisemitism and security funding for our community. He also made a powerful visit to Israel and the sites of the October 7 massacres, and even wore his yellow hostage pin to a meeting with the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. And he declared at the National Press Club that anti-Zionism is antisemitism – and the power of this statement from a senior Labor minister should not be underestimated.
A loud minority of Jewish people have questioned Mark’s commitment to our community. One Sky News host even labelled him by a despicable slur on air. That should have been condemned by all in the Jewish community, and I particularly thank ZFA president Jeremy Leibler for doing so – but he should not have been a lone voice.
Tensions were high about Labor preferences, but the reality is Labor preferencing the Greens did not help the Greens win seats – on the contrary, Labor’s campaign beat the Greens in their heartland. It is far better to beat the Greens than to virtue-signal against them.
Our community should have confidence that the Albanese government will continue to treat us with respect on issues that concern our community, with Richard Marles, a strong friend of the community as Deputy Prime Minister, and Jewish MPs Josh Burns, Mark Dreyfus and Mike Freelander who remain critical and influential voices to represent our interests.
So too can we appreciate bipartisan representation, with my friend Julian Leeser also securing his seat despite a swing against the Liberals. We are always better off having voices on both sides and we must be able to deal with the government of the day, whatever its party.
Our future in this country is secure, but we have work to do to rebuild after the terrible pain we have endured since October 7. Antisemitism has not gone away and we have to work hand in hand with our government to combat it. I believe this is a task we can achieve together.
Philip Dalidakis is a former Labor Victorian government minister.
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