I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and pay my respects to their Elders, past and present. I extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people here today.
I acknowledge the many distinguished people participating in today's Sky News Antisemitism Summit.
I am here as Attorney-General of Australia.
I represent the House of Representatives seat named in honour of Isaac Isaacs, Australia's first Jewish Attorney-General, Justice of the High Court and Governor-General.
I am also the son of a Holocaust survivor.
In 1939 this country provided sanctuary to my father George when he escaped Nazi Germany as an 11 year old boy.
Three of my great-grandparents perished in the Holocaust.
Antisemitism, the world's oldest hatred, has left an indelible and devastating mark on my family.
As it has with many in this room.
Like all of you, I have found the rise of antisemitic rhetoric and violence in our country since Hamas' acts of terror on 7 October 2023 truly shocking.
Australians take pride in our free and democratic country.
A multicultural country, one where all of us, no matter our place of birth, and no matter our faith, are free to live without fear of discrimination and free from acts of intimidation and violence.
Sadly, the months since October 2023 have shown we can take none of this for granted.
Antisemitic graffiti has been sprayed on cars, businesses and homes.
The electorate office of a Jewish MP has been set alight.
Explosives have been discovered in a caravan with notes that allegedly identified Jewish targets.
The Adass Israel Synagogue has been firebombed.
Last night, the Director-General of Security, Mike Burgess, said he was concerned acts of antisemitism have not yet plateaued.
The Director-General's observation reflects his focus, and the focus of his organisation, on combatting antisemitism and its perpetrators.
Attacks on Jewish homes, businesses and places of worship are an affront to our national conscience.
They're an attack on our values as Australians.
The Australian Government stands with Jewish Australians in the fight against antisemitism whenever and wherever it occurs.
It is inexplicable that Hamas' horrific terrorist attack has resulted in increased antisemitic behaviour around the world, including in Australia.
I simply cannot understand how the greatest loss of Jewish life in a single event since the Holocaust has led to a rise in antisemitism.
Since the very first protest in Australia that crossed the line from legitimate political expression to expressions of antisemitic sentiment, the Australian Government has expressly condemned words and acts of hate directed at Jewish people.
The Albanese Government has not just talked about antisemitism - we have acted and we will keep acting.
We have enacted the toughest laws Australia has ever had against hate crimes.
These laws target the most serious forms of harmful hate speech, including advocating or threatening the use of force or violence against a group or member of a group, or against a place of worship.
They send a clear and unambiguous message that advocating or threatening violence is not acceptable.
It is criminal behaviour and will be treated as such.
These new criminal laws complement provisions in the Racial Discrimination Act.
The Albanese Government criminalised doxxing - the malicious release of personal information.
We banned the Nazi salute and the public display of Nazi symbols and symbols of any terrorist organisation in Australia.
We legislated to expand the offences for praising terrorism and increased the penalty for doing so.
We made the listing of Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorist organisations permanent - having advocated for years for both organisations to be listed in their entirety.
We criminalised the possession and dissemination of violent extremist material which is used to incite violence and instil fear in the community.
The Prime Minister convened a meeting of National Cabinet, made up of First Ministers from all jurisdictions, to address the rise of antisemitism across the country.
We have committed over $78 million to improve safety and security at Australian Jewish community sites.
The Australian Federal Police established Special Operation Avalite as a joint agency operation with the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation to thwart high-harm antisemitic crimes.
We appointed Australia's first Special Envoy for Antisemitism, Jillian Segal.
We created the National Student Ombudsman with investigative powers similar to a Royal Commission to ensure student complaints of antisemitism are dealt with fairly, swiftly and decisively.
We also established a parliamentary joint committee inquiry into antisemitism on university campuses which has conducted a timely and comprehensive inquiry and just tabled its report.
We have committed over $14 million to Holocaust remembrance, education and outreach to ensure the Holocaust can never be forgotten.
And we granted $250,000 to the Adass Israel Synagogue toward the replacement and restoration of its precious Torah scrolls.
But we know there is more to do.
Tomorrow, at a meeting of the Standing Council of Attorneys-General in Sydney, I will ask all state and territory Attorneys-General to work together to establish a national hate crimes and incidents database.
This important work will involve Attorneys-General and Police Ministers, and our agencies, in all jurisdictions.
The decision to establish this database is a response to longstanding advocacy from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and other community groups. They have long recognised the role such a database could play in tracking and improving responses to antisemitic and other hate crimes and incidents.
At present there is no national reporting on the scope and nature of hate crimes and incidents in all jurisdictions.
A national database will allow us all to better understand the prevalence and impact of hate crimes and develop better-targeted responses.
The decision of National Cabinet to endorse development of a database is a welcome sign of the joint commitment of all Australian governments to tackle antisemitism and other acts of hate.
It is an act of unity that transcends state and territory borders and party politics.
It is a matter of deep regret to me that not all leaders have found themselves able to resist the temptation to sow division.
To weaponise antisemitism.
To exploit the harm it causes.
Last month I travelled to Poland to attend the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp.
Speaking at the Jewish Community Centre in Krakow, alongside the Foreign Minister, I said:
Combating antisemitism, remembering the Holocaust, does not belong to the left or the right. It does not belong to the progressive side of Australian politics, or the conservative side of Australian politics. It is the solemn duty of everybody, of all of humanity, to remember the Holocaust. To say, never again.
Last week the Opposition sought to silence me in Parliament for repeating this plea. I can't understand why, and some members of the Opposition have contacted me to express regret.
But I say it again.
And will keep saying it.
Further division will not help. It will do more harm.
I began today by saying I am here as the Attorney-General of Australia and Member for Isaacs.
I also join you as a father and grandfather.
And a Jew.
I want Australia to be the place we all want it to be.
A place where respect, kindness, tolerance and inclusion aren't just shared values, but things we take for granted.
A safe place.
Not just for Jewish Australians but for all Australians.
Antisemitism tears at the heart of our values as a nation.
It offends what it means to be Australian.
Governments, Oppositions, civil society groups, business leaders, media organisations and citizens all have a role to play.
Antisemitism cannot - must not - be weaponised in the pursuit of votes.
It must not be weaponised in the pursuit of newspaper sales or TV ratings either.
We all must take a stand.
Together.
Thank you.
