Get Involved - Parliament

Israel-Palestine Protests

Published on: October 2023

Record: HANSARD-1323879322-135979

Israel-Palestine Protests

Mr PAUL TOOLE (Bathurst) (17:00:48):

I move:

That this House:

(1)Condemns the use of racial epithets and the burning of the Israeli flag by protesters at the Sydney Opera House forecourt on 9 October 2023.

(2)Affirms that antisemitism, racial vilification and hate speech have no place in New South Wales.

(3)Acknowledges the Premier's apology to the Jewish community for his Government's failure to provide the Jewish community at the Opera House with "a place and a space for that community to come together to commemorate the horrific scenes that we've seen in Israel".

(4)Condemns the police Minister for failing to take any action to provide the Jewish community at the Opera House with "a place and a space for that community to come together to commemorate the horrific scenes that we've seen in Israel".

I begin by sharing my condolences and sincere sympathies for Jewish communities, who have been affected by illegal protests taking place here in Australia, as well as those communities suffering from the scenes of conflict that we have seen from overseas. The hate speech and racial vilification on display by those protesters have caused emotional distress and have fostered feelings of mistrust and fear within the Jewish and wider community, who are now scared to leave their homes.

On Monday night we witnessed what was supposed to be a peaceful gathering turn into a discriminatory hate parade along the shoreline of Sydney. The behaviour that we witnessed was disgraceful; it was horrific. Sydney is embarrassed; New South Wales is embarrassed. We saw flags being burnt. We heard chants of hatred. We saw flares being lit up. No matter someone's culture or belief system, it is unacceptable to burn the flag of another country, and it is unacceptable to chant hatred towards people. I make clear that there is no place for antisemitism in our State, now or ever. The scenes that we saw on Monday night in Sydney are un-Australian. It is not our culture to rally in the streets, yelling hateful comments at another community group. Our diversity should strengthen us in tough times. It should not divide us.

The Sydney Opera House has long stood as a symbol of cultural diversity and free expression. It is deeply disheartening to see it being used as a platform for promoting division and hatred. Allowing an event that targets a specific religious and ethnic community with antisemitic rhetoric is unacceptable, and it goes against the principles of inclusivity and tolerance that our society values. This was an unlawful protest. No form or notice of intention to hold a public assembly was submitted to the police. New South Wales citizens have a right to protest peacefully, and, when doing so, to follow the correct procedure. But those antisemitic people had no right to voice those statements or to rid the Jewish and wider community of their opportunity to stand in solidarity under the blue and white lights of the Sydney Opera House sails, in honour of the lives that were lost in Israel. I also acknowledge the work of the police officers on the ground. They did everything they could to keep the situation as calm as possible. I bet that they wish they had a police Minister standing in their corner, like the former ones did.

This is not the first—or the last—time that we will see the Opera House sails being lit up in solidarity. We have done it in previous years for other overseas conflicts. I remember when former Premier Dominic Perrottet wanted the Opera House to be lit up in blue and yellow, the colours of the Ukrainian flag. The difference was that everyone knew what was going on. There was open communication between the Government, its agencies and both the Russian and Ukrainian community groups. The Labor Government failed to keep the community safe. It failed to communicate with what was happening. The former Premier and I, as former Deputy Premier and police Minister, were in close contact on these matters. The same relationship cannot be said for the current Premier and his police Minister.

We contacted organisations, like the police, to allow the community to come together and sing safely on the steps of the Opera House. We communicated with the Ukrainians, the Russians and religious groups, and it was peaceful. What we have seen is an abject failure from Labor. It failed these communities. The Government has failed the Jewish community and the people of New South Wales. Whilst I acknowledge the Premier's apology, the actions of the Labor Government this week say to the people of New South Wales that, as a government, it will accept racism in our State rather than promote tolerance, understanding and respect among all people, regardless of their religious or cultural background.

This week we also heard the police Minister state on multiple occasions that this is not her job. Either the Minister has not read her role description, or she is clearly inept at fulfilling the role that she has been given. She says it is not her job. She says, "We're not in charge." Yes, she is in charge. Yes, she can influence decisions with respect to community safety. I will tell the Minister how to do her job. She can pick up the phone and raise concerns with the relevant people in the department, and she can ask them to put appropriate measures in place to ensure that the community is safe. She can front up and tell the community about the actions that she is taking in her role as police Minister.

To be clear, it is the role of the Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism to ensure the safety of every New South Wales resident, no matter their race, their culture or their beliefs. The Minister's role is to provide oversight of law enforcement and to ensure that they operate efficiently, effectively and ethically, and to be accountable when things go wrong. She has to stop using the excuse, "It is not up to me." The community has no confidence in the actions of the police Minister. In fact, it is embarrassing. This is not a government on its training wheels anymore; this is a government with training wheels that have fallen off. We have amateur Ministers running this State.

Mrs SALLY QUINNELL (Camden) (17:08:08):

I begin by acknowledging the tragic events of the past few days. I stand with the Premier and all members of this Government in unequivocally condemning the acts of violence on Israeli citizens by Hamas. There are no circumstances in which the killing of innocents, the firing of rockets at civilians or the taking of hostages can be justified. The Government rejects and denounces the abhorrent actions of Hamas. I am sure that I speak for all members when I say our thoughts and prayers are with those killed and injured, those who are missing, as well as their families and friends here in New South Wales.

We are witnessing a devastating loss of human life and the suffering of innocent civilians. In Australia, countless families have been affected by these tragic events. We have already had the devastating news of the death of Australian grandmother Galit Carbone, murdered in the attack on Israel by Hamas at the weekend. As we speak, families in Australia are experiencing the terrible agony of waiting to hear if their loved ones are safe. That is why the New South Wales Government made the decision to light up the Opera House in the colours of the Israeli flag, blue and white, alongside the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the Empire State Building, the Eiffel Tower and the White House. It was an act of international solidarity at the time of such an horrific event.

Here at home, buildings across the country were also lit up in solidarity. Sadly, several hundred people chose to protest the decision to light up the Opera House sails. The behaviour at this protest was repugnant and abhorrent. We saw the shouting of racial epithets at the Jewish community—horrible, violent, antisemitic words. No-one should celebrate terrorism. No-one should celebrate the barbaric massacre of innocent civilians. Members of the Jewish community should not feel unsafe in their own city, ever. The Government's position is clear: such a situation is intolerable.

Let me now turn to the response of police. The Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism is on record extending to the Jewish community in Sydney her deepest sympathy and solidarity. The Jewish Board of Deputies asked police what they should advise their community. The situation with the protesters was expected to be volatile and it was possible it could become dangerous. Assistant Commissioner Tony Cooke, Central Metropolitan Region Commander, said:

In the circumstances, it was considered the best option for police was to manage the movement of those people from Sydney Town Hall to the Opera House to ensure that we were able to control the movement of the people and get them to a place where we could manage the rally in its form and to prevent the risk of conflict.

I conclude by saying that the Minns Labor Government is absolutely committed to ensuring the safety of the Jewish community of this State. While the Opposition is content to engage in political pointscoring over this matter, cynically using an horrific atrocity overseas and a grieving community for its own narrow political gain, our focus is on working with Jewish community leaders—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Ms Sonia Hornery):

The Clerk will stop the clock. I ask all members, particularly the member for North Shore, to come to order.

Mrs SALLY QUINNELL:

Our focus is on working with Jewish community leaders, the Community Security Group and the NSW Police Force to ensure the security of the Jewish community at this difficult time.

Ms FELICITY WILSON (North Shore) (17:11:56):

All of us who have the great privilege of being Australians expect to go about every single day of our lives in safety. It is one of the greatest benefits of being in Australia. Every single one of us expects to be safe, regardless of our race, the faith we choose to worship—or whether we choose not to worship—and whether we were born here or far away. We expect to be free and have our liberties and rights upheld every day. In light of the recent atrocious events in our city and across the globe, the motion before the House today debates whether this Labor Government has been able to ensure that. Members on this side of the House say that the Labor Government and the police Minister have failed to do so.

There is a responsibility on those opposite to accept the mantle they have been given by the people of New South Wales to show leadership, courage and respect for our community and ensure that they enshrine our rights, freedoms, liberties, safety and opportunity. This week they have abjectly failed. Members have heard a short contribution from the member for Camden and a refusal from the police Minister to answer legitimate questions from the Opposition that seek to hold Labor to account. Today we fail to see the Minister in the Chamber for an incredibly important debate about law and order. Members on this side of the House stand up for the rights, liberties and safety of people in New South Wales.

This week we have seen truly heartbreaking scenes of extreme horror resulting from the brutal terrorist attacks by Hamas on innocent civilians in Israel. Frankly, we are fortunate to live in a country where we do not face those same threats. All of us join together to express profound sadness and regret for those across the world who experience this terror and violence. Lives have been lost and people have been kidnapped or gravely injured—and we know that this is just the beginning of their experience. All members in this place stand and condemn the incredibly despicable violence. We are unified on that; it is not something that divides us.

Civilians in Gaza, the people of Israel and our own Jewish community here at home fear the impact to their own safety. The thoughts of members are obviously with the family and friends of the Australian‑born grandmother, Galit Carbone, who today was named as the first Australian casualty of this crisis. These attacks have caused immense pain—and will continue to do so—to Israelis, people of the Jewish faith community in New South Wales, and to Palestinians themselves. Any government needs to observe, monitor and provide any kind of assistance required to communities experiencing this struggle—but this Government has failed to do that.

As the member for Camden noted, on Monday night the Opera House was lit in the colours of the Israeli flag. It was meant to be a symbol of solidarity and compassion for those lives lost after a terrorist attack. Unfortunately, the people most affected by this egregious assault on the civilians of Israel were not able to attend the ceremony because of this Government's inability to maintain law, order and safety in our city. They were told to stay away from a moment orchestrated purely to demonstrate solidarity with and compassion for them. However, other protesters were allowed to march throughout the streets of Sydney from the Town Hall to the Opera House.

We have seen young teenagers threatened with their lives for displaying a Israeli flag on their car in Bellevue Hill. Today members heard about Mark Spiro, who was arrested—for his own safety, it seems—for trying to unfurl an Israeli flag. While the protesters who burned flags, shouted racist epithets and threatened violence were allowed to go about their day in peace, the individuals who were meant to be able to join in this solidarity for the lives lost in Israel were not able to do so. This Minister has failed abjectly in her responsibility to the people of New South Wales. There is a lot of talk in this place about ensuring that we preserve and respect people's rights and liberties across the State, but this Government has failed its most basic obligations to keep us safe and maintain our liberties.

Mr EDMOND ATALLA (Mount Druitt) (17:17:00):

I make a brief contribution to the public interest debate moved by the member for Bathurst. The Minns Labor Government condemns all acts of violence and barbarism conducted by members of Hamas against citizens of Israel. The atrocities that have occurred since the weekend are unprecedented; they can only be described as acts of terrorism. Many of the casualties have families here in New South Wales and Australia. To those families we offer our deepest sympathies and condolences for the loss of their loved ones. Acts of hatred, racial vilification and hate speech have no place in Australia and are contrary to everything that we stand for, as a State and as a country.

The New South Wales Government lit the Opera House in blue and white, at the request of the Jewish community, specifically to show solidarity with the Jewish community here in New South Wales and ensure that members of the Jewish community in Australia are able to feel safe and secure in their city. The Premier has apologised on the Government's behalf that clearly this did not turn out the way we intended. He has taken responsibility for this.

Opposition members interjected

[.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Ms Sonia Hornery):

The member for Hawkesbury will come to order.

Mr EDMOND ATALLA:

But the Opposition is not satisfied. Instead, Opposition members have decided to exploit this matter for political gain—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Ms Sonia Hornery):

The Clerk will stop the clock. The member for Mount Druitt will resume his seat.

Mr EDMOND ATALLA:

—focusing especially on the police Minister. Since my appointment as Parliamentary Secretary—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Ms Sonia Hornery):

The member for Mount Druitt will resume his seat. Members to my left will cease interjecting. I warn the member for Hawkesbury and others that I will start putting them on calls to order and may remove them from the Chamber for the duration of this debate. I ask all members to sit quietly and listen to one another. The member for Mount Druitt has the call.

Mr EDMOND ATALLA:

Since my appointment as the Parliamentary Secretary for Police and Counter‑terrorism earlier this year, I have had the opportunity to work closely with the police commissioner and the police Minister on many issues. Both the police commissioner and the Minister possess the highest level of integrity—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Ms Sonia Hornery):

Order! The Clerk will stop the clock. The member for North Shore will cease interjecting or I will have her removed from the Chamber.

Ms Anna Watson:

No-one did it to you.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Ms Sonia Hornery):

The member for Shellharbour will cease interjecting or I will place her on a call to order.

Ms Felicity Wilson:

Am I on a call?

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Ms Sonia Hornery):

No, but I will place the member on a call to order if she continues to interject. I do not need to call the member to order to have her removed from the Chamber. Members will lower the temperature of the debate. The member for Mount Druitt has the call.

Mr EDMOND ATALLA:

Both the police commissioner and the Minister possess the highest level of integrity and professionalism, and both have my unequivocal support. I strongly support the actions of the NSW Police Force. Its priority is to ensure the safety of people who may have been in harm's way. I have full confidence in the Police Force. The Opposition should stop using the Police Force and the police Minister as political footballs. Unfortunately, the Opposition is using the atrocities and the crisis overseas in its attack on the New South Wales Government as nothing more than political pointscoring. There are people in New South Wales who are grieving the loss of their family members. The Opposition is only rubbing salt in their wounds. This horrific set of acts should never have been used for political pointscoring. The Opposition should be condemned for using them as such.

Most critically, the Minns Labor Government is focused on the safety and security of the Jewish community in New South Wales. It is unacceptable for any resident of New South Wales to feel unsafe on their own streets. That is why the NSW Police Force today announced that Operation Shelter has commenced to coordinate the response and gather all intelligence available about community sentiment, potential protest activity and potential demonstrations that might take place in the future. The Minns Labor Government is absolutely committed to doing everything necessary to ensure that members of the Jewish community in New South Wales are safe, and feel safe, as they go about their daily lives. We will continue to work with Jewish community leaders, the Community Security Group and the NSW Police Force to ensure that this is the case.

Mr Tim James:

You failed the other day, didn't you?

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Ms Sonia Hornery):

I call the member for Willoughby to order for the first time.

Mrs TANYA DAVIES (Badgerys Creek) (17:22:34):

I contribute to the public interest debate. From the outset, I express to the Jewish community in Israel, in Sydney and globally my sincere condolences and sympathies for what has been a terrorist attack. A lot of debate has been going on for decades about the grievances between the Israelis and the Palestinians. That has been source of contention and conflict for generations, but that is not the point of this discussion today. We are raising the issue of an actual terrorist attack on Israeli grounds, which has seen innocent civilians—babies, women, the elderly and the vulnerable—murdered in their homes, their beds and their communities. That is the source of our global grievance.

I extend my sincere condolences to those Israelis who have lost loved ones, including those in Israel and those in our community. It is very important to understand that what we saw in our city over the past two days was an apparent celebration of terrorism and apparent jubilation that innocents were gunned down. I do not think any member in this Chamber would condone that. If it was the other way around, we would all be aghast that a terrorist attack on civilians could be carried out by any community group, militant group or country. That is what we are appalled and aghast about. It comes down to a desire by fair-minded people living in a liberal democracy to want to commemorate and stand alongside those who have lost so much in Israel because of these terrorist acts. We are doing that by speaking in this place, by wearing the badges, by posting solidarity notices on our social media platforms and by lighting the Opera House sails.

To disrupt the compassionate solidarity of our community with the joyful celebration of terrorism is absolutely, completely unacceptable. It is un-Australian, and a disgusting defilement of this peaceful country that we are proudly members and leaders of. That should be condemned from the rooftops. I think members know that I like to get along with everyone in this place and work productively for our communities. But it distressed me that the police Minister did not do everything in her power to prevent those protesters from getting all the way to the Opera House. I have been a Minister. I know the powers that are invested in a ministry. I understand it. There was the possibility of doing more. I do not believe that everything was done.

I say to the police, the police Minister and the Labor Government, if we can amend our laws or create a new law to empower our police services through the structures and the departments that exist to stop the same thing happening again then let us work together to deliver that. Let us give more powers and more authority to police, to counterterrorism and to whoever needs it. We witnessed the most appalling, embarrassing and shameful sight in our city, and it has gone global. We witnessed an awful, terrible thing. It should never have occurred. We must find out what more we can do in this place to ensure that it does not happen again. I call upon the Labor Government to find out what else we can do through regulations or laws to ensure that this never happens again.

Mr Paul Toole:

We have the law. They need to enforce it.

Mrs TANYA DAVIES:

Thank you. I stand with the Jewish community and I hope that a resolution is quickly achieved in the Middle East so that everyone can begin to repair and heal from what we have just witnessed.

Mr JASON LI (Strathfield) (17:27:43):

I find it disappointing that in this moment, when we should be solemnly thinking about and commemorating the awful things that have happened, we are having this highly politicised debate that is targeting the police Minister. I reiterate that the Minns Labor Government unequivocally condemns the Hamas attack on Israel and any celebration of that attack. There is never, whatever the circumstances, any excuse for the murder of innocent civilians. There is never a justification for the murder of women and children, and the taking of hostages. It is a war crime under international law. Even in a wartime scenario, the targeting of civilians is unequivocally a war crime.

NSW Labor is proud that it has consistently and strongly supported zero tolerance towards antisemitism, racial vilification and hate speech.

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