Liberals attempt to stop Dreyfus talking about antisemitism

The Opposition has attempted to stop Jewish Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus speaking in parliament about his experience of antisemitism.

In a move which experienced parliamentary reporters are describing as "bizarre", the Manager of Opposition Business Michael Sukkar forced a division in the House of Representatives over whether Dreyfus should be allowed to continue talking about antisemitism.

Dreyfus was answering a question put by Liberal Sussan Ley who had asked him to detail the benefits of mandatory sentencing. Labor has historically opposed mandatory sentencing, but in the new hate crimes laws passed last week the Government agreed to the Opposition's demand to introduce mandatory jail terms. The legislation includes mandatory terms of at least 12 months for displaying hate symbols such as Nazi signs, three years for financing terrorist groups and at least six years for terror offences.

Dreyfus answered the question by detailing legislation the Government had passed to counter antisemitism including banning the Nazi salute and other hate symbols, criminalising possession of violent material, and criminalising doxing.

He went on to talk about his own experience of antisemitism and accused the Opposition of politicising the issue. "In the past few months, I've stood in the shadow of the main gate at the Auschwitz death camp, I've stood on the field where a music festival in Israel was turned into a bloodbath, and I've stood in the ruins of a burnt out synagogue in my home town.

"But those opposite have taken every opportunity since the 7th of October 2023 to politicise the trauma and the experiences of the Jewish people. I do not need the Leader of the Opposition or any of those opposite to tell me what antisemitism is or how seriously I should take it."

At this point Sukkar rose, was recognised by the Speaker and, to the shocked response of many members, moved that Dreyfus "be no longer heard".

The House voted 91 to 52 for the Attorney-General to continue his answer. Dreyfus then continued to speak about his experience as the son and grandson of Holocaust survivors, and his visit to Auschwitz for the 80th anniversary of its liberation. He told the House that his great-grandmother had been murdered in Auschwitz on 13 October, 1942.

"I say to members of this House that we've had a wave of antisemitism in this country, and right now what we need is unity. We need bipartisanship, and that's the effort that our government made with the bill that was passed by this parliament last week," he said.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the Coalition had behaved in a “proportionate” way to what he described as a “disgusting” accusation from Dreyfus that the opposition had sought political advantage from antisemitism.

Both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton have accused the other of playing politics with antisemtism in recent weeks, with Dutton going so far as to say that "every incident of antisemitism can be traced back to the Prime Minister's dereliction of leadership in response to the sordid events on the steps of the Sydney Opera House".

It is highly unusual for a vote to be called over a member's right to speak. The usual practice would be for a point of order or request to withdraw. Sukkar was only appointed as Manager of Opposition Business three weeks ago and commentators have suggested the incident may be a result of his inexperience.