Paterson says PM must ‘urgently clarify’ overseas link to antisemitic attacks
Yesterday, federal police revealed they were investigating whether a spate of antisemitic attacks have been funded by “overseas actors” using cryptocurrency.
Earlier this morning, the shadow home affairs and cybersecurity minister, James Paterson, called on the prime minister to “urgently clarify” what he knows and what action will be taken. He wrote in a post to X:
It is a gravely serious claim to suggest foreign actors may be behind the spate of terror attacks targeting the Jewish community. The PM must urgently clarify what he knows about it and what action he will take to address it.
Paterson is due to speak on ABC RN later this morning – we’ll bring you those comments when he speaks.
Anthony Albanese is also due to address reporters in Parramatta today, about 8.15am AEDT. We’ll bring you the latest here in the blog – there are sure to be questions asked around this.
Key events
‘Nothing off the table’ in investigation into Maroubra childcare centre targetting
Asked if those involved may have been influenced by foreign actors, Yasmin Catley said “every line of questioning is being investigated.”
Nothing is off the table. And if that is the case, then the AFP and the NSW Police, as I say, will work hand in glove to bring these criminals to a court of law.
Catley was asked what information she received on these foreign actors at yesterday’s national cabinet, but said this was intelligence information and she didn’t want to interrupt that.
But I can tell your listeners now – rest assured, every line of inquiry is being investigated thoroughly and forensically.
Asked if the recent spate of antisemitic attacks were being characterised as “an emerging wave of terrorism”, Catley described them as “certainly very aggressive” and a “criminal activity.”
A very, very serious crime is being committed here.
Sydney antisemitic attack perpetrators ‘can expect a knock on the door’ – police minister
The NSW police minister, Yasmin Catley, has provided an update on the investigation into the targeting of the Maroubra childcare centre.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, she said police had increased the number of officers involved in Operation Pearl – set up to investigate alleged hate crimes with an antisemitic focus across Sydney’s eastern suburbs – to 40 detectives.
These are 40 detectives from the state crime unit – highly specialised detectives that are going to be investigating these crimes. And let me tell you – they may not catch them this week, maybe not next week, but they can expect a knock on the door, and they will face the full charge of the law.
Clare defends government response to antisemitism
The education minister, Jason Clare, spoke with ABC News Breakfast earlier this morning, where he also defended the federal government’s response to antisemitism amid criticism from Israel’s deputy foreign minister.
He said he disagreed with those comments, and listed a number of measures the government had taken (as he did in an earlier interview).
The bottom line here is that we can’t let what’s happening on the other side of the world tear us apart here in Australia. There’s been too much bloodshed overseas and there’s too much hate here in Australia.
Asked what practical steps could be taken to unite Australians right now, Clare pointed to a program by Rabbi Zelman Cowen, who visits schools and helps “break down the barriers between different groups”.
We’re not born racist. It’s something that’s learnt. Programs like that in our schools are very, very important.
And asked about criticism from Peter Dutton on the government’s response, Clare said he “just wants to say something negative about everything at the moment”.
PM says he has worked ‘my whole life’ against racism ‘in all its forms’
Anthony Albanese pointed to his student politics days to defend his track record on responding to racism, saying he had established Students Against Racism at Sydney University. He continued:
When my local council was controlled by the Greens and adopted a BDS – a boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign – against Israel and against products, and called for a ban based upon where things came from, I worked with Peter Wertheim and others, two decades ago, on these issues.
I have, my whole life, worked against racism in all of its forms – in all of its forms – without exception. I continue to call it out, and I’ll continue to call it out.
The PM repeated his call for unity, saying the country needed to come together and “not look for difference, not look for division, not look for political advantage”.
We need to bring the country together, because we are overwhelmingly a harmonious society. We can be a microcosm for the world that can show that, in this community here you, have people of Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, Hindu, Buddhist, living side by side in harmony.
That’s what people want to see. That’s what I’m working towards.
PM denounces ‘people who seek political advantage from traumatic circumstance’
Anthony Albanese denied that his government had been slow to act on antisemitism and said it had “acted from day one”.
The PM said what was of concern to him was “people who seek political advantage from what is a traumatic circumstance”.
I’ve worked with all of the communities. Peter Dutton, for someone who is responsible for some national security issues … should know better.
We have acted. We have established the first envoy on antisemitism that could have been done by the former government. We’ve outlawed Nazi and hate symbols that could have been done by the former government. We’ve outlawed doxing that could have been done by the former government. We’ve provided increased security funding for synagogues, places of worship, schools etc that could have been done by the former government as well. What we have done is act.
Albanese said he was concerned that “an attempt to politicise this has another result, which is it denies agency of the actual perpetrators”.
It is an attempt to turn away from those people engaged in these hate crimes, towards it being a political issue. And I tell you what should happen: Australia should come together, not look for difference – look for unity of purpose.
That is absolutely what we need at a time where those perpetrators of these actions do so in order to divide our country, that is what they are trying to do. We should not succumb to that. We should unite, look for common purpose, look for a joint and – across the board – a whole-of-society response.
Anthony Albanese is fielding questions on what information the AFP is able to release regarding its investigation, and said:
The point is that when you have an investigation, sometimes it’s a really good idea to not tell the people who you are investigating …
I’ll leave that to the AFP. I am not going to compromise the investigations. We want to hunt down these perpetrators. We want to see them face the full force of the law.
PM says it is unclear where possible attack payments are coming from
Anthony Albanese is speaking to reporters in Parramatta. Taking questions, the prime minister was asked about news the AFP is investigating potential foreign interference in antisemitic attacks in Australia, and said it was important the AFP was allowed to do its job:
Those investigations are ongoing. I’m reluctant to say anything that compromises those investigations, but it is important that people understand where some of these attacks are coming from, and it would appear as the AFP commissioner said yesterday that some of these are being perpetrated by people who don’t have a particular issue, aren’t motivated by an ideology, but are paid actors. Now it’s unclear who or where the payments are coming from.
Burke says AFP has ‘very deliberate reasons’ for what it does and doesn’t disclose publicly
Tony Burke was also asked if he had been personally briefed after the AFP said it was investigating whether the spate of antisemitic attacks had been funded by “overseas actors” using cryptocurrency.
Burke declined to go into what he is and isn’t briefed on. But he responded to an earlier interview by James Paterson on ABC RN (see earlier blog posts) and said the AFP had “very deliberate reasons” for what they do and don’t reveal to the public.
They operate independently, as they should, but my only interest in what they put out is that they make decisions that are designed to advance investigations.
And you know, I’m not able to add to anything that that’s been put out there, but I certainly would not join in what I thought was a surprising and potentially naive call from Mr Patterson, just randomly saying, ‘oh, we need more information on this.’ They should put out the information that they think helps with the investigation. That’s how the Australian Federal Police should operate, and how they do.
Burke says government focused on ‘action rather than meetings’
Circling back to Tony Burke’s interview on ABC RN:
Asked why it took so long for the federal government to convene national cabinet on antisemitism, Burke repeated earlier remarks from the PM that the government’s priority was on “taking actions rather than having meetings”.
The principal challenges that we’ve seen have been in NSW and Victoria, you would have seen there have been joint statements that have been made with those jurisdictions. There’s a whole lot of cooperation and work that’s happening across jurisdictions. It’s the action that was the priority.
Man charged for allegedly trying to set fire to Sydney synagogue
NSW police have charged a man for allegedly attempting to set a synagogue on fire in Newtown, in Sydney’s inner west, earlier this month.
On 11 January, police allege the man attempted to set a building alight, with offensive graffiti also allegedly sprayed on the building.
Detectives arrested a 33-year-old man after search warrants were executed overnight at two addresses on Pyrmont Bridge Road, Camperdown.
The man was initially taken to St Vincent’s Hospital under police guard, according to police, but on release was taken to Surry Hills police station and charged with destroying property using fire, having goods suspected of being stolen and cultivating a prohibited plant.
Police said during the search they seized a number of items for further examination.
The man has been refused bail to appear at Downing Centre local court today.
Police said he was the ninth person to be charged under Strike Force Pearl, set up to investigate alleged hate crimes with an antisemitic focus across Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Burke says Israeli claim Australia slow to act on antisemitism ‘simply not right’
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, has been speaking with ABC RN about the government’s response to antisemitism.
He was asked about comments from Israel’s deputy foreign minister that Australia has been too slow to act, and listed a number of actions the government had made to date.
With respect to to those comments, the comment that this government is somehow waiting is simply not right. Australia never had an antisemitism envoy. We now have an antisemitism envoy, and I talk and work with Jillian Segal very, very closely.
Is the fact antisemitic attacks are still occurring evidence that what the government is doing is not working? Burke said he didn’t accept that:
I gave you the list because you played me an audio of a deputy minister claiming that we hadn’t acted, so I went through a series of actions, because that claim is simply not right. There is no doubt that we are dealing with one of the oldest forms of bigotry that there is and the fight against antisemitism never stops.
Birmingham on Trump move to withdraw from Paris agreement and WHO
Turning to the United States, Simon Birmingham was asked about Donald Trump’s move to withdraw from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Paris climate agreement.
How should western nations approach a second Trump presidency? And is there a responsibility for Australia to speak out when actions, such as this, are taken that really weaken our global cooperation in big pillars of foreign affairs?
Birmingham said “nobody should be surprised by many of the steps taken” by Trump, because this is what he said he would do as president.
From an Australian perspective, the shadow minister said, there were two things to manage:
Our equities with the United States – our closest security alliance partner – and our equities with other countries around the world. And it’s important we do manage both of those …
But, of course, continue also to work with our valued partners around the rest of the world in areas of important cooperation and collaboration such as the tackling of HIV, the tackling of tuberculosis, the types of things that we do when near neighbours like Papua New Guinea do important work on that [and are] aided by some of the work at the World Health Organisation.
Birmingham asked if earlier national cabinet meeting would have prevented rise in antisemitism
The shadow foreign minister, Simon Birmingham, spoke with ABC News Breakfast earlier this morning, as the Coalition continues to criticise the government for its response to antisemitism in Australia.
Asked if it was realistic to assume an earlier national cabinet could have prevented this rise in antisemitism, Birmingham said there were “a number of steps” that could have been taken:
There’s of course the type of moral leadership and language that is essential. But there are also some of the practical things. And the reason for seeking a national cabinet meeting was to engage the states and territories – to make a single national value statement to our Jewish community and to all Australians about that type of respect that’s necessary to stamp out antisemitism.
But also, because the states and territories are the leads in law enforcement, to ensure the coordination of those efforts …
Of course also, that civic leadership, that national leadership, by all of Australia’s heads of government [is needed] to make clear that this should not be occurring in the first place.
‘It’s a matter for Peter Dutton’: Patterson on Coalition shadow cabinet reshuffle
James Paterson was asked if he is interested in taking on the role of foreign affairs spokesperson within the shadow cabinet, amid the retirement of Simon Birmingham.
A Coalition shadow cabinet reshuffle has been due for some time. Paterson told ABC RN:
Obviously, to [opposition leader] Peter Dutton, I’m happy to serve in any role that he would like me to do. There is a lot of work to do.
And frankly, all the national security portfolios, [we should] clean up the mess of this government. Whether it’s foreign affairs, defence or home affairs, and I’m very honoured to have the role that I already have under Peter Dutton’s leadership, and happy to continue in that, but it’s a matter for him.
Paterson says ‘serious penalties’ needed on antisemitism
James Paterson said that out of yesterday’s national cabinet, he would have liked to see a more combined response from state and federal police – pointing to the Coalition’s call for mandatory minimum sentences:
Serious penalties, like mandatory minimum sentences, would have sent a much stronger signal.
He criticised the online database announced by the government yesterday and said he was “not sure how” this would act as a deterrent.
Australians deserve more information about ‘overseas actors’ possibly linked to antisemitic attacks – Paterson
The shadow home affairs and cybersecurity minister, James Paterson, has been speaking with ABC RN about the recent spate of antisemitic attacks and the response from the federal government.
He said it was “undeniably true” the government had been slow to act, saying it took the PM 14 months to convene a national cabinet meeting on antisemitism.
It was only yesterday, after months and months of pressure and other appeals – including from the antisemitism envoy Jillian Siegel – that the prime minister caved in, basically dragged kicking and screaming, into convening a national cabinet.
On reports that federal police are investigating whether the spate of antisemitic attacks has been funded by “overseas actors” using cryptocurrency, Paterson said this was a “gravely serious claim”.
I think the Australian people are entitled to more information from the prime minister today about what he knows about this, when he was briefed about it, and what action the government is taking about us.
Paterson said a claim like this would “make it the most serious domestic security crisis in peacetime, in Australia’s history, and will cause incredible alarm within the Jewish community”.
So a lot more information is required about this claim, and a lot more comfort needs to be given about what is being done in response to it. You cannot put information out this partially, as has been done so far.
Accusations government was slow to act on antisemitism ‘unfair’ – Clare
The education minister, Jason Clare, also spoke with Sunrise, where he defended the government’s response to antisemitism.
The host noted that national cabinet met yesterday and announced an electronic database to track antisemitic crime. But was the government too slow to act?
Clare was this was “unfair criticism” and that within two weeks of 7 October 2023, the government allocated $25m to the Jewish community for more security at schools, preschools and synagogues.
We’ve also introduced legislation to criminalise hate speech, and we’ve set up police task forces at a national level, as well as at a state level. Some people have already been arrested … But there’s obviously more morons out there and that’s why we need more police.
Clare said the idea that people overseas might be paying criminals in Australia to perpetrate antisemitic attacks was “truly terrifying”.
Ultimately, if this is going to stop, we’ve got to hunt down the criminals that are doing this and lock them up.
Rabbi says recent antisemitic attacks have to be ‘taken very seriously’
Rabbi Zalman Goldstein spoke on the Today Show earlier, live from the Maroubra synagogue in Sydney, near the childcare centre that was targeted with antisemitic graffiti and set alight this week.
He said it “means a lot” to the Jewish community that the PM convened national cabinet to address antisemitism, because the recent attacks have to be “taken very seriously”.
We definitely welcome that and hopefully we’ll see some real results and that these attacks will just finally stop.
He said that last night, a huge turnout of people came to the Maroubra synagogue to “pray, to sing, to get strength and courage”.
What the perpetrators wanted to accomplish was to make us scared. They weren’t successful … We hope that the law enforcement will find the perpetrators and will finally bring an end to this.
Hume says there is ‘no Coalition position’ to take same route as Trump on gender
The shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, also appeared on Sunrise and fielded questions on whether the Coalition would follow Donald Trump in recognising only two genders.
Hume said it wasn’t an issue that was being raised with her or Peter Dutton, and that people were focused on the cost of living.
I think Donald Trump will create a lot of issues that people debate around the world. I’m not focused on this one.
Asked if she agreed with her Coalition colleagues Matt Canavan and Barnaby Joyce, who backed the move by Trump, Hume said:
It’s not an issue to keep me awake at night. This is not an issue that mainstream Australians are talking to me about … There is no Coalition position to take the same route as Donald Trump.
