‘See no evil, hear no evil’ is the mantra of a supine government and our cowardly universities

The staggering spineless moral cowardice at the heart of Australia’s government and leading universities must be addressed, writes Piers Akerman.

The staggering spineless moral cowardice at the heart of our government and our leading universities must be addressed. The destructive themes of Marx and Trotsky are oozing through our institutions with the Labor-Green government turning a blind eye to the anti-Western attacks. In directly refusing to condemn anti-Semitism on Australian campuses this week, the nation’s universities have passively accepted the hate speech that is a feature of the pro-Palestine, pro-Hamas rallies.

The chancellors met in a plenary sessions in Brisbane Thursday and considered a complaint from the Australian Academic Alliance Against Antisemitism. The peak body’s convener, John Stanhope, a former Labor chief minister in the ACT’s toy town assembly, issued an agreed mealy-mouthed expression of meaningless platitudes about respectful and inclusive environments, protections of freedom of speech and academic freedom.

Pro-Palestine protesters at the University of Sydney on Friday. Picture: Supplied

By Friday, the pro-Hamas mob was shouting Allahu Akbar and waving the same jihadist flag terrorist Man Monis displayed during the fatal Martin Place hostage tragedy.

So much for the universities’ comprehensive policies designed to safeguard students against threats.

Anyone who watched children being led in anti-Jewish chants at the Sydney University demonstration knows these laudable goals are contemptibly treated with zero consequences for those involved.

Children being led in chants of 'intifada' at the University of Sydney Gaza solidarity encampment.

A video posted to X showed children alongside a number of adults chanting pro-Hamas messages with a small girl leading the call “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, which some consider a call for genocide of Jewish people.

Other chants taught to the children at the campus included “5,6,7,8, Israel is a terrorist state” and “Albanese, you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide”. Like the “Hear no evil, see no evil” monkey characters, and the sitcom character Sgt Schultz, the chancellors saw and heard nothing.

Opposition education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson has asked why university vice-chancellors have not called in the police, and criticised a “weak” Education Minister Jason Clare.

Clare is not the only Albanese minister who should go for failing to protect the safety of the public.

There is no confidence that Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, Immigration Minister Andrew Giles and Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil will keep the people safe.

Warned that the High Court would take a radical approach to the detention of illegal immigrants and overturn laws which had prevented the release of seven murderers, 37 sex offenders and 72 violent criminals into the public, they did nothing.

Not one took pre-emptive action to keep Australians safe from these offenders and as shown by the horrifying pictures of Ninette Simons who, with her husband Philip, was allegedly bashed by a released immigration detainee, their combined failure to put the safety of the public first had serious consequences.

The complete absence of shame on the part of those charged with ensuring the safety of students on campuses across the nation is disgusting. Weak leaders always ignore the insidious growth of dangerous activities and the Albanese government and the supine universities are no exception to this historical truth. The Labor leadership is bowing to minority Islamists in seats in Victoria and NSW.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 29 of the 151 federal electorates have 5 per cent or more people of Islamic faith, 27 of them held by Labor.

There are just four electorates with sizeable Jewish populations. The Albanese government is pandering to Muslim minorities. The universities have no political cover. They just lack spine and integrity.

Originally published as ‘See no evil, hear no evil’ is the mantra of a supine government and our cowardly universities