Dutton hits out at ABC after Hezbollah question

Peter Dutton says the ABC is in “greater trouble” than he thought after a reporter asked him about Australia listing Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation.

Peter Dutton says the ABC is in “greater trouble” than he thought after a reporter asked him about Australia’s listing of Hezbollah a terrorist organisation.

The Opposition Leader has called for snap arrests of protesters after Hezbollah flags and framed photos of the terrorist group’s slain leader, Hassan Nasrallah, appeared at pro-Palestine rallies in Sydney and Melbourne over the weekend.

He has even demanded parliament be recalled to urgently pass legislation that would ban shows of support for terrorist organisations if current laws did not allow for arrests.

Peter Dutton has clashed with an ABC reporter after he was asked says about Australia’s listing of Hezbollah a terrorist organisation. Picture: Sky News

Speaking to the media in Sydney on Tuesday, Mr Dutton was asked by an ABC reporter why Hezbollah flags should be banned if Israeli flags were not.

“Israel is a democracy,” he replied.

“It’s not run by a terrorist organisation. Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation.

“They’re a listed terrorist organisation, and if people are in favour of a terrorist organisation, they should declare it and authorities should deal with it.”

The reporter appeared to go on to question Hezbollah’s listing, prompting rebuke from the Opposition Leader.

“What, sorry? Where are you from, I’m sorry? Which organisation?” he asked.

The reporter said she was from the ABC and made several attempts to ask another question, prompting an increasingly irate Mr Dutton to demand she repeat her listing query.

“No, that wasn’t the question you asked,” he said.

“What was the question you asked?”

After some back and forth, the reporter eventually repeated her question about why Hezbollah was designated a terrorist organisation, sparking a scathing response from the Opposition Leader.

People hold up pictures of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah at a protest at Town Hall in Sydney. Picture: NewsWire / Damian Shaw

“Well, I had presumed, up until this point, at least, that the ABC supported the government’s laws,” he said.

“And the government has passed laws, supported on a bipartisan basis, but not by the ABC it seems, in relation to the proscribing or the listing of a terrorist organisation.”

He said that if the national broadcaster did not support terrorist designations then it “should be very clear about it, because I think that’s quite a departure.”

“They’re a terrorist organisation that organise terrorist attacks, and if that is not clear to the ABC, then I think the ABC is in greater trouble than even I first imagined.”

Mr Dutton has both called for calmer conversations in Australia about the expanding conflict in the Middle East while ramping up rhetoric against the government since the weekend demonstrations.

His rhetoric has not been totally embraced by other members of the Coalition, with Nationals Senator Matt Canavan warning against “mass arresting people”.

The Opposition Leader has accused Anthony Albanese of “weakness”, saying the government has not condemned Hezbollah.

But Mr Albanese and senior ministers have condemned the shows of support for Hezbollah and consistently called the Islamic fundamentalist group a terrorist organisation in line with Australia’s designation.

Further, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said late on Monday it would investigate “at least six reports of crime” relating to the weekend rallies.

The AFP said it was expecting the cases to be referred by Victoria Police.

“The AFP has no tolerance for individuals who break the law and will use its extensive capability and networks to take action,” a spokeswoman said.

“Matters referred to the AFP will be reviewed to determine if actions reach thresholds to charge under the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Prohibited Hate Symbols and Other Measures) Act 2023.”

Under the law, those who display terrorist symbols face jail terms of up to 12 months.

Hezbollah confirmed on Saturday that Nasrallah, one of its founding members, was killed in an Israeli air strike in Lebanon’s capital Beirut.

With Nasrallah and most of Hezbollah’s senior leadership dead, the terrorist group is all-but decapitated.

But Israel has vowed to continue striking until Israelis can return to their homes in northern Israel.

They were forced from the their homes after Hezbollah began firing rockets at civilians areas in solidarity with Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

Israel’s military confirmed early on Tuesday it had begun “limited, localised, and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence against Hezbollah terrorist targets and infrastructure in southern Lebanon.”

Originally published as Dutton hits out at ABC after Hezbollah question