Queensland University of Technology could face parliament after ‘anti-racist’ symposium
A Queensland university will hold a review into a controversial presentation at an anti-racism symposium that has sparked outrage amid claims of anti-Semitism and calls for funding cuts.
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The Queensland University of Technology will hold a review into a controversial presentation at an ‘anti-racism’ symposium hosted by one of its research institutes.
A letter to students on Friday from QUT Registrar vice-president Leanne Harvey said QUT Vice-chancellor Professor Margaret Sheil would then “take any action necessary”.
QUT could face a parliamentary inquiry and there have been calls for a funding freeze after one presentation included a cartoon image of a character dubbed “Dutton’s Jew”, with a series of dot points describing their traits, including “anti-immigration”, “thinks of anti-Semitism as the only form of racism”, “scared of protesters” and “willing to hug Dutton for photo ops”.
Footage shared from the event showed Sarah Schwartz, who leads the left-wing Jewish Council of Australia, presenting the controversial image.
“Dutton’s Jew has really, really helpfully provided the human shield for him to talk about some of his favourite topics,” Ms Schwartz said on stage.
The incident has sparked a huge backlash, with prominent current and former Australian politicians and members of the Jewish community outraged over the stunt.
Former federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said “university leaders had failed us again”, while Chair of the Australia-Israel Allies Caucus and Deputy Chair of Parliament’s powerful intelligence and security committee Andrew Wallace said he had repeatedly called attention to “anti-Semitism and extremism” for the past 16 months.
Ms Schwartz has now defended what she describes as a “comedy event” held to “make fun of racists”.
Speaking to The Courier-Mail on Friday, Ms Schwartz said she had chosen Mr Dutton because he “depicts the Jewish Community in a way which is racist and ignorant”.
“He promotes a monolithic view of the Jewish Community. I do think that Peter Dutton’s depiction of Jewish people as all holding particular characteristics promotes a stereotype of Jewish people which is really harmful,” she said.
Ms Schwartz said her “visual” of “Duttons Jews” was to show how “harmful that stereotype is and how harmful it is to Jewish people”.
“Including myself who face anti-Semitism because of his racist depiction of Jewish people that is promoted by people like Peter Dutton on the far right,” Ms Schwartz said.
“I’m really grateful that the university has provided a space for us to freely discuss and challenge those racist ideas.
“I think that was the exact purpose of the comedy event that was held. It provided a space for us to make fun of racists and that was what the space was.”
In an official response from the university late on Friday, Professor Sheil said she was sorry for the hurt caused to anyone within, and outside, the QUT community”.
“I will undertake to review the circumstances of this presentation and take any action necessary,” she said.
“As for the appropriateness of speakers on the main program, it is important that universities continue to engage in rigorous discussion and debate about the issues so important to our time. It is equally important that this is done in a way that is respectful and safe.”
A spokesman for the university said the Carumba Institute’s 2025 National Symposium on Unifying Anti-Racist Research and Action was an opportunity for leading anti-racist researchers and practitioners to explore strategies for addressing systemic racism, locally and globally.
“More than 250 people attended this not-for-profit event that was funded primarily by delegate registrations.”
The spokesman said speakers were not remunerated.
“QUT has robust policies around academic freedom and freedom of expression, but similarly on anti-discrimination and any form of racism. That includes no tolerance for hate speech at any forum,” he said.
“In an event separate to the forum, a slide shared by an academic and human rights lawyer from another university, who is also a member of the Jewish Council of Australia, has caused significant concern.”
It’s been reported that the joint parliament inquiry on campus anti-Semitism was considering calling QUT to testify publicly.
Labor Jewish MP, and inquiry chair, Josh Burns said the material coming out of QUT was shocking and some of the most irresponsible things he’d seen in the past 18 months.
He told The Australian that while he “can’t discuss what happens with the parliamentary committee, I can say that inquiry is ongoing and that there will be potential for further hearings and public hearings still to go before we release our report”.
Failed us again: Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg weighs in
In response to the presentation, former federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg said “anti-Semitism has become normalised in Australia as Jews are singled out for ridicule and hate in a way we would not accept for any other minority group”.
“What will it take for the Federal Education Minister to act?”
Chair of the Australia-Israel Allies Caucus and Deputy Chair of Parliament’s powerful intelligence and security committee Andrew Wallace said in a statement that ‘anti-Semitism had found a new host in, of all places, an ‘anti-racism symposium’ at the Queensland University of Technology – my alma mater”.
Mr Wallace called for the Federal Education Minister to withhold federal funding from QUT until it investigated the matter, and had acted decisively to stop the spread of anti-Semitism on its campus as well as establishing an independent Judicial Inquiry into anti-Semitism on Australian Campuses.
He said the Prime Minister should step up on anti-Semitism or stand down from office.
Mr Wallace said the idea that a Jewish person could ‘belong’ to someone else; that Jewish people are by their nature, racist; and that all Jewish people are conservative is not only incorrect was “utterly offensive”.
“Public universities should be places for inquiry, invention, and ideas – not the hate and anti-Semitism which we have seen this week and over the past 16 months. And we must be clear: this is not just a problem for Jewish students and staff,” Mr Wallace said.
“The Australian Union of Jewish Students said in their submission to the Joint Committee on Human Rights inquiry into anti-Semitism in Australian universities, that the growing normalisation of extremist support and rhetoric “creates a hostile environment for all students on campus and a particularly uncomfortable one for Jewish students”.”
“In their submission to the same inquiry, QUT claimed that ‘racism, cultural stereotyping, religious discrimination and other forms of discrimination are not tolerated at QUT’. It is my expectation that QUT will respond to the incident accordingly.”
Mr Wallace said the remedy to Australia’s anti-Semitism in crisis wasn’t in the singular response of university campuses.
“What we need is strong and principled national leadership. Instead, we have a careless and clueless Federal Labor Government systematically campaigning against Israel and the Jewish people for its own crass political ends,” Mr Wallace said.
‘Divisive rubbish’: Crisafulli, Miles slam event
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has called the attack on Mr Dutton “divisive rubbish”.
“I reckon what I might do is not provide oxygen to people who are trying to wind the clock back a century in anti-Semitism,” he said.
“There’s no place for that in Australia … and I want Queenslanders to know that does not reflect who we are.”
Opposition Leader Steven Miles said the tone of the QUT event was “greatly concerning,” and said Ms Schwartz was deliberately using language that would “get her into the news”.
“I think that particular individual, she’s very focused on using language that’s designed to get her into the news, into the mix, into the headlines, but I don’t think it does her or any cause, any focus,” he said.
“I’ve only seen the reports, but the tone and tenor of that language that I’ve seen concerns me greatly. And I think all of us in public life, all of our public institutions, while we defend the right to free speech, the tone and nature of that speech is really important.
“There’s no place in Queensland’s political debate or civic debate for hate speech, no place for anti-Semitism, and I don’t think any of us should be tolerating that.”
Mr Miles, asked whether QUT should be sanctioned by the federal government for hosting the event, said it would be a “very big step”.
“We do need to balance freedom of speech, but I think it’s incumbent on those institutions, and all of us in public life, to think about the ramifications of what gets said (and) think about the impacts that can have on social cohesion, on communities that are already feeling abused,” he said.
QUT responds to outrage
In the letter to students, Ms Harvey said the slide show was presented in an “event separate to the forum”.
She said the Vice-Chanceller had advised that a review of the circumstances of this presentation would be undertaken, and she would then take any action necessary.
“QUT’s policies around academic freedom and freedom of expression, balanced with antidiscrimination and anti-racism, provide a scaffolding for our academics to be able to conduct this research and discussion in sensitive but important areas.”
Ms Harvey said QUT did not condone any speaker that engaged in hateful or racist speech at any QUT event.
“While we can’t exclude people on the basis of what they might say, we require all participants to adhere to our policies for respectful, safe engagement.”
She said anyone affected by any of the events should reach out to Student Services to access “confidential support services including counselling and mental health support”.
Other academics who also spoke at the event defended the content.
Dr Elizabeth Strakosch and Dr Jordana Silverstein said academics speaking at the symposium were “coming from a range of different perspectives”.
“We feel like we all have a stake in making it clear that this is not an anti-Semitic space,” Dr Starkosch said. “This conference is not anti-Semitic or engaging in hate speech.”
Dr Starkosch said the conference was primarily about racism experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
‘Festival of hatred’: Education Minister urged to investigate
The Zionist Federation of Australia President Jeremy Leibler in a letter sent to the Federal Education Minister said he “urged” the minister to call out and investigate the “festival of hatred” being hosted by QUT.
“As you would have seen by now, the University is currently playing host to a number of individuals who each in their own way have seriously compromised the Jewish community’s sense of safety in Australia.”
Mr Leibler said the symposium had resulted in “significant harm” and called for an investigation into whether taxpayer funds had been used to pay for to support it, or the travel and accommodation of any guest speakers.
“This symposium contains a line-up of “Keynote Speakers and Presenters,” very many of whom have found infamy in the Jewish community for their work as “activists”,” Mr Leibler said.
In the letter Mr Leibler listed actions from the keynote speakers such as Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, who participated in the doxxing of 600 Jewish Australian creatives and academics, Dr Sarah Saleh, who spread antisemitic conspiracy theories, Nasser Mashni, who advocated for the destruction of the State of Israel and Lidia Thorpe, who posted a selfie of herself wearing a Hamas-style headband.
“These are only some of the things these speakers have done. And these are only those speakers who have put their positions on the public record,” Mr Leibler said.
“And since the Symposium has begun, it has resulted in the dissemination of speech that incites hatred of Jewish Australians.”
Mr Leibler said this was a “complete failure of leadership by QUT”, with the Vice-Chancellor defending the Symposium with an utterly unconvincing statement that “QUT is deeply committed to cultural diversity and anti-racism.”
“That is why we urge you to publicly condemn the antisemitic rhetoric that has been spread by this Symposium and publicly rebuke the Vice-Chancellor for her dismissive and unacceptable responses,” Mr Leibler said.
“Jewish students deserve to walk their campuses free from fear, just as every other student does too. Now is the time to draw a clear line in the sand and send an unequivocal message that anti-Semitism has no place in Australian universities.”
University was warned ahead of event
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry called out the university and has urged Federal Education Minister Jason Clare to intervene.
“QUT’s leadership have much to answer for. We warned QUT in advance that this symposium was likely to be abused to promote a hateful and extremist agenda that would include antisemitic discourse,” it said in a statement.
“We also put them on notice that such behaviour would give further impetus to the spate of violent anti-Semitic incidents that have recently shocked and disgusted our country.
“QUT leaders responded with a combination of astonishing ignorance, reckless indifference to consequence, and the usual vacuous platitudes about freedom of expression.”
The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies slammed the university for “another low” in anti-Semitism abelling it as “perverse and disturbing”.
The symposium comes after several events hosted and held by QUT student activist groups in support of Palestine.
Past events included a general meeting held by student body, QUT Guild to discuss the university’s links with weapons companies such as Boeing, US air force and Thales and Rheinmetall.
The event held in August 2024 was centred around three motions including “divestment from Israel and the Weapons Industry” as well as cutting ties with weapons companies and the push for transparency from QUT.
The QUT Guild stated its stance was that QUT “should not” be assisting, providing, or collaborating with companies that research more ways to develop harmful weapons.
“Our student body strongly opposes profiteering from war actions in Palestine and we reject the use of student fees to fund such endeavours,” it said.
According to the Guild more than 650 students were in attendance at the meeting and all motions passed.
Originally published as Queensland University of Technology could face parliament after ‘anti-racist’ symposium
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