Peter Dutton torpedoed bipartisan move after synagogue firebombing, Labor MP says

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has been accused of playing “partisan games” after the firebombing of a Melbourne synagogue.

Labor MP Josh Burns has accused Peter Dutton of torpedoing a public display of bipartisanship after the firebombing of a synagogue in Melbourne.

Mr Burns, who is of Jewish faith, was set to appear at a press conference alongside opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson following the attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue, he said on Tuesday.

But Mr Burns said he was ill and could not make it, so Senator Paterson agreed to read out his statement.

Labor MP Josh Burns has hit out at Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

“I felt OK, but I sounded terrible, and I agreed to do a stand-up press conference with James Paterson … and James agreed to read out a statement from me because I thought it was really important there be a united front,” Mr Burns told the ABC.

“Unfortunately, right before we got on, Peter Dutton intervened and told James that he wasn’t allowed to read out the statement.

“Peter Dutton told James that he wasn’t allowed to read out my words.

“I wanted to stand out with James and present a united front on this, and Peter Dutton decided that it was more important to play partisan games than to allow my words that I physically couldn’t speak to be read out.”

Senator Peterson released a statement addressing Mr Burns’ claim, saying it was not his job to be a Labor “spokesman”.

Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson says ‘it is not the role of a Liberal frontbencher to act as a spokesman for a Labor MP’. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“I feel very sorry that Josh Burns and his community have been abandoned by the Labor Party in the wake of this terrorist attack, but it is not the role of a Liberal frontbencher to act as a spokesman for a Labor MP,” Senator Paterson said.

“One of the many senior Albanese government ministers from Victoria should have been there to speak if Josh was not able to.”

Mr Dutton took a shot at Mr Burns on Monday, saying that “Josh lost his voice long before the weekend”.

But Mr Burns on Tuesday dismissed the “personal attacks” and said he was focused on his community.

“And I compare that with the leadership of the synagogue who have been working with people right across the political aisle and have been heroic and stoic in the face of the most unimaginable pain,” he said.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton took a shot at Labor MP Josh Burns, saying he had ‘lost his voice long before the weekend’. Picture: NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

“I’m not interested in the partisan games or personal attacks. I’m interested in trying to help the community.

“I’m interested in supporting my community, supporting those who are affected by this and also tackling anti-Semitism. That’s what I’ll continue to do.”

The Albanese government on Monday announced the formation of an anti-Semitism taskforce led by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) after investigators confirmed they were treating the synagogue attack as a terrorist incident.

There has been a surge in anti-Semitic incidents in Australia since Hamas’ brutal October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel last year.

Mr Burns himself had his electorate office attacked.