Opposition leader Peter Dutton writes to AFP over concerns about Hezbollah flag wielding protesters remaining ‘at large’ in community
Opposition leader Peter Dutton says the PM must crack down on vile anti-Jewish hatred and incitement on our streets and make sure all Australians feel safe in their own country.
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State police have been ordered to check the visa status of protesters who displayed Hezbollah flags and chants, but the Coalition has condemned the “completely unacceptable” slow response after suggesting the actions were “glorifying” terror groups.
NSW authorities are reviewing footage of alleged pro-Hezbollah protesters, while Victoria police on Monday referred at least six reports of crimes related to displaying symbols of the terror organisation to Australian Federal Police for investigation.
However as of September 30, no individual has been charged by the AFP with a prohibited terrorist organisation symbols offence since new laws came into effect at the start of this year, nor have any arrests occurred.
The AFP has issued a call-out for video of the protests on Sunday where multiple people were seen carrying Hezbollah flags and portraits of killed terror leader Hassan Nasrallah, while Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said protesters on visas who police are concerned about will be referred to the federal government, but warned he could not “prejudge” whether carrying a Hezbollah flag was grounds for cancellation.
Mr Burke said his priority was for people to “feel safe in Australia,” adding he held “very strong views against hate speech and hate symbols”.
“So we’ve sent the message ... to the different police forces, in this case NSW and Victoria, and just said that if anybody who they’re concerned about, if they can check their visa status as well, and if someone is on a visa, then that’ll come to us,” Mr Burke told ABC radio.
“We do have a higher standard in Australia if you’re on a visa as to what’s expected. If you’re on a visa in anyone’s country, you’re there as a guest.
“Inciting discord is a reason for me to refuse visas and a reason for me to cancel visas.”
Mr Burke said the government did not know the visa status of protesters who waved Hezbollah flags and held portraits of terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike on the weekend.
But he said there were laws that “speak to” activities such as carrying the flag, which were new and had to be tested before the courts.
“My priority is for people to feel safe in Australia. My priority is for people to be able to live peacefully in Australia,” he said.
“The lowering of the temperature is important, and those laws should be part of lowering the temperature.”
Mr Burke also said he doesn’t “understand the reason” memorial services were held for Nasrallah at several mosques in Sydney on Monday night.
It comes after he asked NSW and Victorian authorities to “check the visa status of anyone who comes to their attention”.
“I won’t hesitate to cancel the visas of visitors to our country who are spreading hate,” Mr Burke said.
It can also be exclusively revealed Opposition leader Peter Dutton wrote to AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw after the protests seeking “urgent action” in response to the “shocking and disgraceful scenes” in Melbourne and Sydney where “racist and genocidal phrases and slogans were chanted” by some present.
“I am shocked that in Australia we have seen open support for the listed terrorist organisations Hamas and Hezbollah in our two largest cities,” Mr Dutton said in the letter.
“In the interests of social cohesion and public safety, I am particularly concerned that individuals who openly support listed terrorist organisations, including for example through the flying of flags, remain at large.”
Mr Dutton told News Corp it was “completely unacceptable” that as of Monday afternoon people accused of “glorifying Hezbollah and Hamas” by flying these flags had not already been arrested by police or had their visa cancelled by the government.
He said scenes at the weekend protests were “eerily similar” to those at the Sydney Opera House on October 9 last year, describing the anti-Jewish hatred that “continues to fester at these gatherings” a “national disgrace”.
Mr Dutton accused Anthony Albanese of “soft pedalling” on the protests for the past 12 months.
“It’s time for the Prime Minister to show strength and leadership, ensure that the law is enforced, crack down on this vile anti-Jewish hatred and incitement on our streets, and make sure that all Australians feel safe in their own country,” he said.
“Anything less is just a cop-out.”
Tony Burke criticised Opposition leader Peter Dutton was calling for a return of parliament to strengthen the very laws he supported at the time they were passed last year.
“He wants to recall parliament because he wants to throw more kerosene on the fire and get people angrier with each other and say more outrageous things in the parliament,” he said.
“Peter Dutton, it remains the case that no matter how many times our security agencies say we need to lower the temperature in Australia, he wants to raise the temperature every single time.”
Mr Burke also revealed he has personally met with every single Palestinian who has come to Australia on a humanitarian visa, describing them as “extraordinary, good people”.
The Palestinians arrived in Australia on a range of temporary visas determined case-by-case, with Mr Burke confirming 12 of the cohort had been transferred onto a humanitarian visa.
Mr Albanese on Monday told his cabinet colleagues there were “worrying signs” at the weekend’s protests.
“We do not want people to bring radical ideologies and conflict here,” he said.
The public display of a prohibited terror symbol alone does not meet the threshold for a person to be charged under new hate laws, but individuals could face consequences if they also spread ideas based on racial superiority or hatred, inciting intimidation or offence.
NSW Police assistant commissioner Peter McKenna said detectives were currently investigating protesters who had been carrying Hezbollah flags, but warned people carrying such symbols was not an offence they would immediately arrest someone for.
“My understanding is people were given sufficient warning to remove flags and they did comply with that but later they brought them back out … later they (police) seized those items and collected people’s information,” he told 2GB.
NSW Police seized two Hezbollah flags on Sunday, but no arrests were made.
Labor’s new Special Envoy for Social Cohesion, Peter Khalil, said while he had always supported the right to peaceful protest, but if that crossed the line into hate speech it was “unacceptable legally and morally” and “needs to be called out”.
“In protests over the weekend, individuals chose to display Hezbollah flags and symbols and chanted abhorrent slogans,” he said.
“Hezbollah is a proscribed terrorist organisation any support for this organisation is unequivocally condemned and those who chose to fly the flags should be dealt with by full force of the law.”
On Tuesday the Albanese Government will announce Aftab Malik as the new Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia in Australia, which follows the appointment of Jillian Segal as the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism.
Mr Malik said promoting social cohesion and fighting against hate in Australia was more important now than it has ever been.
“I look forward to working with Muslim leaders and the broader community to promote peace, understanding and inclusivity,” he said.
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