Dreyfus blasts ‘disgusting’ opposition attempt to gag him on antisemitism

Partisan tensions have erupted in parliament as Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, the nation’s most senior Jewish politician, blasted the federal opposition for trying to silence him as he spoke about his work to tackle the surge in antisemitism.

Dreyfus could be heard calling Liberal MP Michael Sukkar “disgusting” as the newly appointed manager of opposition business moved a motion that Dreyfus no longer be heard – drawing shocked expressions from the government’s frontbench – after he accused the Coalition of politicising the issue of antisemitism during Monday’s question time.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke react after the Coalition’s attempt to silence Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the opposition had behaved in a “completely unacceptable” way by heckling Dreyfus as he addressed parliament about the government’s efforts to combat antisemitism.

In response to a question about the government’s decision to introduce mandatory minimum sentences for antisemitic and terrorism offences after Coalition pressure, Dreyfus said the Albanese government had done more than any other “to combat the abhorrent and shocking rise in antisemitism”.

“The Liberals are still baying, and shouting, and talking. This government acts on antisemitism,” he said, before listing legislation the government had passed including banning the Nazi salute and hate symbols.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the Coalition had behaved in a “proportionate” way to what he, in turn, described as a “disgusting” accusation from Dreyfus that the opposition had sought political advantage from antisemitism.

Senator Jacqui Lambie branded the opposition’s move to censure Dreyfus a “disgrace”, telling the ABC: “I tell you what, this is the trouble, and this is why they won’t win the election: going straight to the nasties already. You know, just playing it all out there already, and when we’re not even through our second sitting week.”

Dreyfus, the son and grandson of Holocaust survivors, then spoke in passionate personal terms, saying: “The past few months, I’ve stood in the shadow of the main gate at the Auschwitz death camp.

“I’ve stood on the field where a music festival in Israel was turned into a bloodbath. And I’ve stood in the ruins of a burnt-out synagogue in my hometown.

“But those opposite have taken every opportunity since the 7th of October 2023 to politicise the trauma and the experiences of the Jewish people.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said it was “disgusting” the opposition sought to silence him while speaking about antisemitism.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“I do not need the leader of the opposition or any of those opposite to tell me what antisemitism is, or how seriously I should take it.”

Saying that members of the Coalition were offended by the claim they had sought political advantage from antisemitism, Sukkar rose to his feet for a point of order and, in an unusual parliamentary manoeuvre, moved that Dreyfus no longer be heard.

After the vote was defeated 91-52, Sukkar sought to have Dreyfus withdraw his remarks.

Albanese rose to defend Dreyfus, saying: “The idea that the minister should withdraw a statement is, quite frankly, totally inconsistent with things that have been said by those opposite over a considerable period of time.

“The minister, due to who he is … he is someone who feels this very personally and deeply. He was being interjected against by those opposite in behaviour that I regard as completely disorderly and completely unacceptable.”

Speaker Milton Dick did not ask Dreyfus to withdraw his comment but asked him to avoid making remarks that offended opposition MPs.

Dreyfus concluded his answer by saying: “I’m the son and the grandson of a Holocaust survivor. I went to the commemoration of the liberation about the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, a place where a million Jews were murdered, a place where my great-grandmother was murdered on the 13th of October 1942,” he said.

“I say to members of this house that we’ve had a wave of antisemitism in this country, and right now, what we need is unity.

“We need bipartisanship, and that’s the effort that our government made.”

This masthead reported last week that Dreyfus opposed the move to introduce minimum sentences, which goes against Labor’s official policy platform, but was overruled by Albanese and other cabinet colleagues.

Independent MP Zali Steggall said it would be wrong to censure Dreyfus for saying antisemitism had been politicised given this could describe most issues debated during question time.

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