Abdel-Magied to keep job on Council for Australian-Arab Relations

Yassmin Abdel-Magied will keep her job on a government advisory board after an investigation by Julie Bishop.

Activist Yassmin Abdel-Magied will keep her job on a federal government advisory board after an investigation by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop found no basis for ­removing her over controversial remarks about Anzac Day.

The Australian has obtained a letter from Ms Bishop to Coalition backbencher Eric Abetz who had called for her to be dumped from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Council for Australian-Arab Relations, advising him that there was no precedent for such a removal.

Ms Abdel-Magied, who is also an ABC host, deleted and apologised for a controversial Facebook post in which she said “LEST. WE. FORGET. (Manus, Nauru, Syria, Palestine ...)”, which sparked outrage and accusations that she had disrespected Anzac Day.

Ms Bishop said after a thorough inquiry including interviews with embassies and other members of the board, she was convinced that no good would be served by her removal and that instead she would be “mentored”.

“She apologised profusely to me and the Australian government,” Ms Bishop wrote, having also said she was “dismayed” by Ms Abdel-Magied’s remarks.

“Given that Ms Abdel-Magied did not seek to defend her words, that the post was removed and that she apologised, there is no need for me to make reference to the issue of the right of free speech, which has also been raised with me by other members of parliament.

“As to her part-time position as a member of the CAAR advisory board, I have made enquiries of a number of people familiar with her work on CAAR. Without exception, they are of the view that she has made a significant and positive contribution to CAAR and its ­objectives and has communicated a positive image of Australia as an inclusive, tolerant and multicultural nation.

“Further I sought advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and no precedent can be found for termination of a membership across all our foundations, councils, boards and institutes, including CAAR.”

Officials were concerned that removing her from the board could ignite further social and ethnic divisions at a time when intelligence agencies were stressing the need to engage with the Muslim community.

It is believed Ms Abdel-Magied accepted the offer of mentoring support. Senator Abetz last night said the “fact the minister has ­acknowledged the need for Yassmin Abdel-Magied to have a personal mentor speaks volumes about her suitability and capacity for taxpayer-funded advisory roles”.

Following Anzac Day, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce pushed for the ABC to take action against Ms Abdel-Magied, saying her comments made it harder to justify the broadcaster’s funding.

Government MPs including George Christensen and former prime minister Tony Abbott also criticised her comments, while One Nation leader Pauline Hanson suggested the government’s new citizenship test could include a question asking applicants whether they respected Anzac Day. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten described Ms Abdel-Magied’s comments as “very insensitive” but failed short of calling for her removal from the ABC, where she hosts Australia Wide.