‘Complete fabrication’: Mark Dreyfus slams Peter Dutton over stoush

The Coalition will seek to amend the Albanese government’s higher education code bill to include anti-Semitism, opposition education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson has declared.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The Coalition will seek to amend the Albanese government’s higher education code bill to include anti-Semitism, opposition education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson has declared.

This would work alongside the sexual violence and harassment code – which the government has listed before the House of Representatives – that would make universities comply with the recommendations of the legislated Student Ombudsman.

“There has been an alarming increase in anti-Semitism on university campuses since the horrific Hamas terrorist attack on innocent Israeli citizens on 7 October 2023,” Senator Henderson said. “While universities have wide-ranging misconduct policies including in relation to racial vilification and discrimination, these rules are often not being appropriately enforced.

“Everyone is entitled to be safe on a university campus including Jewish students and staff.”

The move follows a parliamentary inquiry on campus anti-Semitism – due to report back by the end of next month – and Senate hearings for an unsuccessful Coalition push to get a judicial inquiry into campus anti-Semitism.

There were increased instances of anti-Semitism at elite Australian universities since the October 7 attacks and the ensuing Israel-Hamas war.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has accused Peter Dutton of “complete fabrication” after a stoush during question time on Monday when Mr Dreyfus accused the Coalition of politicising anti-Semitism and the Coalition tried to sit him down.

On Tuesday the Opposition Leader suggested Mr Dreyfus apologised to Anthony Albanese after the incident. “He was closed down because he made a suggestion that we were politicising anti-Semitism,” Mr Dutton said.

“He was completely out of order. If he had the decency that you would expect from the first law officer, he would have withdrawn that without us requesting him to do so. It was a slur, it was misplaced. He, I think, apologised to the Prime Minister on the frontbench afterwards, and so he should because, as I say, Mark Dreyfus has largely been missing from this debate for 15 months.”

Following Mr Dutton’s Tuesday press conference, Mr Dreyfus said Mr Dutton’s claims were a “complete fabrication”.

“I never thought I’d see the day when a Liberal leader would try to silence a Jew for speaking about anti-Semitism in the Australian parliament,” he said. “I stand by everything I said yesterday.

“We need to put an end to the wave of anti-Semitism in this country, which is exactly what the government I am a part of has worked tirelessly to do. The only way that will happen is if there is unity and bipartisanship.”

Both sides of the house were exercised on Monday during a rare Coalition move to shut down Mr Dreyfus mid-answer.

“In the past few months I’ve stood in the shadow of the main gate at the Auschwitz death camp,” Mr Dreyfus said.

“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 home town.

“But those opposite have taken every opportunity since 7 October 2023 to politicise the trauma and the experiences of the Jewish people. I do not need the Leader of the Opposition or any of those opposite to tell me what anti-Semitism is, or how seriously I should take it.”

Labor MPs roared in anger as manager of opposition business Michael Sukkar rose to interrupt the response.