Former Labor MP says Josh Frydenberg ‘deserves apology’

Mike Kelly has urged Employment Minister Murray Watt to apologise for accusing Josh Frydenberg of being ‘pol­itically motivated’ in his calls for anti-Semitism to be properly ­addressed.

Josh Frydenberg takes part in the vigil held by the Jewish community and supporters near the Adass Israel Synagogue that was firebombed. Picture: David Crosling

Former Labor minister Mike Kelly has urged Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt to apologise for accusing Josh Frydenberg of being “pol­itically motivated” in his calls for anti-Semitism to be properly ­addressed by the Labor government.

Mr Kelly – who was the minister for defence materiel before becoming a co-convener of Labor Friends of Israel – said he was taken aback by Senator Watt’s response to Mr Frydenberg’s comments, which were made in response to the burning down of a Melbourne synagogue on Friday.

“Look, I know Murray well, and he’s a good person – so I was quite surprised to hear that ­comment,” Mr Kelly told The Australian.

“Josh Frydenberg is obviously someone who’s deeply affected by the events that occurred over the past year. His family are Holocaust survivors, he feels these issues deeply and emotionally.

“And his comments, I feel certain, are not politically motivated.”

Former Liberal senator and UN ambassador Mitch Fifield also admonished Senator Watt, who, he said, should “not have impugned the motives of Josh ­Frydenberg in speaking about responses to anti-Semitism”.

“To suggest Josh is motivated by anything other than heartfelt concern fails to understand the man,” Mr Fifield said in a post.

“It also diminishes the effect on the community of the terrorist ­attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne.”

Mr Frydenberg was active while in parliament in seeking to stamp out anti-Semitism, with the former treasurer having stood shoulder to shoulder with Labor MPs, including Josh Burns, in admonishing hate speech over the years.

Senator Watt was quizzed on Sunday over his view that Mr Frydenberg’s comments on Labor’s need to properly address anti-Semitism had been politically ­motivated.

“I respect the fact that Mr Frydenberg is of the Jewish faith, and he has very strong feelings about this, but I don’t think we can separate the fact that he has a very long career as a Liberal Party politician and that is no doubt one of the ­reasons he’s made these comments,” Senator Watt told Sky News.

“Any fair observer of what the government and the Prime Minister have done would see a range of actions taken, including in response to this latest attack.

“We need to see these events stop.

“It’s one of the reasons why we funded security and safety outside Jewish sites as a government (and) appointed the anti-Semitism envoy – there are a range of ­actions that we’ve taken, but clearly we would need to do more as things progress.”

Labor Friends of Israel co-convener Mike Kelly. Picture: NewsWire/Martin Ollman

Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt.

Mr Kelly, who told The Australian last week that he believed Labor was “betraying” the legacy of ALP giants Ben Chifley and HV “Doc” Evatt, called for Senator Watt and all politicians to “concentrate on trying to conduct a civil dialogue”.

“We have to set an example for the broader community, if nothing else,” he said.

“We shouldn’t be playing the man, we should play the ball here.

“Just comment on the facts and the issues and our positions on them, and not attack people ­personally.”

Senator Watt has been contacted for comment.

Mr Frydenberg’s call for a nat­ional taskforce on anti-Semitism was dismissed by Anthony Albanese on Sunday, the Prime Minister saying “one of the things that’s really important about these matters is that the police be allowed to go about through their work”.

“There is a joint counter-terrorism taskforce already, and that has been involved with Victoria Police,” he said.