Julian Leeser demands major parties preference Greens last, says they’re more racist than One Nation
Liberal backbencher Julian Leeser says ‘Greens are now worse than One Nation’ and all major parties must preference the far-left party last.
Prominent Liberal Jewish MP Julian Leeser has declared the Greens are more racist than One Nation and should be preferenced last by all major parties, saying anti-Semitism “is now a full-blown feature of the extremists-Greens political ideology”.
In a speech to the Robert Menzies Institute conference on Friday, Mr Leeser will also call on the government to establish an independent inquiry into anti-Semitism on campuses, saying universities and inner-city areas where there was political jostling between Labor and the Greens had become “anti-Semitic hotspots”.
“We have seen from October 7 (when Hamas attacked Israel) that the Greens are treating the horrors of the war on Israel as an opportunity to whip up anti-Semitic hate. The Greens’ behaviour online and in parliament since October 7 on these matters has been nothing less than disgraceful,” Mr Leeser will say.
“In doing so, they join a long list of opportunists who have targeted Jewish people since time began. As a Jewish Australian, I have always had an aversion to race-based politics. It’s why I have always preferenced One Nation last. But … it’s clear to me that the Greens are now worse than One Nation.
“Yes, One Nation is full of kooks and conspiracy theory nut-jobs, but anti-Semitism is now a full-blown feature of the extremists-Greens political ideology. It represents a danger to Jewish Australians and all Australians who value freedom. It’s why I believe … the major parties of Australia must preference the Greens last.”
The Greens were approached for comment.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said the party would preference the Greens last in all state and federal elections, adding: “If Julian Leeser is so concerned about racism, he should probably reflect on his support for the Albanese government’s divisive and racist voice to parliament.”
Following heated debate over the Israel-Hamas conflict, which has seen the Greens demand the government call for a ceasefire in Gaza, Mr Leeser will warn the rise of anti-Semitism in Australia over a number of years had been fed by conspiracy theorists of the far-right “and the extremist Greens on the far-left”.
Noting an Australian Jewish University Experience Survey from August that found 64 per cent of Jewish university students had experienced anti-Semitism on campus and 88 per cent of these had experienced anti-Semitism over the proceeding year, Mr Leeser will say “anti-Semitism of the left” was growing on campuses and festering in classrooms.
“It takes the modern lens of the left – seeing the world through the lens of oppressed and oppressors, that justice is denied through inherited privilege, and privilege must be struck down,” he will say.
“Universities are multi-billion taxpayer-funded businesses and students deserve to attend universities which are free of political, racial and ethnic discrimination. The lack of moral clarity … is appalling.
“We have got to a point where we need a formal independent inquiry into anti-Semitism on our campuses, with the terms of reference … to be worked out by government after consultation with the Jewish community.
“Separately, as Liberals we need to find ways of engaging again on the intellectual debates shaping our campuses and call on universities to remember and celebrate the Western tradition which has given us an inspiring story of progress and achievement.”
Ahead of the 2019 election, Scott Morrison said the Liberals would put One Nation below Labor on how-to-vote cards, but would not commit to putting them below the “serious threat” of the Greens. In 2022, Liberal voters were asked to put the Greens ahead of Labor.
Mr Leeser will say on Friday: “I am calling on the Liberal Party, the National Party and the Labor Party to put the Greens last in every seat at the next election.”
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