West must defend democracy, says Boris Johnson
Visiting former British prime minister Boris Johnson has made an impassioned plea for the West to ‘stick up’ for the democracies of Israel and Ukraine.
Visiting former British prime minister Boris Johnson has made an impassioned plea for the West to “stick up” for the democracies of Israel and Ukraine in the face of an increasingly “darker and dangerous” political world.
Mr Johnson also slammed the rise of anti-Semitism, saying it was a “lazy tactic of diversion” to blame Jewish people for the failings of one’s own society.
“The reality of what happened on October 7 was that it was a disgusting terrorist attack by Hamas,” he said, giving the John Howard Lecture on Wednesday.
“Whatever Israel’s failings as a country, it’s a democracy. We have to stick up for these two democracies: Israel and Ukraine,” Mr Johnson said
He also blamed a more volatile world on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, urging leaders to ensure Vladimir Putin was defeated to avoid a return to a “dark age of geopolitics”.
“Don’t be fooled by the strange view that Ukraine can’t win – they can,” he said.
Mr Johnson, who arrived in Australia on Wednesday to give this year’s lecture at Sydney’s Fullerton Hotel, covered a wide range of topics: from global flashpoints to asylum-seekers, Australia Day and the rise of “wokery”.
Former Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison, who introduced Mr Johnson, described him as a “great friend of Australia” who not only returned sovereignty to the UK after Brexit, but who also would “rush” towards ensuring sovereignty for other democratic nations.
Mr Morrison also took a swipe at the Albanese government’s move in the UN on Wednesday to support a ceasefire in Gaza, slamming the government for “crossing over the road” to one side and instead should have “commended our great allies”.
“You can’t walk down both sides of the road,” he said.
“You think it’s the middle of the road, when actually you’ve crossed over to one side.”
Mr Johnson called Mr Howard a “hero of the centre right” and welcomed the passage of legislation by the British government to revive its Rwanda immigration policy, which would see UK-bound asylum seekers instead sent to the African nation.
“We should decide who comes to our country and under what conditions,” Mr Johnson said, citing a 2001 speech by the former Australian prime minister.
Mr Johnson said it was “absolutely crazy” that Australia’s high commissioner to the UK Stephen Smith had cancelled its Australia Day event, although acting prime minister Richard Marles has since said it would go ahead.
The former Conservative leader also urged Australians not to get “into a habit” of cancelling freedom of expression in “the name of wokery”.
He called out universities for “no-platforming” JK Rowling for the Harry Potter author’s views on transgender issues and the removal of “fat” in Roald Dahl books.
“I’m fat, it certainly won’t help me get thin if we take out that word,” he said.
Mr Johnson accused autocracies of “weaponising” mass immigration, as autocratic leaders knew if they destabilised a country it would be western nations who would be the destination.
“People don’t want to go to Russia, but to the West,” he said.
Mr Johnson said the world’s peace was being threatened by “an autocrat trying to wipe Ukraine off the map” and the West should “stand together” against Mr Putin and other autocrats.
“If we let Putin win, we would usher in a new cruel tyranny in Ukraine,” he said.
“We would embark on a new dark ages of geopolitics where might is right.” Mr Johnson called the AUKUS security pact a “great idea … one we need now more than ever”, describing it as Mr Morrison’s brainchild.
“We need more AUKUS because the word as a whole is becoming a darker and more dangerous place,” Mr Johnson said.
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