Dutton Vows Anti-Semitism Taskforce, Armed Guards for Jewish Schools

Australian Opposition Leader Peter Dutton during post Budget media interviews at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on May 15, 2024. Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has announced plans to establish a dedicated Anti-Semitism Taskforce if the Liberal-National Coalition wins the next federal election.

The task force will be led by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and include agencies such as domestic spy organisation ASIO, ACIC, the finance intelligence agency AUSTRAC, the Australian Border Force (ABF), and state police.

The announcement comes in the wake of the firebombing of Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue on the morning of Dec. 6.

“Stronger action and stronger national leadership could have prevented this,” Dutton said in a statement released on Dec. 9.

He also pledged to issue a new ministerial direction to the AFP to prioritise addressing anti-semitism, including unsolved crimes and complaints against the Jewish community since Oct. 7, 2023.

This would include reevaluating decisions not to proceed with charges for offences like doxxing, public displays of terrorist symbols, incitement, harassment, and other related crimes.

Dutton further proposed directing the task force to refer visa holders involved in acts of anti-semitism for immediate cancellation and deportation.

Commitments for Armed Guards, Extra Security Funding

Dutton also promised to deliver the $32.5 million security funding requested by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry without conditions, including funding for armed guards at Jewish schools and synagogues.

He also committed to amending the Migration Act’s provisions to capture anti-semitic conduct and apply it retrospectively for acts of hatred against the Jewish community since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel.

“We must send a message as a country that actions have consequences. For too long, the rise of vile anti-semitism in our country has been allowed to fester, and if such behaviour continues to be tolerated, it will only get worse,” he said.

Shadow Home Affairs spokesperson James Paterson took aim at the response of ministers.

“It is extraordinary to me that we are now in the fourth day following this crisis, and we have not seen [Home Affairs Minister] Tony Burke. He’s not stood up, he’s not done a press conference, he’s not done a media interview,” he said.

“Do you think this would have been his response if it was a mosque that was fired on instead of a synagogue.”

Australia Must Reject All Hate, Says Bowen

Meanwhile, Labor’s Energy Minister Chris Bowen condemned the synagogue firebombing as “unspeakable” and “horrendous.”

“It has no place in modern Australia. The prime minister and all senior members of the government have been very clear on that,” he told ABC radio.

Reacting to Dutton’s remarks, Bowen said, “The attack on the synagogue is the fault of the person who attacked the synagogue.”

He accused the opposition of politicising the issue.

“One of the lowest things I’ve seen in my time in politics. And James Paterson and Peter Dutton need to have a good look at themselves. This is a moment for national unity, and they have not risen to the moment,” Bowen said.

Bowen defended the government’s record on combating anti-semitism, highlighting the passage of the anti-doxxing bill among 45 legislative acts in the last parliamentary session.

“The Opposition opposed that. That was an extraordinary thing for a party that says it cares about anti-semitism to do,” Bowen remarked.

Bowen also criticised Senator James Paterson’s suggestion that the prime minister and the home affairs minister should direct the AFP on enforcement priorities.

“It’s the job of the Parliament to set the laws, and the AFP to enforce them,” Bowen said.

Federal and Victorian police are set to meet later on Dec. 9 to determine if the incident warrants an official terrorism declaration, which would grant extra policing powers.