Thursday, 30 November 2023

Business of the house

Community safety

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:01):(By leave) I wish to make a short statement to the house about the incident overnight at Crowne Plaza. Yesterday, like many members of this house, I met with a mother whose son was murdered, I met with a young woman whose brother is currently hostage in Gaza, I met with an uncle whose niece was killed and I met with friends of a young woman who was kidnapped at that music festival. In their moment of grief and trauma these people found the courage to travel to the other side of the world and tell their story. They found the courage to leave behind their support network and their loved ones as well. When someone who has made that journey comes into this Parliament, we listen. Wherever they are from, we listen. Every member of Parliament had an opportunity to hear these families yesterday, and every member of these families has the right to feel safe. Instead, after a day of meetings with community leaders, they went home to rest and were confronted with a disgusting display. A group of hardcore protesters arrived in their hotel lobby. They were shouted at. The protestors used offensive signs and props that have no role in protest. The only purpose of these props was cruelty.

It is one thing to stand here outside of Parliament and have your say; it is another thing to go to Fed Square or to any town square anywhere in the world and peacefully put your case, but seeking out grieving families just to taunt them, just to scare them, waving distressing props in their face – that is not about having your say, that is about hurting people. I want to make this very clear: I condemn the extreme behaviour that was on display last night in the strongest possible terms, I condemn antisemitism in the strongest possible terms and I condemn the act of targeting people in their unique moment of grief.

I know the Victorian people agree that, whatever your views, everyone expects your fellow Victorians to act with decency and humanity, and last night what we saw was not decent. It was not civil. It was cruel and heartless, and my heart goes out to these families as a mother, an aunt and a Victorian. I want to say to each of them that what you experienced last night does not represent our state. Victoria is proudly a multicultural society. We celebrate our diversity, and where we have differences we debate them peacefully and respectfully. Above all, we respect each other. We show compassion and love, and I continue to ask all Victorians, including all members of this house and this Parliament, to do the same. I appreciate the house.

David SOUTHWICK (Caulfield) (14:04):(By leave) Yesterday we saw the best of this Parliament when the member for Box Hill and I hosted as part of the Liberal Friends of Israel a delegation of Israeli families, two of which had had members killed. They were here to share their traumatic stories with us. Another four had their family members taken hostage, and they were here to ask all of us to advocate to bring their family members home. It was the best of this Parliament, and I have had a number of colleagues come to me and say that they have never quite experienced something so emotional before, but what is even more important is that those people left this Parliament feeling as though we had their backs. The commentary that I had from them – and they were in the federal Parliament the day before – is that our Parliament actually embraced them. We embraced them.

To go from what was yesterday the best of moments for our state to the worst of moments in terms of what happened last night is unforgivable. No-one should behave like this. No-one should target people because of their background, because of their faith, because of their religion, because of their ethnic diversity – no-one should do that. Everybody has a right to have a view, but no-one should be targeting somebody for who they are. What reason did those anti-Israel bigots, thugs, have to attend that hotel last night? What reason? Those family members came back last night, after visiting a school to once again share their story, at 10 o’clock at night to then have to be evacuated back to the police station for 3 hours and come back once the hotel was cleared so they were safe. This is what the world stage is seeing in the way that we behave.

I share with the Premier her comments today in condemning that, and we will work in whatever way we can to ensure that never happens. There is no place for that here – none. To think that we have these kinds of individuals that are doing this – covering their faces, shutting down and blockading a lift, an escalator, which was effectively the entrance into these people’s hotel – they are gutless cowards that have no place here. Ultimately, we need a response. I would say that we need to do whatever it takes – more police, more resources, more powers. I know we have been talking about move-on laws, which I will keep talking about, because those people in what they did – trespassing on private property at a hotel, shutting down effectively an entrance to a hotel – should not have been there. So I share with what the Premier has said today condemning these hateful, hurtful people.

I just wanted to finish by commending the courageous individuals that came here to share their stories with us: Iris Haim, mother of Yotam Haim, 28, who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists; Tali Kizhner, mother of Segev Kizhner, 22, murdered by Hamas terrorists – and Tali was here yesterday to tell her story; Elad Levy, uncle of Roni Eshel, 19, murdered by Hamas terrorists; Mika Shani, sister of Amit Shani, who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists; Ofir Tamir, friend of Noa Argamani, and Amit Parpara, also a friend of Noa, who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists.

The shining light in all of this is for Mika, 16 years of age, sister of Amit – Amit is now being released. She will be able to go back and see her brother. But we want them all returned safely. We want an end to this, and I say once again to anybody that thinks it is okay to target people like this: it is simply not okay. There are the steps of Parliament, there are other places for you to have your protest – not in people’s hotels, not in people’s lobbies, not in people’s lives. It is unacceptable, and there is no place for that in this great state of Victoria.