Thursday, 19 October 2023

Extremism

Matthew BACH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (09:46): It was really good to be in the house earlier this week for an important moment of near unanimity when we discussed the government’s motion regarding the tragedies that we have seen unfold in Israel and also on the Gaza Strip over recent days. As I was thinking about that, and as I was thinking about some of the reactions that we have seen here in Australia, my mind turned back to some important work that was completed just a little over a year ago by the Legal and Social Issues Committee, our inquiry into extremism in Victoria. I was disappointed at that time that the terms of reference for that inquiry were narrow. They referred to so-called right-wing extremism. As I said in our minority report, this is not a term that is used by our security organisations. In this context it is an unhelpful term. Other members of the committee argued against my efforts to seek to expand the terms of reference on the basis that other forms of extremism were not a threat at that time. Since then, very sadly, we have seen chants of ‘Gas the Jews’ in Sydney. Reportedly a man not far from here, just outside the front of this building, chanted ‘Death to every Israeli’ the other day. So what I said in my recommendation was that the content, findings and recommendations of the substantive report should be read as pertaining to all forms of extremism. Given recent events and given the real moral clarity from many members of the government, notably Minister Blandthorn the other day, I would urge the government again to treat the report in the manner in which I had urged at the time.