House of Representatives Date: 30 October 2025
Speaker:
I give the call to the Shadow Attorney-General.
Andrew Wallace MP:
Tomorrow we will mark 50 years since the passage of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, a landmark in Australia’s legal and moral commitment to equality. It was a bold step forward, but one that was supported by the coalition in opposition. The Racial Discrimination Act laid the foundation for a more inclusive Australia. The act outlawed racial discrimination in public life, employment, housing, services and education. It was our first federal human rights law, aligning Australia with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. It was a repudiation of the White Australia policy, which had effectively been dismantled by coalition prime minister Harold Holt in 1966. The act was a declaration that every Australian, regardless of race or background, deserves dignity and respect.
The coalition over the decades has supported and strengthened this act. Through the Fraser, Howard, Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments, the Liberal and National parties have been committed to multiculturalism. Whether in government or opposition, the Liberal and National parties have consistently championed the values of fairness, tolerance and unity. The coalition has supported the Australian Human Rights Commission while ensuring it remains accountable and effective. There is, however, more work to do in this regard. We have always believed that the fight against racism must be matched by a defence of freedom of expression, the rule of law and social cohesion.
The Racial Discrimination Act has delivered real benefits. It has empowered victims of racism to seek justice. It has promoted education and conciliation over punishment. It has helped build one of the most successful multicultural societies in the world. It has protected Indigenous Australians, migrants and religious minorities from systemic exclusion. But it has also faced challenges. Enforcement remains inconsistent. Many complaints never reach resolution. Rather than closing the gap for our Indigenous people, many of the targets are not on track and some are even worsening; of the 19 socioeconomic targets, only four are currently on track. The act has not always kept pace with the evolving nature of racism, especially what we see online. Tragically, in recent times, it has failed to protect one of Australia’s oldest and most vulnerable communities, the Jewish community. The Australian Human Rights Commission has failed dismally to protect Jewish Australians on our university campuses, in our workplaces, in our public spaces and even in their homes.
Since 7 October 2023, when Hamas launched its brutal attack on Israel, we have witnessed an unprecedented surge in antisemitism across Australia. According to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry there were 2,062 incidents of antisemitism in the year following the attack. That is a 316 per cent increase from the previous year. This is not just a failure of law enforcement; it is a failure of moral leadership. The Labor government has been slow to respond, reluctant to condemn and hesitant to act. While the Prime Minister has made statements, the Jewish community continues to feel unsafe, unheard and unprotected.
Australian Jews tell me they no longer feel safe wearing clothing or jewellery that would identify them as Jewish, for fear of reprisals. Others have told me they are considering moving to Israel because they would feel safer there. I’ve spoken with an Australian Jewish family who, in 2024, were actually in the process of leaving Australia permanently to seek refuge in Israel. I find that incredibly sad. That is an indictment on all of us—that one of our own, an Australian family, feels they have to move from our shores to seek refuge. I have even had Jewish Australians tell me that, for the first time in their lives, they are putting in place, or considering putting in place, a ‘plan B’—that is, a plan on how to get out of Australia in the event that antisemitism becomes so bad that the lives of their families are in jeopardy.
This is not Nazi-occupied Europe; this is Australia in 2025—the same country that supported the establishment of the State of Israel under the leadership of Australia’s external affairs minister, Labor luminary Doc Evatt. How did it get to this? Edmund Burke is said to have coined the phrase, ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’
This immense feeling of insecurity and a lack of safety, experienced by many members of the Jewish community in Australia, was not ameliorated by the announcement made by the Director-General of Security on 26 August this year—that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, had committed at least two acts of terror on Australian soil by using local criminal intermediaries: the firebombing of the kosher Lewis’ Continental Kitchen in Sydney and the arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne, both in 2024. For more than two years, the coalition asked this government to list the IRGC as a terrorist organisation under the Criminal Code. For more than two years this government refused, it dithered, it delayed, it said it couldn’t be done. The coalition offered to support reasonable amendments to the Criminal Code to enable the government to list the IRGC. Yet it sat on its hands until the Director-General of Security announced that the IRGC had, through its intermediaries, committed acts of terrorism on Australian soil.
The coalition is very pleased that the parliament passed the Criminal Code Amendment (State Sponsors of Terrorism) Bill 2025 through the House on Tuesday, and it looks forward to its passing through the Senate. Ultimately, the coalition looks forward to the IRGC being listed as a state sponsor of terrorism as soon as practicable. The Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal, appointed by Labor, has acknowledged that Jewish Australians feel very unsafe and that antisemitism is at a tipping point, yet her recommendations—cutting funding to universities that fail to protect Jewish students, screening visa applicants for extremism, and strengthening hate laws—have not been meaningfully implemented. This is not about Israel; it is about Australian Jews—our neighbours, our colleagues, our friends—being vilified, excluded and attacked in their own country. The Racial Discrimination Act was meant to protect them, but, largely, it has not. The Labor government must be held accountable for its failure to uphold the spirit and the letter of the law.
The coalition stands ready to act. We call for immediate funding for community security groups protecting Jewish institutions. We call for stronger enforcement of antivilification laws. We call for a judicial inquiry into antisemitism on university campuses and the stripping of funding from universities and cultural institutions that fail to address antisemitism. We call for clear guidelines for universities to protect Jewish students and staff. We call for support for Holocaust education and antiracism programs in schools. We call for a national strategy to combat antisemitism, developed in consultation with Jewish leaders.
Despite these stresses and strains, Australia remains a beacon of multicultural success. We cannot allow our nation to be dictated to or our social fabric to be torn apart by a very small number of people who seek to sow discord. The Australian society is inclusive and welcoming. If the United States is the land of the free, Australia is the land of the fair go. We intrinsically believe that people should be treated equally in the eyes of the law and in the eyes of each other, whether you’ve been a citizen for five minutes or you’re an Indigenous person whose family has been here for 50,000 years. Former prime minister Tony Abbott once said, ‘Two of the greatest lotteries in life are the country in which you are born and the family you are born into,’ and I believe he is absolutely right.
We are home to vibrant communities: Greek, Italian and Lebanese Australians, who helped build our cities and our industries; Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese Australians, who have enriched our economy and our culture; Sudanese, Afghan and Syrian Australians, who found refuge and opportunity here; and Jewish Australians, whose contributions to law, medicine, education and philanthropy are immeasurable. Multiculturalism has added billions to our gross domestic product, strengthened our global ties and made our society more resilient and dynamic. The coalition has long supported multiculturalism, not as a slogan but as a policy framework that promotes integration, mutual respect and national unity.
Education is key to combatting racism. The coalition in government has invested in programs that teach tolerance, celebrate diversity and promote engagement. We’ve supported initiatives that encourage interfaith dialogue and promote language and cultural heritage preservation. We’ve supported community leaders in building bridges across ethnic divides. We must also ensure that young Australians, especially those from migrant and refugee backgrounds, feel valued, supported and empowered to contribute to our national story.
As we commemorate 50 years of the Racial Discrimination Act, let us renew its promise. Let us recommit to a nation where no-one is judged by the colour of their skin or the origin of their name. Let us commit to freedom of speech—to its protection but never to its use as a weapon for hate. Let us commit to closing the many gaps for our Indigenous Australians. Let us commit to multiculturalism—that it be celebrated and not politicised. And let us commit to defending every community, especially those under threat, with courage and conviction. The Racial Discrimination Act is not just a law; it is a moral compass. Let us ensure that it continues to point us towards justice, unity and peace. I thank the House.
END
Media Contact: Brendan West – 0402 556 646 – Brendan.west@aph.gov.au
