MEDIA STATEMENT
29 October 2026
All Australians should be appalled by reports that Hamas is taking legal action in the Federal Court to overturn Australia’s designation of the entire organisation as a terrorist organisation.
You cannot be serious!
This is the same Hamas responsible for the horrific October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks in Israel, when 1,200 innocent people were murdered and 251 were taken hostage into Gaza.
Men, women, children and entire families were slaughtered in their homes. Young people attending a music festival were hunted down and murdered, by 3,000 terrorists.
And now Hamas wants Australia to stop calling it a terrorist organisation?
Give me a break.
Let me be absolutely clear. Hamas is a terrorist organisation. Its deliberate targeting of innocent civilians, its use of violence and intimidation, and its commitment to the destruction of Israel leave absolutely no room for ambiguity.
During the Oslo Accords process and Second Intifada, Hamas were involved in dozens of suicide bombings. Since 2001, Hamas has been responsible for thousands of rocket and mortar attacks on Southern Israel.
In March 2022, the former Morrison Coalition Government made the right decision to list Hamas in its entirety as a terrorist organisation, rather than limiting that designation to its military wing.
That decision recognised a fundamental truth: you cannot simply separate the political leadership of Hamas from the terrorism carried out in its name.
I will never apologise for that decision, and I will never support weakening Australia’s resolve against terrorism.
This latest legal challenge should also serve as a wake-up call to those in Australian politics who have spent far too much time attacking Israel while failing to apply the same scrutiny to Hamas.
There is nothing wrong with scrutinising the actions of any government, including Israel’s. But there is something deeply troubling about a political debate in which condemnation of Israel is loud and relentless, while the responsibility of Hamas for October 7 and the suffering that followed is too often pushed into the background.
Those who are quick to demand accountability from Israel must be equally unequivocal in condemning Hamas.
The Albanese Government must vigorously defend the designation of Hamas in its entirety and ensure Australia does not retreat one millimetre from its commitment to combating terrorism and antisemitism.
Our Jewish community deserves to know that their government will stand firmly against those who seek to legitimise organisations responsible for the murder of innocent civilians.
Hamas was a terrorist organisation before October 7, 2023. It was a terrorist organisation on October 7. And it remains a terrorist organisation today.
No courtroom challenge will change that fundamental truth.
[ENDS]
Media Contact: Brendan West – 0402 556 646 – Brendan.west@aph.gov.au