E&OE.
Friends, thank you very much for the very warm welcome. Thank you for being here tonight.
I want to say thank you very much to Nova Peris for her Acknowledgement of Country and also for her bravery – for what she’s done for our country, and for Israel.
Can I also tonight acknowledge the Premier of New South Wales.
The Leader of the Opposition, Mark Speakman.
The Minister of Health and Aged Care representing the Prime Minister, Mark Butler.
To my colleagues, Andrew Bragg.
To the amazing Ro Knox.
To my many colleagues who are here today, including Julian Leeser.
Thank you so much to the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies.
To the Zionist Council of New South Wales.
To every brave individual here tonight.
Friends, Israel was at the epicentre of Hamas’s evil on October 7 last year.
But the shockwaves of that terrorist attack resonated around the world.
That day of depravity – the greatest loss of Jewish life on a single day since the Holocaust – awoke and exposed an anti-Semitic rot afflicting Western democracies.
On this, the first anniversary of October 7 – and given all we’ve seen since then – several things are important.
Memory is important.
Even today, there are people seeking to distort, to deny, and defend the barbarism that took place on October 7 – despite all the evidence.
Evil endures when the truth is twisted.
And so, we must prevent perversions of the past.
It’s our duty to commit to our national memory the horrors and the heartbreak of October 7.
But also the Israeli heroism which confronted evil – and continues to fight evil to this day.
What else is important?
Moral clarity is important.
Because, frankly, there hasn’t been enough of it.
Instead, we’ve seen a moral fog of moral ambiguity, of moral equivalence, and of immorality.
Just days after October 7, we saw protesters chanting slogans calling for the extermination of Israel.
And they haven’t stopped since.
As soon as Israel took the fight to Hamas, we began to hear unreasonable calls for immediate restraint.
Calls for Israel to not look back in anger.
Calls for Israel to de-escalate and pause its military response.
Now, such calls have persisted – despite hostages remaining in chains and being executed.
Such calls have endured – despite Hamas remaining operative, and Hezbollah raining down rockets on Israel.
Those making such calls hold Israel to a standard they would never expect or accept of themselves.
Following the shocking events on the steps of the Sydney Opera House, there’s been a vacuum of leadership.
In that vacuum, intolerable incidents have been tolerated.
And each intolerable incident has emboldened the next.
The last 12 months constitute one of the most difficult periods for Jewish Australians in our nation’s history.
So, in the interest of moral clarity, let me be clear:
Israel has every right to defend its territory, and its people, from existential threats.
From Hamas.
From Hezbollah.
From the Houthis.
And from the Iranian regime which sponsors them all.
This is a time to distinguish the lawful from the lawless, civilisation from barbarism, and good from evil.
This is a time to speak truthfully about the threat of anti-Semitism in our great country.
Anti-Semitism is not only a threat to one segment of our community.
It is a threat to our social cohesion.
To our democratic values.
And to our way of life.
The late and great Christopher Hitchens called anti-Semitism “the godfather of racism.”
He described it as “the common enemy of humanity and of civilisation.”
For that reason, he said, it “has to be fought against very tenaciously.”
And we will.
I’m determined that together we will turn the tide of anti-Semitism afflicting our country.
A Coalition Government under my leadership will restore moral clarity and act with moral courage.
We will make it clear that the law must be enforced readily – not reluctantly – against those inciting hatred and violence.
We will hold a judicial inquiry into anti-Semitism on our university campuses because the Jewish community deserves no less.
And we will ensure that young Australians are equipped with a shield of knowledge to deflect Jewish hatred.
As one measure, a Coalition Government will commit $8.5 million to support the expansion of the Sydney Jewish Museum.
Every Australian child will understand this evil.
Every Australian child through their education will understand the evils of the past and the evils of the present.
But what else is important?
Fellowship and friendship are important.
Standing with our ally, Israel – rather than treating her as an adversary.
Supporting Australians of Jewish faith – because you are cherished Australians citizens.
I’ve been proud to do both.
And not only in words.
I travelled to Israel.
I listened to survivors – to families whose loved ones had been murdered or taken hostage.
We listened to the bravery of those young people before, and we should always hold them in our hearts.
I met with President Herzog, with the Prime Minister, and with the Foreign Minister.
In Australia, together, we’ve attended vigils, we’ve addressed synagogue services, and paid respects at Holocaust museums.
And I can tell you what I’ve seen in every case:
I’ve seen the Jewish spirit at play.
A spirit characterised by strength, by solidarity, and by survival.
That spirit has seen the Jewish people overcome every trial and tribulation that they’ve faced in history:
Be it subjugation, persecution, dispossession, exile, and massacre.
That same spirit will see the Jewish people today – in Israel, in Australia, and around the world – prevail over present ordeals.
Friends, my most important message today is to the millions of Australians who – like generations of Australians past – know the difference between right and wrong.
Australians who appreciate the sacrifice of men and women in uniform who fought tyranny and evil in times of war, so that we might live in a time of peace.
Australians who understand that the fight for freedom and peace and stability will never end – as long as evil exists in this world.
Many Australians will be watching the Middle East at the moment and seeing familiar footage of a far-off war with claims and counter-claims.
People will say, ‘This is not our fight’, or ‘Why is it relevant to us’, or ‘Let’s just be friends with everyone’.
The same reluctance and attitude existed in the world in the minds of many decent people in the 1930s.
In the 1930s, Europe was at threat from a murderous dictator in the same way that Israel is today, facing the same evil.
‘River to the Sea’ isn’t just a rhetorical chant of radical university students.
It’s a stated intent to wipe Israel and the Jewish people off the map.
The parallels between the Holocaust and October 7 are eerie.
If we don’t take a strong stance now, we risk repeating the mistakes of the 1930s.
That is why Australians should be inspired by the bravery of generations past to stand up for our values today and into the future.
To argue for right over wrong.
To stand up for democracy over tyranny.
To defeat the evil that we see in terrorist groups.
In this case the evil perpetrated against human beings just because they are Jewish.
And it shouldn’t be forgotten, evil treatment, of course, of their own people by hiding bombs and building tunnels under hospitals, under schools, and under residential buildings.
By slaughtering women and children in acts of barbarity.
For that is what this debate is about.
We are on the side of civilisation over barbarity.
And that is why every Australian, drawing on their instincts of decency and a fair go, must join with Jewish Australians to reject the anti-Semitism, wherever it is witnessed on our streets, in our universities, across society over the last 12 months.
The anti-Semitism on display today and in recent days as people march with flags and black hearts to celebrate the first anniversary of 1,200 people being slaughtered, raped, brutalised, and held captive.
It’s why I describe this as the most shocking period of our country in my lifetime.
To every Australian:
We are at our best when we stand up for our beliefs, even if it’s easier to look the other way, or it’s happening across the other side of the world far from us.
This fight is about keeping our country safe.
It’s not right that Jewish schools have armed guards.
It’s not right that fellow Australians including Holocaust survivors feel unsafe in this country for the first time.
It’s not right that people are ostracised or vilified because of their surname or their physical appearance, or their heritage.
We would not tolerate such racism and discrimination toward any other section of Australian society.
And we’re being told it is acceptable against Australians of Jewish descent.
Together, today, we pay our respects to the memories of the 1,200 innocent people murdered on October 7.
Together, today, we pray for the hostages still held by Hamas.
Together, today, we grieve for the families who have lost those dearest to them.
But together, today, we roar courageously and confidently in the face of evil.
The enemies of Israel and the peddlers of Jewish hate will never win.
[ends]