Category: Australian News

I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, and I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging.

I would also like to express my gratitude to Abram Goldberg OAM for his words and his presence.

I am grateful for your invitation to be here with you today to open the Melbourne Holocaust Museum. It is an honour as great as it is solemn. And its importance cannot be overstated. Especially now.

This Museum stands because we must never forget the Holocaust. Not the scale of it, not the depths of its cruelty. A savagery that was long in the planning and cold in its calculation.

It is to the great credit of all who shared the vision for this Museum, the architects who made it possible, and the builders who made it real.

Within its walls, quiet dignity co-exists with awful truths, each one of them giving meaning to the words we keep repeating: Never again.

Those are words that stand on the foundation of memory.

But memory must be a conscious act – as this museum is. Like a flame, memory must be carefully tended and nurtured. And it must be passed on.

In the words of that great scholar of Judaism, Jacob Neusner:

Civilisation hangs suspended, from generation to generation, by the gossamer strand of memory.

If only one cohort of mothers and fathers fails to convey to its children what it has learned from its parents, then the great chain of learning and wisdom snaps.

If the guardians of human knowledge stumble only one time, in their fall collapses the entire edifice of knowledge and understanding. 

The guardians of knowledge have been so surefooted here.

For many Australians, the Holocaust is family history.

And it became part of our nation’s story.

Some 9000 Jewish refugees from Central Europe found asylum in Australia before the outbreak of World War II.

Among them was Gerda Cohen, the grandmother of the member for McNamara, Josh Burns. And the composer George Dreyfus, who is the father of the Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus. I’m very pleased to say George is with us today.

We consider how much that generation alone has contributed to the story of modern Australia.

Then consider the contribution that generations of Jews have made to Melbourne, the city that is home to the highest per capita population of Holocaust survivors outside Israel.

Acts of philanthropy, humanity and generosity, all driven by a powerful instinct to elevate and expand the life of this great, multicultural city.

It is an instinct that has been coupled with an equally innate desire to support community and support education, nourishing the aspirations of the next generation.

Then consider how much the Holocaust robbed from the world. How much energy, how much potential, how much inspiration and talent.

Such a vast multitude of life. Along with six million Jews – a number that falls across the decades like a shadow – this museum tells the story of the other victims of the Nazi regime.

There was no pity. No mercy. No humanity.

The scale of what happened – of what was done, what was perpetrated – means that for Jewish people especially, the Holocaust is not softened by the passing of time. It does not recede into history. It does not offer the one, slender comfort of distance.

Since the atrocities of October 7, Jewish Australians have been bearing a pain you should never have had to bear again. And you are feeling fear. Anxious that the long shadows of the past have crept into the present.

That should not be happening in a land that offered refuge then – and embraces you now.

As the conflict continues, antisemitism is on the rise. But we will not let it find so much as a foothold here. Australia will always denounce it and reject it utterly, just as we do all forms of racism and prejudice.

My Government is acting to make it clear there is no place in Australia for symbols that glorify the horrors of the Holocaust. And there is no place for those who seek to profit from the trade in these evil symbols, or use them to promote their hatred.

We owe it to our multicultural society, our Jewish community, and our survivors.

I turn to the words of Holocaust survivor Peter Gaspar, who lost 40 members of his extended family. And I quote:

The Holocaust didn’t start with gas chambers and murders and executions. It started with stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination, hate speech …

Those are words to heed. Every day.

What the Holocaust Museum so powerfully reminds us is that when we maintain meaningful contact with the past, we give ourselves our best chance of ensuring it doesn’t become our future.

To make the words ring true as we repeat them: Never again.

This Museum keeps memory alive for every visitor who steps through its doors.

I am honoured to declare it officially open.

Greens Senator for Queensland Larissa Waters will visit Toowoomba today to meet with local residents and concerned community members opposing the Toowoomba North-South Transport Corridor.

The Toowoomba North South Transport Corridor proposes a transport route that will have adverse impacts on residents, on endangered wildlife, on First Nations heritage sites and on the environment generally. 

Greens Senator for Queensland Larissa Waters said:

“We’re in the middle of a climate and an extinction emergency and yet federal, state and local governments keep bulldozing areas of significant environmental importance. 

“The Queensland government has said that the corridor is necessary to future-proof Toowoomba’s transport needs. Why is it that for the big parties the only solution to transport needs is yet another road? 

“Toowoomba, like all regional Queensland cities, is crying out for a modern, frequent, accessible and affordable public transport network. Instead the government proposes yet another road, which will have adverse impacts on residents, on endangered wildlife, on First Nations heritage sites. 

“The sacred site of Gummingurru was used for male initiation rituals until the 1800s when the Aboriginal people who lived in this area were forcibly relocated. It was handed back to its traditional owners, the Jarowair people, in 2000, but they’ve had no consultation about a giant road running alongside the site.

“Community members are clearly against this project, and yet, it was only after a huge outcry from local residents and conservation groups, that the minuscule two-week public consultation period was extended.

“Queenslanders are growing tired of Labor’s outdated policy solutions. With 32% of 18-34 year-old Queensland voters listing the Greens as their first preference, if in balance of power the Greens will make sure the next Queensland Government plans for more livable and connected communities, while looking after our natural environment.”

Toowoomba Regional Council has become only the sixth in Queensland to oppose development of new gas wells after farmer concerns about sinking soil and water contamination.

The Greens welcome the vote for a moratorium on coal seam gas projects from Toowoomba Regional Council as a huge win for farmers and the environment. 

Greens Senator for Queensland Larissa Waters said:

“The unanimous vote by Toowoomba councillors is a huge win for Toowoomba farmers, the environment and the community.

“It sends a strong message legally that Council won’t approve any local-level permissions required for coal seam gas, and sends a strong message politically to the state and federal government that farmland, water and the climate are more important than private fossil fuel profits. 

It’s time for governments at all levels to say no to new coal and gas, and stop caving to the fossil fuel industry destroying the water, land and communities of regional Queensland.

“For over a decade I have had a private members bill to give farmers, traditional owners and other landholders the right to say no to coal seam gas and coal mining on their land.

“Labor should join the Greens in standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Queensland farmers and regional communities to protect them from risky fossil fuel extraction and the climate change it drives. 

“The government cannot claim to be serious about “climate action” while continuing to support new fossil fuel projects in Australia.

“It’s long past time for the major parties to act on the science, not the demands of their coal & gas donors.”

With a new school funding agreement between the Commonwealth and the states and territories due to be negotiated in the new year, new analysis shows that Australia’s richest 100 private schools by parent fees and contributions banked $4.8 billion in 2021.

The total figure includes $776 million in funding from the Commonwealth and state governments – enough to fund the annual shortfall in the WA, SA, NT and Tasmanian public school systems.

Greens spokesperson on Education (Primary & Secondary), Senator Penny Allman-Payne said:

“It defies logic that when 98% of public schools are underfunded, rich private schools that are banking forty or fifty thousand dollars per student in fees and other contributions are still subsidised from the public purse.

“The quarter of a billion in annual funding these 100 super rich schools pocket from governments would be enough to close the combined annual public school funding gap in South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

“That’s more than half-a-million kids being denied a fully funded education because governments are too afraid to stand up to private schools.

“Instead of simply closing the public school funding gap when it was elected, Labor postponed the new National School Reform Agreement by a year, initiating yet another review.

“We don’t need another review to tell us what the problem is: public schools are underfunded. It’s literally that simple. 

“Labor says any new funding will be ‘tied’ to targets. This sounds like weasel words to justify either not delivering 100% of the Schooling Resource Standard to all schools, or for attaching onerous conditions to desperately needed funding increases.

“Labor is in power federally and in every mainland state and territory. There is absolutely no excuse for them to not end decades of decline and deliver 100% minimum funding to every public school at the start of the next NSRA, in January 2025.”

Labor’s decision to write a blank cheque on behalf of Australian Taxpayers to bring more renewables online is a glaring admission that its climate and energy policies have failed.

Labor’s decision to underwrite new renewable energy projects responds to a 40% drop in investment since Labor came to office, making its 82% renewables target to 2030 unachievable.

Instead of learning lessons from its failure, Labor is doubling down and it will be everyday Australians that have to pay the bill.

And how much will it cost? Labor refuses to say. In other words, it’s a blank cheque.

Instead of keeping Australians safe, building critical roads and rail and fixing its cost-of-living crisis Labor is doubling down on a ‘renewables only’ plan that has lost all credibility.

Labor’s 43% emissions reduction target, 82% renewable energy target, 89% electric vehicle target and the all-important $275 reduction in power bills are all set to fail.

This risks locking Australia into a path from which there may be no return, and future generations will be destined for energy poverty and energy insecurity.

Labor is failing on all counts when it comes to climate change and energy.

In fact, under Labor, electricity prices have hit record highs with families paying up to $1000 per year more on their bills.

Labor must abandon its reckless ‘renewables only’ ideology and adopt an ‘All-of-the-Above’ approach, as the Coalition has done, if it wants to cut emissions while keeping the lights on and prices down.

The independent Reserve Bank Governor last night confirmed that Australia’s inflation is being driven by domestic factors, is widespread and will be higher for longer. The Prime Minister and the Treasurer are now at direct odds with the RBA Governor with their view of inflation.

Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said this is an inevitable consequence this Government being distracted, out of touch with cost of living pressures, and out of its depth on the economy.

“Labor have announced more than $188 billion in new spending in just 18 months – more than $20,000 per household,” Mr Taylor said.

“Labor’s economic plan isn’t working with Australians suffering the worst fall in real disposable income in the OECD, collapsing productivity, and an economy that is going backwards on a per person basis.

“Australians deserve a government that puts Australians’ interests first.”

Labor’s decisions are making the pain of inflation worse:

• Poorly managed migration that is making rents and housing unaffordable
• Energy market interventions that aren’t bringing down prices and costing billions in taxpayers money.
• Bad workplace laws that will remove flexibility for workers, raise prices, and make it harder for young Australians to get a job.
• Broken promises on taxes – whether it is franking credits, retirement savings, personal income tax, or Australian companies – Labor are taking more money out of Australians’ pockets at a time they need it most.

In Governor Bullock’s own words, the inflation crisis is “homegrown”.

This inflation crisis is coming from Canberra. The Albanese Labor Government has no one to blame but themselves for being asleep at the wheel and distracted.

The cost of living crisis is what families are discussing at the kitchen table, but it’s clear that it’s not being discussed around Albanese’s Cabinet table.

Over the weekend (Sunday 19 November), One Nation MPs and supporters gathered in both Adelaide and Brisbane to celebrate International Men’s Day.  

Both Senator Pauline Hanson and One Nation’s South Australian MP, Sarah Game, have called for a specific Minister for Men.  

All of our events were a huge success, with sold-out rooms and riveting speakers.  

The Brisbane event was hosted by Senator Malcolm Roberts, and the guest speaker was war veteran and hero, Heston Russell.  

Sarah Game hosted the Adelaide event with guest speakers Jim Whalley AO of Nova Systems, Prof Gary Wittert from the University of Adelaide, Will Frogley of Master Builders SA, Zane Kirkwood of Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation, and Chris McDermott from the Little Heroes Foundation.  

Senator Hanson and Sarah Game have called for a Men’s ministry in response to terrible anti-male decisions from successive governments, including the messy and unproductive Child Support System to the general erosion of many men’s rights, especially concerning family law.  

Sarah Game has focused on the importance of recognising men’s mental health and ensuring all Aussie men have access to the support and treatment they need to make them productive members of our community. Sarah has also championed the cause of eliminating parental alienation, highlighting the harm it is doing to the children of our society. 

Greens Senator David Shoebridge has expressed concerns that the outcome of the review of Australia’s oppressive secrecy scheme runs the risk of increasing the reach of secrecy laws, even as it usefully reduces the number of criminal secrecy offences.

The announcement from the Attorney General today of the next stage of the secrecy offences review notes support for retaining political oversight of prosecutions of journalists. 

The review recommends the removal of criminal sanctions from 168 secrecy offences out of the 875 while at the same time proposing a new overarching offence targeting public servants who breach confidentiality where this causes harm. 

Greens Senator and Justice Spokesperson David Shoebridge said:

“The collective outrage at the steady creep of secrecy laws has clearly been heard by this Government, but unfortunately this review doesn’t yet deliver the scope of change needed to get the balance right. 

“The fact that there are 875 secrecy offences on the books is evidence of a culture of concealment that needs fundamental root and branch reform not a quick trim. 

“We welcome the proposed removal of criminal sanctions from 168 secrecy offences as a step in the right direction but it’s far from enough. 

“The newly proposed overarching secrecy offence targeting public servants is extremely concerning when public servants are already being prosecuted as whistleblowers under existing laws. 

“If the trials of David McBride and Richard Boyle demonstrate anything it’s that we need less oppressive secrecy laws, not a brand new catch all secrecy offence.

“We know secrecy laws have a massive impact on press freedom and whistleblowers and any reform must start from this essential fact,” Senator Shoebridge said. 

Senator Jordon Steele-John, Australian Greens spokesperson for Disability Rights and Services and Health said:

“Minister Shorten’s comments about the future of supports for autistic people available through the National Disability Insurance Scheme will send shivers down the spine of neurodivergent people and their families. 

“The NDIS is a vital support for disabled people. The Greens are resolute in our view that the NDIS should continue to be a support for people with psychosocial disabilities. 

“It is abhorrent that a Labor government seeks to balance their budget bottom line off the back of disabled people’s access to vital services. We thought this cycle of fear and worry was over when we kicked out the liberals, we were wrong. 

“Despite a Labor government we’ve never seen less access to GPs, we’ve never seen public schools so under-resourced, and now the government is threatening to take away a lifeline for autistic kids and their families: their NDIS supports. 

“The lack of comprehensive community support for neurodivergent people would see these changes remove the lifeboat and actively push disabled people into the sea. 

“To support people in this country we need levels of government to work together. The disabled community are calling on all levels of government to properly fund the NDIS, expand investment in Medicare and resource our public schools.”

“Labor can’t just shunt the responsibility for supporting kids with psychosocial disabilities from the NDIS to the school system.

“Public schools are already on their knees, thanks to a bipartisan refusal to adequately fund the sector for decades.

“We heard during the Senate inquiry into school refusal that neurodiverse students aren’t being adequately supported in the school system as it is, so Minister Shorten’s comments will be causing anxiety among parents, carers and teachers across the country.

“We need a properly funded NDIS to support autistic kids, and a fully resourced public school system where teachers have the time and facilities they need to provide care and attention to every student.”

Australian school students walking out of the classroom tomorrow and Friday to call for peace in Gaza should be encouraged to exercise their democratic right to protest, the Greens say.

With the number of people killed in Gaza now over 13,000, including 5,500 children, thousands of students will strike tomorrow in Melbourne, and in Sydney and Wollongong on Friday, to demand Labor join growing international calls for an end to the violence.

Australian Greens spokesperson on Education (Primary & Secondary), Senator Penny Allman-Payne said:

“Australian school students are seeing kids their own age pulled from the rubble of Gaza. Is it any wonder that they want the government to do something about this horror?

“Telling kids to stay in the classroom while their political leaders endorse Israel’s massacre of Palestinians is completely out-of-touch with the public mood and ignorant of how informed students are.

“If the government really wants kids to stay in the classroom, they should simply demand a permanent ceasefire, like the majority of Australians are calling for.

“I urge students to ignore condescending calls from Labor and the Liberals to turn a blind eye to the brutality in Gaza and exercise their right to engage in peaceful protest.

“Solidarity with striking students tomorrow and Friday, and with everyone engaged in resistance to Israel’s war on the people of Gaza.”

Victorian Greens education spokesperson, Aiv Puglielli MLC said:

“Every day young people are watching this humanitarian catastrophe unfold on their phones.

“They are seeing horrific violence committed against Palestinians by the state of Israel as the death toll in Gaza rises above 13,000.

“They are also seeing their governments refuse to act, and ignore the millions of people around the world calling for peace.

“I’ve spent recent Sundays marching alongside tens of thousands of people in Melbourne, in what have become the largest peace demonstrations in Australia since the Iraq war.

“The Greens back every student planning to strike tomorrow and use their voices to call for an immediate ceasefire.”