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NSW opposition questions transparency of ‘rushed’ inquiry into banning ‘globalise the intifada’
Penry Buckley
As the federal government prepares to debate a bill on hate speech legislation following the Bondi attack, the NSW shadow attorney general, Damien Tudehope, has accused the state government of using an inquiry into banning phrases including “globalise the intifada” as a “law-making exercise” without public transparency.
The inquiry, which closed to submissions yesterday, just three weeks after it was referred to a parliamentary committee, will not hold any public hearings. The Labor-controlled law and safety committee will report to the government at the end of the month.
Earlier, Tudehope told ABC Radio the inquiry was “very rushed”:
In many respects, it runs the risk of being a law-making exercise, which at the end of the day will never be effective.
You have to say, unless you’re entirely politically naive, the government has an agenda, they have an outcome in mind, and they are using the committee to effectively deliver that outcome.
The committee’s chair, Labor MP Edmond Atalla, has defended the decision not to hold public hearings due to the urgent need to respond to the Bondi attack, saying the committee had reached out to more than 100 key stakeholders for submissions.
But Tudehope has called for the government to release a review of protections against hate speech commissioned in February, which retired supreme court judge John Sackar KC, handed to the government in November.
I think, in terms of transparency, the government should release that report today so that we are properly informed about what Mr Sackar has had to say about the … impositions on free speech in New South Wales, and the constitutionality, because if you have laws which are set aside because they’re unconstitutional, that has an absolutely bad effect on communities which we’re trying to protect.
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Tom McIlroy
Influential US congressman Joe Courtney says outgoing ambassador Kevin Rudd is “a force of nature”.
The Connecticut Democrat, the co-chair of the cross party Friends of Australia Caucus, issued a statement about Rudd’s decision to leave the role on 31 March. The pair have worked closely on the Aukus nuclear submarine agreement and other issues in the US-Australia alliance.
Courtney said:
From the day Ambassador Rudd arrived in Washington in March 2023, he has been a force of nature in terms of advancing one of the most complex legislative agendas for the nation of Australia in many decades.
Enactment by Congress of Aukus authorities in December 2023 required relentless interaction and presence on the Hill, with the White House, and the Department of Defense.
Overnight, Ambassador Rudd earned the respect of Members on both sides of the aisle because of his deep understanding of the Indo-Pacific region, the People’s Republic of China, and the critical importance of the U.S.-Australia alliance.
His input raised the stature of debate and deliberations above a highly polarized Congress, and in the years to come, this achievement will stand out as one of the keystones of the U.S.-Australia alliance. I wish Ambassador Rudd all the best.
Ninety homes destroyed in Longwood fire, Wiebusch says
Wiebusch said there has been a “significant jump” in homes lost in the Longwood fire over the past 24 hours, with 90 homes now assessed as being destroyed.
Wiebusch told reporters there have been many more homes and outbuildings lost across the affected region. He said:
We now know we’ve lost over 500 structures across Victoria and that’s an absolute tragic situation for many communities at this time. And our thoughts do go out to the communities being impacted by the fires.
He outlined the below losses during the press conference:
Ravenswood/Harcourt fire – 51 homes and three businesses and 23 outbuildings that have been destroyed.
Otways and Kennedy Creek fire – one structure was lost, and a range of other outbuildings are being assessed.
Grass Flat fire in Natimuk – 17 homes and 18 outbuildings and 40 power poles that have been affected.
Longwood fire – 90 homes have been destroyed and 243 outbuildings that have been destroyed or damaged.
Streatham fire – 15 homes and 39 outbuildings destroyed.
Walwa fire – four houses, 28km of fencing and over 10,000 hectares of plantation pine.
Mount Mercer fire – one house lost.
No more active warnings across Victoria, says emergency management commissioner
Victoria’s emergency management commissioner has said there is “good news” to now report after the devastating bushfire, with there now no more emergency warnings active across the state.
Tim Wiebusch, who spoke after the premier, said there were still 12 major fires burning across the Victorian landscape, but there are more “favourable conditions” today.
Wiebusch said:
With those easing conditions for the first time in a few days we no longer have a Total Fire Ban in place. But that doesn’t mean the risk is still not there in our environment.
Victorian premier announces more support for those affected by fire
Jacinta Allan has announced more support for fire-affected communities. Including:
An initial $10m allocated towards bushfire clean up.
$5m towards waiving fees at local landfills.
An emergency recovery hotline (1800 560 760) has been established today. This will provide support for those who cannot physically go to an emergency relief centre.
This builds on other support already announced, including grants of up to $52,250 for people affected by the fires who don’t have building and contents insurance.
Victorian premier urges fire-affected communities to stay informed of ongoing risks
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, is speaking now about the bushfire disaster in the state. She has urged fire-affected communities to remain aware of any ongoing risks.
She said:
I reiterate the importance of staying tuned to local conditions. Staying tuned to the [VicEmergency] app or local radio and if you are told to leave, please do so because it’s so incredibly important.
Allan has thanked the community and emergency services for their support throughout the disaster. She said:
Every single Victorian has been playing their role in protecting life and community and supporting our emergency services as well.
Sian Cain
Abdel-Fattah rejects suggestions she made antisemitic comments in the past
On Tuesday, Randa Abdel-Fattah rejected any suggestion she had made antisemitic comments in the past.
Announcing their decision to disinvite her last week, the Adelaide festival board said that while it did not suggest “in any way” that Abdel-Fattah or her writings had any connection with the tragedy at Bondi, the decision was made “given her past statements”.
“I stand for the rights of all people,” she told ABC Radio Adelaide. “I stand for the principle that we are all equal, I stand for the rights of Jews, Palestinians, Muslims, everybody of every racial and religious group to live in.”
She said she stood by her past comment that Zionists had “no claim or right to cultural safety”, a comment that has been cited repeatedly in the media since the board’s decision was announced.
“I have never, ever called for Jews to be unsafe,” she told ABC Radio Adelaide, adding:
Zionism is not a racial or religious identity, it is a political ideology. It is as absurd as saying that communists have the right to cultural safety or Islamism or white supremacy or misogyny. I’m talking about the espousing of Zionist ideology. I have sat in rooms where people have said that ethnic cleansing of Palestinians is justified. I am entitled to say there should be no space for people to call for genocide.
Abdel-Fattah says Louise Adler’s resignation from Adelaide writers’ week a ‘tragedy’
Sian Cain
Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, the writer at the centre of the storm around this year’s Adelaide writers’ week, has called today’s resignation of its director, Louise Adler, “a tragedy”.
Speaking on ABC Radio Adelaide this morning, Abdel-Fattah called Adler “one of the most incredible directors and icons in Australia’s cultural history”.
What we have now is Louise Adler, a Jewish woman, an anti-Zionist Jewish woman who has had to resign and step down from this festival … It really shows you that in this moment her identity as a Jewish woman has been erased, and this is an attack on me as a Palestinian and Louise Adler as an anti-Zionist Jewish woman.
“Solidarity with the brilliant Louise Adler,” Abdel-Fattah wrote earlier on social media. “I stand with her.”
You can read Adler’s piece announcing her resignation here:
Joe Hinchliffe
Flood rescue teams deployed in Queensland overnight
Swift water rescue teams were deployed to the town of Clermont overnight after ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji dumped heavy rain across sodden catchments across swathes of central Queensland.
Two crews were called to two separate vehicles in the same vicinity just before 3am Tuesday, a Queensland fire department spokesperson said.
Two people were stranded atop a B-double truck while another was alone on their vehicle.
The rescuers worked until 6am, plucking the three people from the flood waters.
Earlier that night at around 8pm crews were called to another vehicle stuck in flood waters with two people stranded, but were not required to extract them.
The Courier Mail reports those two were a man and his daughter, who spent several hours atop the vehicle until the water receded and they could walk to safety.
An SES spokesperson said state emergency services received 123 requests for assistance across Queensland since 5.30am on Monday, 30 of those jobs being in the Rockhampton Regional, 18 in the Mackay regional and 13 in the Isaac region.
Benita Kolovos
Bushfire threat eases across Victoria as number of structures destroyed nears 500
The bushfire threat in Victoria has eased, with no emergency warnings in place for the first time in almost a week, as the number of structures lost nears 500.
The State Control Centre (SCC) on Tuesday morning confirmed that while there were 12 major bushfires active across Victoria, many of which are expected to burn for days or weeks, there were no emergency warnings in place for the first time since Thursday.
The Mallee, Wimmera, south-west, northern country, north central and north-east regions continue to rate a high fire danger risk, while the west and south Gippsland, east Gippsland and central districts face a moderate risk.
The SCC estimates that 404,000 hectares of land have been burned in the devastating blazes, with more than 480 structures damaged or destroyed – up from 350 on Monday.
Read more here:
Major muslim advocacy group calls for federal minister to apologise over Adelaide festival comments
The Australian Muslim Advocacy Network (Aman) called on the federal resources minister, Madeleine King, to apologise after she said Randa Abdel-Fattah should “absolutely not” be invited back to the Adelaide writers’week.
“To be frank, in my own opinion, I’m surprised she ever got an invite,” King said on Monday.
The views that she has said in relation to wishing for the end of Israel, as well as some other pretty, you know, vile commentary, you know, doesn’t deserve an invitation to the writers’ festival.
During a press conference yesterday, King said she was on a “unity ticket” with the SA premier, Peter Malinauskas, after he reiterated his support on Saturday for the festival board’s decision to withdraw its invitation to the academic.
That move has prompted many writers to withdraw from the festival, and its director, Louise Adler, revealed in the Guardian she would resign her role as well this morning.
Aman said today:
Dr Abdel-Fattah has never engaged in hate speech. The comments attributed to the Minister reveal a concerning lack of understanding within Cabinet as to what constitutes hate speech under Australian law, as distinct from robust political expression.
Penry Buckley
NSW shadow attorney general expresses ‘grave doubts’ about effectiveness of banning ‘reams and reams of phrases or potential slogans’
Continuing on from last post …
Tudehope condemns the use of the phrase “globalise the intifada”, but says he has “grave doubts” about the government’s ability to outlaw “reams and reams of phrases or potential slogans” without a constitutional challenge. He has called for existing laws to be used to arrest protesters who use hateful slogans, drawing attention to 93ZAA, a new offence for inciting hatred towards other persons or groups introduced in August.
The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that just two people have been charged under the offence since it became law, with at least one of those charges withdrawn. Tudehope said:
So, a circumstance where you create laws which are ineffective, or the police do not know the circumstances in which they can be used, create uncertainty in the community, and they are certainly, a circumstance which I think don’t do the law any good, and we are just struggling around in a mire of legislation.
Tudehope also said a government plan announced yesterday to give councils greater powers to shut down unlawful places of worship as part of a crackdown on “factories of hate” was an “appropriate” response, but “the detail is lacking”.
Fundamentally, of course, I can see council saying: ‘do we have the resources to be able to do this?’
