A furious Anthony Albanese has accused the Greens of ‘deliberately and consciously’ spreading misinformation about the war in Gaza and demanded its MPs condemn protests against parliamentarians’ offices.
Employment Minister Tony Burke, also slammed the Greens, saying its leader, Adam Bandt, was knowingly peddling ‘deliberate misinformation’.
In response to a question raised by independent MP Sophie Scamps about voters’ concerns about social cohesion, Mr Albanese said communities across Australia were ‘distressed’ about what is happening in the Middle East and that ‘Enough is enough’.
‘Every one of us has a responsibility to keep our community safe. Social cohesion is a national asset to all of us. All of us have a responsibility to uphold and defend,’ he said.
‘It is unacceptable that misinformation when consciously and deliberately spread by some Green members that have been engaged in demonstration, outside offices and knowingly misrepresenting motions that have moved in this parliament.’
A furious Anthony Albanese (pictured) has accused the Greens of ‘deliberately and consciously’ spreading misinformation about the war in Gaza and demanded its MPs condemn protests against parliamentarians’ offices
Employment Minister Tony Burke, also slammed the Greens, saying its leader, Adam Bandt (pictured), was knowingly peddling ‘deliberate misinformation’.
Several high-profile Labor MPs and the US Consulate in Victoria have had their offices vandalised by pro-Palestine protesters in recent weeks, including Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus who had red paint sprayed on the front of his electorate office in Melbourne.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong and other Labor MPs and Senators have complained that Greens MPs have legitimised anti-Semitism by speaking at protests organised by militant pro-Palestinian groups.
Some MPs have reportedly asked for security advice and shut their offices in response to concerns for their safety.
The Prime Minister said the aspirations of the legitimate Palestinian community were being ‘undermined’ by people engaging in activity that ‘completely alienates the Australian public’.
‘The targeting of people because they are Jewish because people disagree with some of the actions of the Netanyahu government is completely unacceptable,’ he said.
‘As political leaders we have a responsibility to lower temperature – not to inflame it.’
Speaking on a matter of indulgence, Opposition Leader Dutton backed Mr Albanese’s call in a rare show of support and condemned protesters targeting MPs, calling a reported rise in anti-Semitism ‘completely unacceptable.’
‘Those who seek for their own political purposes and their own political advancement to pour fuel on this fire deserve the condemnation of this chamber,’ he said.
‘We’re seeing now the offices of elected members of parliament being targeted with red paint, with vile messages of hate and discrimination and anti-Semitism, and it should be condemned.
‘And the Greens should condemn it instead of condoning it … We should stand as one to make sure that we condemn the unacceptable levels of anti-Semitism that we see playing out on our streets.’
Protesters march during a pro-Palestinian rally outside the State Library Victoria in Melbourne, Sunday, June 2, 2024
Police escort a woman through during a ‘Never Again is Now’ rally against anti-Semitism in front of Parliament of Victoria in Melbourne, Sunday, May 19, 2024
Mr Dutton added that ‘we will take every action we need as a chamber to make sure that we condemn those acts of anti-Semitism in our country.
‘And the Greens political party today is properly and rightly condemned.’
Mr Bandt denounced the debate as ‘desperate attempt to detract and distract from Labor’s complicity and backing of the invasion’.
‘I will not be lectured to by peace and violence by people who’ve backed the invasion in Gaza,’ he said.
‘Children are dying because the Israeli army have engineered a famine.’
On Tuesday, Victorian Labor MP Michelle Ananda-Raja accused the Greens of fanning violence in Australia over the Gaza war.
‘I sat in this chamber when the leader of the Greens political party … accused Labor MPs of being complicit in genocide.
Activists with placards gather during a Pro-Palestine rally outside the 2024 Victorian Labor state conference in Melbourne, Saturday, May 18, 2024
Pro-Palestinian supporters march along Port Melbourne Beach during a ‘national day of action’ on May 25, 2024
‘Within hours, an online campaign was launched calling for a ‘national day of action against Labor MPs complicit in genocide’,’ she said.
‘Those were the exact words. The next day, offices were vandalised and rendered unusable. Staff were scared. Scarce resources like police, the AFP, cleaners and tradies were diverted.
‘The words spoken in this chamber ricochet around this country, tearing at our social fabric, and the gun gets fired here.
‘The Greens, with their signals, whip up hordes in masks and keffiyehs, armed with their weapon of choice, self-righteousness, because it is the perfect justification for anything, even incitement to violence.’
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