Topics: Iranian Ambassador to Australia
1610 AEST
4 October 2024
Clinton Maynard: Now, I think we’ve given the Iranian Ambassador a fair go. He clearly has zero respect for Australia. Earlier in the year, in August, the Government summonsed him because he’d made antisemitic social media posts where he described Israel as a ‘Zionist plague’. Obviously, the smack on the hand from the Commonwealth wasn’t good enough. Last Sunday, he posted on social media that the Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was a remarkable leader, a great personality, a prominent standard bearer. He’s the head of a terrorist organisation, or was, because thankfully he’s dead. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Foreign Minister Penny Wong, they’ve condemned his comments. So, this is what the Prime Minister has said earlier today (plays grab of PM). So, is it in our interests as Australians to still have this so-called ambassador in our country? Well, someone who thinks he should be politely asked to leave is the Opposition’s Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Senator Simon Birmingham, and Simon joins us. Thank you for your time, Senator.
Simon Birmingham: It’s good to be with you, Clinton, thank you.
Clinton Maynard: Is it time for him to pack his bags and leave?
Simon Birmingham: It certainly is. Look, this guy, the Iranian Ambassador to Australia, has had multiple chances as you just went through. He was warned by the Government back in August, following actions and words that he spoke which, if any other person in Australia had done so, they may well have faced the consequences of our hate speech laws and being charged. But of course, he has diplomatic immunity as an ambassador. But he’s ignored those warnings, ignored the talking to that he had from the mid-level Department of Foreign Affairs officials that the Albanese Government sent in, and now it’s time for real action, because he’s come back again, this time directly celebrating the life of a terrorist and the workings of a terrorist organisation. And that, of course, is absolutely anathema to our way of life in Australia and frankly the way in which he does it, the type of conduct that he seeks to inspire, also presents a danger to Australia and we would be sending and telling anybody else to pack their bags in these circumstances – he should as well.
Clinton Maynard: Despite not agreeing with their stance, the Commonwealth, the Albanese Government has been arguing that it’s important to have a diplomatic relationship with Iran. But that’s the word there, Simon – diplomat. The language he uses is hardly the language of somebody who is a diplomat, as in somebody who is meant to bridge the gap between different cultures.
Simon Birmingham: It is disrespectful to Australia, at the very least. Certainly disrespectful to be ignoring the requests that have been made of the Albanese Government to him and of course, the comments themselves are reprehensible and abhorrent. So, he’s failing all of the normal tests of diplomacy. We’re not arguing that Australia should tear up diplomatic relations with Iran. We don’t obviously agree with much of the Iranian regime, and we abhor the way in which they oppress and murder women, girls, others who stand up to them and of course are horrified at the way in which they sponsor terrorism throughout the region with Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthi rebels, all beneficiaries of the support from Iran. We’ve been clear for some time, the Government should be listing the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organisation and taking strong action. But it would be up to Iran how they chose to respond. But the message from Australia should be, this guy has had warnings, he’s failed to heed them, he’s not acting in accordance with the way we expect diplomats in Australia to act; you’re welcome to send another ambassador if they can actually live up to those standards, but this one has failed and he should go.
Clinton Maynard: I completely agree with you. But just on that argument of keeping those diplomatic communication lines open, is there the risk though, we send this bloke home, they don’t send someone else over that we’ve shot ourselves in the foot because we then have no communication with them?
Simon Birmingham: Well, it’s important that we stand up for our values and our interests and our interests are in ensuring that here in Australia, we don’t have foreign officials propagating hate, division and promoting terrorism. And so, it’s got to start with what’s in our interests here at home. Of course, on the diplomatic front we wish to create the environment to contribute to peace, to avoid conflict, to ensure that actions that may be taken abroad are ones that don’t create an even worse atmosphere and environment than we already have. But it starts here at home and the responsibility is here, you know before the last election Penny Wong was running around saying that the Russian Ambassador should be expelled because of their invasion of Ukraine. Now she hasn’t done that as Minister. He at least keeps his gob largely shut whilst he’s here in Australia. We still fundamentally disagree with everything that Russia is doing there but the Iranian Ambassador isn’t just representing a government and a regime that we disagree with in bringing their hatred and their divisiveness into Australia, and that’s the big problem.
Clinton Maynard: That contrast with Russia is stark. Do you think that is as simple as that the Albanese Government has pursued more of a softly, softly approach because they are concerned about losing votes in the south-west of Sydney at the federal election?
Simon Birmingham: Well, I think on the whole, we’ve seen how divided the Albanese Government is that when things have got difficult in the Middle East, you have ministers talking at cross purposes around those issues and you’ve got a government that has essentially trashed decades of bipartisanship in our approach to the Middle East in favour of a more conciliatory tone towards the demands of some of the Palestinian activists. These are the same things that Hamas wants to see and would like to see achieved and tragically in the way in which the Albanese Government has voted at the UN and some of the things they have called for, such as recognition of a Palestinian state without any of the hard yards being done of agreeing borders, guaranteeing security to Israel, settling matters such as rights of return. These are the difficult questions that need to be achieved if there’s to be a two-state solution, not just setting some arbitrary timeline as Penny Wong called for the UN the other week.
Clinton Maynard: Just lastly, Simon, I know it’s not directly related to your portfolio, foreign affairs, but there’s been so much discussion over the last couple of days, rightly so, about the protests that are planned for Sydney and Melbourne over the weekend. We’ve now had confirmation that Hizb ut-Tahrir is planning rallies on Monday, despite all the attention that’s been given to October 7, they’re planning rallies in Lakemba on Monday. How do you respond to that?
Simon Birmingham: Well, it is abhorrent and deeply disturbing that an organisation like that would be planning such rallies and that are only likely to further hatred and division and sow the seeds of potential terrorist attacks on a day when it is so disrespectful to do so. And if I can speak directly to any listeners who may be concerned about the loss of life in Gaza, as indeed I am and many others are, and we would wish to find a pathway for that to conclude, even if we might differ on how that pathway is achieved. But to listeners, think about how counterproductive it is to the causes that people are promoting for them to go out and undertake these actions on October 7. Show some respect and understand that October 7 should be a time for reflection for commemoration, for prayer and for thinking about peacefulness and coming together, not for these types of provocative and dangerous acts.
Clinton Maynard: Helps no one. Thank you for your time, Simon.
Simon Birmingham: My pleasure, thank you.
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