Topics: PM visit to US; Antisemitism; UN resolution; Labor’s failed Senate sitting week;
05:15PM AEST
20 September 2024
Erin Molan: I’m joined now by a Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister, Simon Birmingham. Simon, thank you so very much for joining me. There’s a pretty good chance that Trump could be president by November, wouldn’t it add to, I guess, the worthiness of the trip to at least try and with Kamala as well?
Simon Birmingham: Hi Erin, it’s great to be with you. Well, yes. Look, certainly, first of all, the trip is important. The Quad is critical, and the Prime Minister needs to be there undertaking these meetings. And obviously as part of that is meeting with President Biden. But if he could, then he should when it comes to meeting with whichever of or both of the alternative presidents, ultimately there will be a new president come January next year. And if the opportunity were there to meet with either of them, then he should do so. The offers and extensions and invitations to meet should, of course, be done in a bipartisan way. Australia needs to be completely even-handed about how we approach it and whether we’re dealing with President Trump coming back next January or a new President Harris. Either way, we should be making sure we’ve got the best of possible relations with them and the prospective members of their teams.
Erin Molan: One of Australia’s most prestigious institutions. And we’re, of course, moving back home here, has earned possibly one of the worst titles as one of the worst places to be a Jewish student. Today, this was put to the University of Sydney vice chancellor Mark Scott. Here is a bit of how he responded.
[EXCERPT]
Mark Scott: I’ve said those testimonies are searing and if students have felt unsafe or unwelcome, if that has been their lived experience, if that is their testimony, then we have failed them.
Senator: It is their testimony.
Mark Scott: Yes. Well, no, that’s exactly right, Senator, and that’s why.
Senator: So, you have failed them?
Mark Scott: Yes.
[END OF EXCERPT]
Erin Molan: Now, Simon, I’m not about crucifying people, etc., etc. but I really struggle with this one because how did it take a Senate inquiry for him to realise that they have failed Jewish students? I would have thought that would have been obvious to everyone.
Simon Birmingham: The admission is welcome, but it’s what is done to prevent it in the first place. And of course, now to ensure that it doesn’t happen in the future. That is so critical. All Australian universities should be adopting the IHRA. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism and using that as a standard against which they then enforce conduct and behaviour. They should be very clear that the type of behaviour we’ve seen, the encampments, the slogans, the intimidation has no place on university campuses. Of course, universities are places of free speech, of different opinions, but how those opinions are expressed matters critically, and especially when you have small groups, minority groups of Jewish students on those campuses who do feel intimidated and even as fresh as yesterday, I met with a group of Jewish students from one of our key universities, and the stories they have to tell are just so horrific in terms of how they feel about going to university, or indeed their concerns and considerations of potentially ceasing doing so, which should definitely not be the case.
Erin Molan: Yeah, I didn’t like also the way that he said, if that has been their experience, I mean, they’ve very bravely shared their stories. I think we can all just say it has been their experience. That I didn’t like either. I need to get your reaction now quickly to Australia abstaining from a pro-Palestinian UN resolution. What is your reaction to that? Do you see it as being fairly weak?
Simon Birmingham: It shows a lack of courage and conviction. Ultimately, this resolution was counterproductive in terms of the long-term efforts for peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike. It was a one-sided resolution in that, remarkably, it didn’t even mention Hamas. The release of hostages or other factors. It was clear that you couldn’t support this resolution, and we should have had the courage and conviction as a country. And the Albanese Government, of course, is the ones making the decision to actually vote no rather than just abstain.
Erin Molan: All hell has broken loose in the Senate this week after Labor failed to get its cornerstone housing legislation through. The PM is blaming you and the Greens. Is it your fault?
Simon Birmingham: Look, the Albanese Government couldn’t even manage to engineer the defeat of their legislation in the Senate this week. Such was the haphazard and ham-fisted way in which they went about handling this. Virtually nothing was achieved through the Senate this week. And sure, our position, our opposition, was clear, but the government sets the legislative agenda. They could have realised that they were going nowhere with the Greens, that our opposition had been clear from before the last election. Our position was no surprise, and ultimately our position is because it’s bad policy. We’re all for home ownership. It’s a core liberal value and we want to grow home ownership, but we want Australians to own their own homes, not to have the government sitting at the kitchen table owning a share of their homes. And we’ve been pretty consistent about that.
Erin Molan: Surely you could just give them the toilet? The kitchen table is very intimate. Simon Birmingham, thank you very much for your time. Really appreciate it. Have a great weekend.
Simon Birmingham: Thanks, Erin.
[ENDS]