Following a rise in antisemitic incidents across Australia and Victoria and the horrific terrorist bombing of Adass Israel Synagogue in Ripponlea, the Victorian Government is taking strong action to confront antisemitism, deal with dangerous and extreme demonstrations, protect religious worship, and restore social cohesion by introducing new laws.
The laws include:
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banning the flags and symbols of listed terrorist organisations in public, to give Victoria Police more powers and fill in any gaps in Commonwealth anti-Terror legislation
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banning the use of face masks at protests, which are being used to conceal identities and shield agitators from crowd-control measures like capsicum spray
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banning the use of glue, rope, chains, locks and other dangerous attachment devices that protestors use to cause maximum disruption and endanger others (even themselves)
Premier Jacinta Allan joined Minister for Police Anthony Carbines and Minister for Multicultural Affairs Ingrid Stitt in the CBD today to announce a series of measures designed to stamp out extreme and radical influences in public protests, protect the safety of religious worship for Victorians of any faith, help multicultural organisations reject division and promote peace
Premier Allan said antisemitism is a cancer.
“Antisemitism thrives in extreme and radical environments, and we are giving police more powers to control protest and making it harder for agents of violence and hate to hide.”
“This isn’t about the Middle East. This is about Victoria. This is about our values and the right of anyone in this state to live, work and pray freely without fear of intimidation, fear and violence.”
“Doesn’t matter if you’re Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu – we all deserve the right to simply be who we are,” she said.
Victorians have witnessed extreme, dangerous and radical conduct in numerous public demonstrations over the last year. Hate and antisemitism thrive in these environments.
Listed terrorist organisations include Hamas, Hezbollah and several other groups, including white nationalist and racist violent extremist (NRVE) right-wing groups.
Commonwealth law prohibits the display of their symbols for certain purposes, such as incitement. Banning the display of symbols of these listed terrorist organisations full stop – in Victorian law – will give stronger powers to Victoria Police to stop, search and seize, and signal that the views of these groups are not tolerated in our society.
The Government will consult with the Commonwealth on implementing this prohibition, which follow on from its landmark laws to ban the public display of Nazi symbology.
To get the balance right, the Government will consult with religious leaders and communities, police, unions and others including the Victorian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.
The Government will form and chair a new, agile body to help cut through systems and bureaucracy, understand the situation week-by-week, and get things done.
The Local Escalation And Help group (‘Leah’ for short) could include representatives of Government Departments, council, Jewish community groups, security groups – but not politicians. The Government will work with communityleaders on the make-up of this small body and get Leah up and running as soon as possible.
If successful, it’s a model that can be deployed to support any community dealing with increasing incidents of hate.
Additionally, the Government is continuing to work with the leaders of the Adass Israel Synagogue on next steps for the continuity of their services and their rebuild, with multiple visits and ongoing lines of communication.
Recent action by the Victorian Government include more funding to increase safety, banning Nazi symbols, and the Anti-Vilification and Social Cohesion Bill – the genesis of which was an attack on Muslims. Victoria Police is continuing to work with the community, including with Operation Park to deal with all hate crimes.
