‘Something is rotten in the state of Australia’: Peter Dutton blames police and Labor for rise in antisemitism

In a speech on Wednesday evening in which he forcefully defended Israel and framed a series of domestic policy proposals in the context of the Israel-Gaza conflict, Dutton also accused Penny Wong of being “reckless” in advocating for Palestinian statehood as essential to sustainable Middle East peace.

Speaking at the Sydney Opera House, the site of violent pro-Palestine protests that took place two days after the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel, Dutton accused police of being weak and woke and demonstrating a “supine” response to antisemitism across Australia both then and since.

In a Liberal party oration named in honour of Tom Hughes, Dutton said it was “astonishing” how few arrests had been made for antisemitic behaviour and said if the police response at the Opera House protests had been stronger then other incidents would not have occurred.

Dutton likened those 9 October protests to the shooting murder of 35 people at Tasmania’s Port Arthur historic site in 1996, which heralded tougher gun laws in Australia.

“While no one was killed during the 9 October protests, the events at the Sydney Opera House were akin to a Port Arthur moment in terms of their social significance,” Dutton said.

Using the issue for an election pitch, he said a Coalition government would “rebuild our national confidence and camaraderie” by focusing on things that unite Australians, listing a set of values and priorities and vowing to safeguard Australia “from those who seek to destroy it”.