Herzog says he visted Australia ‘in goodwill’
Catie McLeod
The Israeli president has said he is travelled to Australia “in goodwill” when asked if he had a message for the pro-Palestinian supporters rallying against his visit today.
Herzog said:
I have come here in goodwill and in a message that people of Australia – Australia and Israel are close friends and allies since the days of old.
It was Australia who was the first nation to declare Israel at the United Nations, and Australia is a close ally for years and Israel was always a issue in Australia.
Herzog said “in most cases” the pro-Palestinian demonstrations “undermine and delegitimise” Israel and his nation’s “right” to its “mere existence”.
He continued:
And we did not seek that war on 7 October [2023] … people were butchered, murdered, raped and burnt and abducted.
We have here bereaved Israeli families who came from the Kibbutz … and from the war in order to express their condolences here at Bondi, but also to create … a clear statement and a message – we should all fight together.
Terror is what undermines all the availability of peace and the notion of peace in our region. It was always the case and is always the case and, therefore, terror is unacceptable by any means.
Key events
Alex Hawke says Sussan Ley’s colleague “fully support her”, as speculation of a spill by leadership contender Angus Taylor escalates, and could happen this week.
The centre-right factional powerbroker, and Ley supporter, told Sky News a bit earlier he doesn’t “feel sorry” for Ley, despite some critics saying the party hasn’t given her any space to be the leader.
He says Ley is “one of the most experienced people in parliament” and hasn’t complained about her treatment by the party.
I and my colleagues fully support their leader. I know there’s a lot of speculation, including on your channel, about it right now, but you know, I’ve looked at my colleagues this morning, I’ve looked them in the eye, sat around leadership table with Angus Taylor.
If someone wants to challenge for the leadership they challenge, and that isn’t happening at the moment.
On what the latest polling means for the Liberal party, and whether they’re facing an existential crisis, Hawke says there have been times previously where Labor has faced similar questions and today hold a supermajority.
Josh Butler
Attorney general’s department says it wasn’t consulted on royal commission decision
The secretary of the attorney general’s department says she wasn’t consulted about the Labor government’s earlier reticence to call a royal commission after the Bondi terror attack, and minister Don Farrell says he doesn’t know who the “actual experts” were who Anthony Albanese said had advised against such an inquiry.
In the legal and constitutional affairs committee hearing this morning, Liberal senator Paul Scarr asked representatives of the AG’s department about the royal commission, which Labor had initially resisted calling, but later convened in early January.
Farrell, the trade minister, is the minister representing the attorney general in this hearing. Scarr referenced Albanese’s earlier comments that “the actual experts, who are the current experts, have all recommended” a review of intelligence and policing services, rather than a royal commission – but Albanese later declined to say exactly who those experts were.
Asked who the experts were, Farrell replied: “I don’t know, but I’ll ask and come back to you”.
Katherine Jones, the secretary of the attorney general’s department, said she was not consulted about the decision. She said the department was consulted on a draft letters patent, “once the decision had been taken to establish a royal commission, but we had not provided advice previously”.
Jones said a specific branch of the AG’s department, which particularly dealt with royal commissions, had been “until recently” disbanded, because recent royal commissions had been finalised. That branch has now been re-established, she said.
Farrell noted the government had “very quickly” set up an intelligence review after Bondi, which had now been rolled into the royal commission called by the Labor government. Farrell claimed the “relevant point” about such questions was that the government had now called a royal commission.
Herzog says he visted Australia ‘in goodwill’
Catie McLeod
The Israeli president has said he is travelled to Australia “in goodwill” when asked if he had a message for the pro-Palestinian supporters rallying against his visit today.
Herzog said:
I have come here in goodwill and in a message that people of Australia – Australia and Israel are close friends and allies since the days of old.
It was Australia who was the first nation to declare Israel at the United Nations, and Australia is a close ally for years and Israel was always a issue in Australia.
Herzog said “in most cases” the pro-Palestinian demonstrations “undermine and delegitimise” Israel and his nation’s “right” to its “mere existence”.
He continued:
And we did not seek that war on 7 October [2023] … people were butchered, murdered, raped and burnt and abducted.
We have here bereaved Israeli families who came from the Kibbutz … and from the war in order to express their condolences here at Bondi, but also to create … a clear statement and a message – we should all fight together.
Terror is what undermines all the availability of peace and the notion of peace in our region. It was always the case and is always the case and, therefore, terror is unacceptable by any means.
Catie McLeod
Herzog says he understands frustration that more wasn’t done to prevent Bondi attack
The Israeli president took just four questions from journalists who gathered at the wreath laying ceremony in Bondi to hear him speak.
In response to one of the questions, Herzog said he shared the frustrations of the victims’ families that more could have been done to prevent the attack.
Herzog said:
These frustrations were shared by many, many of us, including myself where I alerted, as I have seen this wave surge all over the world, and I have seen it in many countries, including Canada, Great Britain, the US, and Australia – all English-speaking countries.
I have alerted way in advance as well as many others and that is why I understand this frustration and I hope the steps that were recently taken will bring change. This has to be a consistent ongoing effort to change reality.
Palestine Action Group’s lawyers say powers given to NSW police are unreasonable
Jordyn Beazley
Lawyers have argued that special powers handed to police by the Minns government for the duration of Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s visit are so broad that it will apply to people living in areas “wholly irrelevant” to his visit.
The Palestine Action Group is currently facing an urgent hearing against the State of NSW in the supreme court before justice Robertson Wright after the group launched a challenge to the New South Wales government’s use of powers generally used to facilitate major events in the state, and which includes the ability for police to search people.
The Minns government invoked the powers on Saturday under the state’s “major event” legislation, applying it to sections of the CBD and the Eastern suburbs. It grants police additional powers until Thursday in this area to move people on, close specific locations and issue orders to prevent disruption or risks to public safety. Police may search anyone inside the area or as a condition of entry, and anyone who fails to comply with directions may face penalties, including fines of up to $5,500.
Peter Lange SC, who is acting on behalf of the Palestine Action Group, told the court that Herzog’s visit is not an appropriate event under the legislation because it lacks “specificity”.
He said the legislation requires events to be limited geographically, temporally, and to a group of participants. The power is generally used for sporting or cultural events that are ticketed or have a permit.
Lange argued the extent of the power in this instance was unreasonable. He said the power gave police the power to ask anyone living in the eastern suburbs over the next four days to open their bag, container, or “any other thing” in their possession. He said:
There must be specificity of groups of individuals or spectators who can be identified in a coherent fashion so as to give rise to an event under the legislation.
The Palestine Action Group launched the challenge in an 11th-hour bid ahead of a march planned against Herzog’s visit on Monday evening from town hall to state parliament.
Lawyers acting on behalf of the group continue their arguments.
Penry Buckley
NSW premier rejects the idea he has sought to curtail protests
Returning to the NSW premier, Chris Minns has rejected the idea he has sought to curtail protests against Isaac Herzog’s visit by invoking special “major event” powers, the subject of a supreme court challenge this morning.
Minns told reporters this morning he did not want to “frontrun” the judgment, but rejected the idea that the government had invoked the additional powers – allowing police to move people on, close specific locations and conduct searches – against the purpose of legislation which is often used for sporting and cultural events.
If you look at the history of designation, in the past it’s applied to Apec, when leaders came to Sydney, that wasn’t a major cultural event, it wasn’t a sporting event, so it’s been mischaracterised by those that want to topple the regulation as it applies to Sydney …
It’s also completely unfair and untrue to say that police and the government have not facilitated a protest. We have.
Minns, who advised of a “massive police operation” during Herzog’s visit, including 500 officers in Sydney’s inner ring, and officers carrying long-arm rifles in “various areas”, said police continued to negotiate with protesters for them to march south from Hyde Park instead.
Herzog says antisemitism is a ‘global emergency’
Catie McLeod
Isaac Herzog has said antisemitism in Australia is “not a Jewish problem” and more must be done to tackle it. In his statement, the president said:
It is an Australian problem and a global problem.
Over the generations, one thing has become clear – hatred that starts with the Jews never ends with the Jews.
This is why the current rise in antisemitism around the world is a global emergency and we must all act to fight against it.
I welcome the positive steps taken by the Australian Government to tackle antisemitism since the Bondi attack.
Leaders across all sectors of society must speak out clearly and consistently against antisemitism because silence in the face of hatred is complicity.
Let me end by praying for the souls of the victims and the speedy recovery of the wounded, some of whom we have seen here.
Isaac Herzog: ‘In the face of this evil, we saw the very best of humanity’
Catie McLeod
Staying with Isaac Herzog’s statement, the president has said Israel has “faced the deadly threat of terror for many, many years” but the Bondi attack brought out the best in people who rushed to help others.
In the face of this evil, we saw the very best of humanity. Suddenly, here, on Bondi, surfboards became trenches and stretchers as extraordinary ordinary people ran into the danger and saved innocent lives.
Herzog said the state of Israel “stood together” with Australians after the attack and that:
And in the aftermath of the attack, the people of Australia stood together in grief and solidarity with the Jewish community.
The world’s only Jewish state – the state of Israel and the nation of Israel – stood together with the Australian people.
We stood with Australian Jews for we are one big family and when one Jew is hurt, all Jews feel their pain. That is why I’m here today – to embrace and console the bereaved families.
Isaac Herzog speaks about Bondi attack: ‘They attacked the values that our democracies treasure’
Catie McLeod
The Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, has paid tribute to the victims of the Bondi terror attack and said the event was an attack on all Australians.
Herzog has been speaking at the Bondi memorial site, where he said of the “horrific antisemitic terror attack”:
This very beach, beloved by the Australian people, and symbolic of all that’s great about this beautiful nation, became the scene of the deadliest terror attack in Australia’s history. Fifteen innocent souls who gathered to celebrate Hanukkah, the Festival of Light, were massacred in cold blood by Islamic terrorists.
The youngest victim – sweet Matilda, was just 10 years’ old. The 87-year-old Alex Kleytman who survived the extermination of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust only to be murdered for being a Jew on the beaches of Sydney, Australia.
These vile terrorists specifically and deliberately [attacked] our brothers – Australian Jews. Yet this was also an attack on Australians.
They attacked the values that our democracies treasure.
The sanctity of human life, the freedom of religion, tolerance, dignity and respect. This is how terror operates all around the world, and sadly, Israel has faced a deadly threat of terror for many, many years.
Isaac Herzog lays wreath at Bondi beach memorial site
Catie McLeod
The Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, has laid a wreath at the Bondi memorial site after arriving in Sydney earlier today.
Herzog is at the Bondi pavilion with the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, who followed the president in laying wreaths to commemorate the 15 victims of the Bondi Beach terrorist attack in December.
The chairman of the World Zionist Organisation, Yaakov Hagoel, and the chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, Doron Almog, are among the other participants of the ceremony, which is being broadcast live on the ABC.
Herzog, who has begun his four-day Australian tour with the wreath laying ceremony on this drizzly, grey morning in Sydney, is about to make a statement.
Tom McIlroy
Senate president says she is unaware of a lobbying firm sponsoring event linked to Aukus deal
The Senate president and the department that manages Parliament House say they are unaware of a lobbying firm with high-profile defence industry clients sponsoring an event linked to the Aukus nuclear agreement.
Guardian Australia revealed in December that federal MPs were invited to attend the launch of the newly formed Parliamentary Friends of Aukus event, featuring the defence minister, Richard Marles, as the “special guest”. It took place last week.
The Canberra-based firm Precision Public Affairs sponsored the event. The partner of Marles’ chief of staff, Lucien Wells, is one of the firm’s registered lobbyists. Marles said on Sunday that Wells has disclosed and managed his relationship with lobbyist Sacha Fenton appropriately.
ACT independent senator David Pocock raised the story on Monday, the first day of Senate estimates hearings. Sue Lines, the Senate president, said she had signed off on the establishment of the new parliamentary friends group, but was unaware of the event, and reports that invitees were charged $100 each to attend the function.
Lines and the Department of Parliamentary Services agreed to take on notice questions from Pocock about whether charging for admissions to an event in the Mural Hall at Parliament House would represent a breach of rules banning fundraising inside the building.
“I’d need to have a look at what’s actually happened in this situation and consider that in line with the events policy and with what was provided with the form to hire the venue,” DPS secretary Jaala Hinchcliffe said.
On Sunday, Marles said the event wasn’t unusual:
You will see government affairs bodies such as Precision supporting events of this kind throughout the Parliament. So, I mean there’s nothing unusual about that. But you know, this is a really important group.
Minns defends protest restrictions: ‘Sydney’s on the international stage here’
Penry Buckley
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has repeated calls for calm ahead of planned protests against the visit by Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, who has arrived in Sydney today.
Speaking at a press conference earlier, Minns defended restrictions on public assemblies, including special “major event” powers invoked for the visit, which are the subject of a supreme court challenge by the Palestine Action Group this morning. He said:
We’ve got a responsibility to keep everybody in Sydney safe over the next 48 hours, whether that’s a visiting dignitary, whether that’s mourners who want to gather, weeks after Australia’s worst terrorism event in its history, or whether it’s protesters themselves, so I’m calling on everybody involved in the protest to show some respect, and calmness as they demonstrate their freedom of speech.
It’s hugely important, Sydney’s on the international stage here, and we want this 48 hour period to go off without incident, that’s hugely important for our reputation but also in terms of unity and civility in the weeks and months and years ahead, long after the president has left our shores.
Condoms for sale in women’s changing rooms at parliament gym but not men’s, Senate told
Over at estimates this morning, Jane Hume, who was on a tirade against Sussan Ley and David Littleproud this morning, has been asking public servants why condoms are currently for sale in women’s bathrooms at the Parliament House gym but not the men’s.
The things we learn in estimates!
Jason Lucas from the Department of Parliamentary Services says he was “not aware” of the condoms available in the women’s changing rooms, and similarly “not aware” that they were not for sale in the men’s.
The deputy secretary of DPS, Nicola Hinder, says: “I believe its absolutely wonderful that women are taking care of their sexual health.”
Hume retorts: “I just wonder why men aren’t taking responsibility as well.”
Senate president Sue Lines says she’ll bring it up further with the department.
Barnaby Joyce unleashes on immigration as One Nation gains popularity
Barnaby Joyce says Australians are reaching a “snapping point” on immigration, as One Nation and its anti-immigration stance surges in the polls.
The right-wing minor party recorded a 27% primary vote in today’s Newspoll.
Joyce, who defected to One Nation in December, told the Karl Stefanovic podcast that migrants who want to “cause trouble” should “stay where they are”.
He said the government needs to consider “how many houses have you got free, how many hospitals have you got working well” before deciding how many migrants should be allowed in Australia.
The high profile politician and former deputy prime minister is no stranger to controversy, and said:
What sort of people do you need, do you need unemployed people having babies or do you need builders?
We’ve got to look for the skill sets of the people we need, and we’re gonna say here’s the contract, you want to live in Australia there’s two things you cannot be – in the crime pages or on social security.
I don’t care if you’re coming from the Vatican, central America, central Africa or the middle of Europe. If you’re gonna turn up and yak on, cause problems then you stay where you are. If you pine for where you came from and say ‘I really want Australia to be just like the shithole I came from’ then go back there.
What’s happening in parliament today?
Senators are grilling public servants and the government today in Senate estimates – we’ll bring anything juicy we hear right to you!
And over in the House, it’s our first Monday sitting of the year, which means it’s time for private members’ bills.
This morning, the Nationals MP Pat Conaghan is putting forward a private member’s bill to ban burning or desecrating the Australian flag. Sound a bit familiar? There’s a bit of lore to this one.
It’s an issue that One Nation has been pushing, and that the Liberal MP Phil Thompson subsequently tried to introduce when the government was debating the antisemitism bill.
Since that failed (because Labor has a majority in the House), Conaghan is trying again to debate it in the House. He says:
We can and must, without apology, say that those who burn our flag are wrong their actions are divisive, disrespectful and damaging to out social cohesion.
ABC defends Four Corners episode after Asio criticism
Tom McIlroy
Further to the last post, an ABC spokesperson has defended the episode.
“The Four Corners program is a comprehensive investigation examining the events that led to the worst terrorist attack on Australian soil,” they told Guardian Australia.
Four Corners spoke to numerous people and provides a number of sources of information for a detailed picture of the Akrams’ actions and associations in the years leading up to the Bondi attack.
Detailed questions were put to ASIO and its response is reflected in the story. The public will be able to watch the full investigation tonight.
Asio raises concerns over Four Corners episode on Bondi terror attack
Tom McIlroy
The intelligence agency Asio says it has serious concerns about an episode of Four Corners on the Bondi beach terror attack, due to air tonight.
In a lengthy statement, which Asio said was issued in response to questions from the ABC, Asio warned the ABC it could take further action if the broadcast includes claims the broadcaster cannot substantiate.
The full statement is here.
The episode focuses on the Bondi gunmen, father and son Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram, examining their “histories and their associations with an Islamic State terrorist network in Australia”.
The statement says Asio investigated Naveed Akram in 2019, finding he did not intend to engage in violent extremism at that time, and that they stand by that finding in respect of that time.
Four Corners’ questions about the investigation appear to be based on the uncorroborated claims of a single, unreliable and disgruntled source.
Asio claims Naveed Akram has been misidentified by a source, even alleging that person has a “track record of making statements that are untrue.”
Asio also rejected ABC claims about resourcing of the organisation. The statement says:
ASIO is constrained in our ability to respond to specific questions because there is an ongoing investigation, the matter is before the courts and we now have the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.
It would not be responsible to risk prejudicing the Royal Commission, any criminal proceedings, and the ongoing investigations.
Independents decry ‘placement poverty’ for health students as data shows 42% going hungry
Independents Helen Haines, David Pocock, Sophie Scamps, Monique Ryan and Fatima Payman are pushing the government to end “placement poverty” for health students doing their university degree placements.
New survey data from the Health Students Alliance found 42% of health students are going hungry during placements.
The Parliamentary Budget Office, commissioned by Haines and Pocock, costed the expansion and found that it would cost the budget $290m to include medical and allied health students within the existing commonwealth prac payment scheme.
Haines said:
Unpaid mandatory placements are pushing thousands of students into financial hardship at a time of acute workforce shortages and a cost-of-living crisis.
These costings show that ending placement poverty is both achievable and affordable. Failing to act is a political choice, not a budget constraint.
