TRANSCRIPT - DOORSTOP – EAST MELBOURNE SYNAGOGOUE, MINISTER TONY BURKE, MARK DREYFUS AND SARAH WITTY
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP – EAST MELBOURNE SYNAGOGOUE, MINISTER TONY BURKE, MARK DREYFUS AND SARAH WITTY
SUNDAY, 6 JULY, 2025
SUBJECTS: ATTACK ON EAST MELBOURNE SYNAGOUGE, GOVERNMENT FUNDING TO COMBAT ANTI-SIEMITSIM
MEMBER FOR MELBOURNE, SARAH WITTY: (Cuts in) We were just inside hearing some stories about what happened here on Friday night. I'm feeling the emotion of hearing those stories and thinking about a family coming together for a meal and having to experience such hate.
Hate has no place in this city, and I completely condemn the actions of what happened here. I'll pass over to the Minister to share his thoughts
MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS, TONY BURKE: I want to start by thanking Rabbi Gutnick and by thanking Danny Segal for welcoming us here today to the Shul.
What we see on the door that's behind me is an attack on Australia. That's what it is. There's been some reporting that no one was physically injured, that doesn't mean no one was harmed. The community here was harmed, the Jewish community in Australia was harmed and we were harmed as a nation.
There were three attacks that night and none of them belonged in Australia. Arson attacks, the chanting calls for death, other attacks and graffiti, none of it belonged in Australia and they were attacks on Australia.
We've come together today to stand in solidarity with the community here, to say that when someone has tried to say, ‘you don't belong in Australia’, that in fact it's the community here that absolutely belongs in Australia. That it's Jewish Australians who absolutely are part of the community here in Australia. Hatred has no place in Australia. Anti-Semitism has no place in Australia.
The history of anti-Semitism throughout the world is something where what starts with words, rarely ends with words. This government, including Mark Dreyfus, in the last term of Parliament, has taken the strongest actions Australia has ever taken in making hate symbols unlawful and in making calls for violence and hate speech to have serious criminal penalties.
But the job of making sure we eliminate anti-Semitism belongs to every single one of us. People should be safe wherever they go in Australia. The dream of this country is no matter where you come from in the world, no matter what your heritage is, we stand together, we welcome each other, and we do not import hatreds and violence from overseas to life in Australia. That's what living in this country is about. That's why this was an attack on Australia.
I'm very glad to see the reports of the arrests that have taken place. There are various legal procedures that will now go ahead. The investigation has been led by the Victorian Police. I've been constantly briefed, twice yesterday and again this morning, by both ASIO and the Australian Federal Police. I’ve also been talking with the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, and talking each day with Anthony Carbines, the Victorian Police Minister.
We are providing our full support because what matters here is not simply an arson attack. What matters here is there was an attack on Australia, an attack on Australian values, and we are here today in solidarity to stand together with the community. I'll hand over to Mark Dreyfus before we go to questions.
MEMBER FOR ISAACS, MARK DREYFUS: Thanks very much, Tony. I'm very pleased that Tony Burke, as the Minister of Home Affairs, has been able to be here so promptly to send the clearest possible message on behalf of the government of Australia, that the actions here on Friday night, on Shabbat, are condemned by our national government.
It needs to be understood that this attack on this old synagogue, here in the centre of Melbourne is an attack not just on the Jewish community, it's an attack on the entire Australian community.
The entire Australian community sets its face against this kind of hatred which has no place in our country. We are a country of peace, and we need to all continue to work together.
It's been very good that Tony Burke has been able to be here. It's very good to be here with the new member for Melbourne, Sarah Witty, and to have met with Rabbi Gutnick, with Danny Segal, the President of this Shul and his wife, and to share with them the trauma that they've experienced.
Let's make sure that this never happens again. That's my message today. Let's make sure that this never happens again and that hatred of this kind is banished from our country. Thank you.
JOURNALIST: Minister Burke, how are you going to make sure that this doesn't happen again?
BURKE: I'm glad that the arrest has happened so promptly. I would also say a whole lot of the investment that's been done in security and in CCTV has helped make sure that arrest happened so promptly. We now have laws that we didn't have a few years ago. We have security government programs that we didn't have a few years ago, that we do have now. But as I said in my comments, part of winning the fight against anti-Semitism belongs to every Australian.
This is something we do together. It is something where people from the Jewish community will often remind me. It's a fight that will never be over, history has sadly shown that. But let's remember, that for so many members of the Jewish community, so much of their story of immigration was fleeing a place of hatred to arrive in a country of welcome. That's what Australia is about and that's what we all need to work together on getting back to.
JOURNALIST: Minister, you mentioned those three incidents on Friday night. I understand there's an active investigation. Do you have any understanding on how that's progressing? If they’re perhaps linked at all?
BURKE: At this stage, our authorities have not drawn links between them. But obviously there's a link in anti-Semitism. There's a link in bigotry. There's a link in a willingness, to either call for violence, to chant violence or to take out violent actions. They are very much linked in that way. But at this stage, the authorities are still investigating whether or not there is a more formal coordination, if I put it in those terms.
JOURNALIST: …(Inaudible)… was on Insiders this morning saying that the PM should urgently …(Inaudible)… do you agree?
BURKE: The first thing is I'm not going to say anything critical of any party today. I think the last thing we need in a moment like this is to find political division. Any decisions on what next, we need to bear in mind what we are already doing and what we are doing in terms of security.
Can I say there have been some calls that have come from the community and it's part of the discussion we've just had inside. People are experiencing intergenerational trauma as well. There are a whole series of harms that go beyond the physical, that we also need to make sure we're looking at. While the physical harm like this is what always piques a national interest, the day-to-day harm, the day-to-day challenges, whether it's an artist who has a venue cancelled, whether it's a student who feels they can't travel safely to school, whether it's someone who used to always proudly wear a symbol of their faith around their neck on a chain and now worries if they should. All of those issues also need to be dealt with and that's where the one thing that I will say absolutely needs to happen today is unity and constructively working together
JOURNALIST: Will there be more money for police patrols?
BURKE: Can I say the investment that had already happened in terms of additional security measures that was largely led by Mark Dreyfus last term, has been part of the story of this offender being captured so quickly. I don't want to go to next steps on that. I do want to say there is a whole social community people-feeling-safe part of it that has been raised, that I want to reflect on seriously.
Secondly, I want to acknowledge that it was immediately after the 7th of October that Mark Dreyfus came forward to the government saying ‘attacks are going to become more likely, we need to look at security straight away’, and I'm glad we did.
JOURNALIST: Minister, could you tell us about the road incident, what’s …(Inaudible)… anti-Semitic aspects are there in that incident?
BURKE: I have a strong view that any chant that begins with the word death is steeped in bigotry and has no place in Australia. Anyone who wants to defend a death chant can go ahead, but I can guarantee they won't have Australians on their side.
JOURNALIST: The Israeli Prime Minister has put out a statement saying ‘we demand the Australian government take action to deal with …(Inaudible)… Have you had any communication with the Prime Minister and what do you make of those comments?
BURKE: I had a good conversation yesterday with the Israeli Ambassador. He rang me, he had heard that I was coming today and rang to thank me, and he took it as a signal that the government was taking this very seriously.
I might add because it was Shabbat, my wife Skye and I, we hopped on a plane not knowing if we would be welcomed here, not knowing what the community would want us here, because understandably people weren't answering their phones until evening. That's why I wanted to make sure that I was just here in Melbourne in place so that if the community decided that they wanted us to come, we were able to facilitate that immediately.
JOURNALIST: Is that type of language from this rally …(Inaudible)… does that sit comfortably with you?
BURKE: Can I say I'm only going to talk of unity today. I'm not going to talk of anything else and my conversation with the Israeli Ambassador yesterday, he rang me, and I was very grateful for that call.
JOURNALIST: Do you believe this is terrorism?
BURKE: That's a call for the Victorian Police and the reason the Victorian Police weren't able to make that call immediately, is they have to conduct an interview with the accused which goes to motivation. Now, I think every Australian has a view and we probably all have the same view as to where that will end up. But we leave that with the Victorian Police, they lead the investigation. If at any time they make a decision on motivation, then at that point the Australian Federal Police will immediately conduct a joint investigation.
JOURNALIST: There'll be people in the community watching this hearing about this. What can people do in their everyday life to support the people of their community?
BURKE: Be kind and welcoming on purpose. Make the effort. If you see the slightest moment where somebody - even if you don't think they're engaging fully in bigotry - starts to make the slightest comments that you think could be steeped in anti-Semitism or other forms of bigotry, just bring them back. Bring people back.
As you see people become braver with their bigotry, we need to remember intercepting this at the first possible moment is one of the kindest things you can do and one of the things that is most consistent with who we are as a nation.
JOURNALIST: In your view, was there anything the government could have done to prevent what happened on Friday?
BURKE: The police are conducting investigations and when they haven't even got to making something conclusive about the motivation of the attacker here. I really don't think I should get ahead of that.
I do genuinely have to get to the airport. So, are there any other questions? You haven't asked any.
JOURNALIST: What's your direct message to Jewish Australians about their place of safety in Australia?
BURKE: You belong in Australia. You are welcome in Australia and the Australian government has come here immediately to stand in solidarity with you.
JOURNALIST: Is there updated advice on security for schools or places of worship?
BURKE: There is a lot of work, which Mark has a deeper history than me on. Where there is an organisation, it receives, I think it's in the order of $78 million worth of government funding over the last few years, which has gone directly to improving security at the exact sites that you say. But can I add, as one Sydney Rabbi said to me last year when I met with him at one of the sites where cars and homes had been graffitied. He said, ‘all the security money is helpful and important, but ultimately we don't want to live behind a cage - we just want to be safe’. That's why I make the comments that I make about everybody having a role in bringing people together.
ENDS