Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) 27 January 2022 marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 77 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, a day where we remember the atrocities committed by Hitler's Nazi regime, their six million Jewish victims and millions of other victims including LGBTIQ, Roma, Sinti, people with disabilities, political dissidents and more;

(b) Australia has been enriched by the presence of one of the world's largest populations of Holocaust survivors per capita, and their descendants, in contributing to our vibrant multicultural society; and

(c) a landmark study released this year by the Gandel Foundation and Deakin University showed that nearly one quarter of Australians have little or no knowledge of the Holocaust;

(2) acknowledges the importance of Holocaust remembrance in honouring the memory of the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, and promoting tolerance, inclusivity and combating antisemitism and other forms of bigotry and prejudice;

(3) endorses the work of:

(a) the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in its work promoting Holocaust remembrance, combating antisemitism and combating Holocaust denial and distortion, and endorses their definitions; and

(b) federal and state governments in helping to fund and support Holocaust remembrance and education;

(4) calls on all states and territories to follow the lead of Victoria and New South Wales and make Holocaust education a mandatory aspect of their school curriculum; and

(5) condemns:

(a) antisemitism in all its forms, in line with the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, and resolves to combat it; and

(b) Holocaust denial and distortion, including those who appallingly and inaccurately seek to compare the Holocaust to modem-day pandemic health restrictions and measures.

I would like to begin this motion with an acknowledgement of the member of Wentworth, who is seconding this motion, and also an acknowledgement of her predecessor, who originally seconded the motion in the previous term of parliament. I also acknowledge the bipartisan nature and the way in which these motions are debated, and especially the current member for Wentworth's willingness to support this and to be a part of this important discussion.

In between the original placement of this motion on the Notice Paper and today, my grandmother passed away. Her name was Gerda Cohen and she left Germany in October 1938, a week before the Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass, and came here to this country as part of the arrival of a few thousand Jewish people before the start of World War II in 1939. Australia took a few thousand people quietly and, of course, later declined to take a large number of Jewish refugees throughout the war. And then, amazingly, Australia became home to one of the largest populations of Holocaust survivors per capita anywhere in the world.

This motion marks Holocaust remembrance, but it does so acknowledging that Australia is now a full member of the IHRA—the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. Prime Minister Gillard started Australia's efforts to join the IHRA, and, at the same time, she bestowed the first posthumous honorary Australian citizenship to the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who, I believe, might still be the only honorary citizen of Australia.

In November 2017, IHRA unanimously agreed to upgrade Australia's status in the organisation from observer to liaison. Then, following the good work of the previous government, Australia became a full member of IHRA following a vote of the IHRA Plenary. This motion also endorses the IHRA definitions, including on antisemitism, something that I was very pleased that the federal parliamentary Labor Party first endorsed. I acknowledge the Attorney-General in 2016, 2019 and 2022. I also acknowledge that the former coalition government adopted the IHRA definition, as have many state and territory governments, oppositions, and other institutions around the country.

This motion was also influenced by the fact that the Gandel Foundation, in partnership with Deakin University, had a good look and did a really comprehensive survey of Australians, with over 3,500 Australians participating in it. It tried to engage Australia's awareness of the Holocaust and our understanding of the atrocities that occurred during that period. While there was, overall, a good understanding of the Holocaust by Australians, a large proportion of Australian society had no knowledge of it, Australia's involvement in it, and the lessons that came out of it.

The work of the Gandel Foundation is truly astonishing in how it seeks to empower young Australians to engage in Holocaust education. I acknowledge the Victorian government and its leadership in this. I also acknowledge the former Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, who gave a significant amount of money to set up Holocaust education centres around the country. This was and still is a real passion of the former Treasurer. It's something that he should be very proud of in deepening Australia's engagement in this important chapter of our history and world history throughout the country.

Lessons from the Holocaust are still as relevant today as they ever have been. Obviously, the Jewish community was not the only victim of the Holocaust. There were LGBTQI+ people, political dissidents, communists, trade unionists, political prisoners, and a range of people in German society who felt the wrath of the Nazi regime. Every student who walks through the Melbourne Holocaust Museum comes out with a renewed sense of respect and appreciation for their fellow humans and appreciation for the history that we must never forget. So I commend Gandel Philanthropy. I commend all members participating in this debate. May we continue to remember and never ever allow it to happen again.

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