Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. In light of the disgraceful desecration of the Australian War Memorial and, in the last couple of nights, the Vietnam War memorial and the Korean memorial, what actions are you taking to condemn this and what actions are you taking to ensure that this does not happen again?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. I certainly condemn the criminal acts that have occurred at the Australian War Memorial and also on the Vietnam War memorial, the Korean War memorial and other war memorials as well in places like Sydney. I don't know what goes through someone's head in thinking that any cause is advanced by the desecration of what are sacred sites here in Australia. Our veterans and men and women who wear our uniform deserve our respect. The reason why we have those memorials is to enable Australians of different generations to learn from them, to go and to show respect and to honour those who have sacrificed their lives on behalf of us for our freedom, our democratic values and our way of life.

The Governor-General, in her speech earlier today in the Members Hall, spoke about the fact that, from the Prime Minister's office, when the doors are open, with the design of this building, you see right through the Members Hall, through the Great Hall, through the entrance of Parliament House and past Parliament House to the Australian War Memorial. That is not by accident. That is because in the decisions which people make in high office—in particular, governments—to send our men and women into danger we must always think about the impact that that has on those who undertake their duty on our behalf.

There have been a range of, frankly, idiotic criminal actions while the Middle East conflict has been going on. It is one thing, and there should be full prosecution about the denigration of officers and the denigration of other public buildings, but nothing is as bad as the desecration of those memorials. I thank the member for his question, and I hope sincerely that these people who are responsible are found, that they get the full force of the law, that they get the book thrown at them and that they get exposed publicly as well for who they are. We know what they are; they're unworthy, unworthy of having any respect and any leniency as a result of their own actions.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) | Link to this | Hansard source

on indulgence—I join with the Prime Minister in the condemnation of these senseless acts. I thank the member for New England for the question and understand and acknowledge the very real concern he has, like every decent Australian has, about the scenes and what we've seen playing out not just at the War Memorial sites but also outside the offices of members of parliament, including the Prime Minister's office, what we've seen outside Jewish schools and what we've seen on university campuses and across society where these acts of anti-Semitism have taken place.

'From the river to the sea,' as the Prime Minister has noted before in this chamber, is an abomination. That comment is all about the elimination of a race of people. What the Jewish community is going through in our country at the moment is completely and utterly unacceptable, and the people who have committed these offences rightly stand condemned. As the Prime Minister rightly points out, unfortunately, there haven't been arrests that have taken place so far, and I hope that the police can double-down on their efforts to identify these people and to allow a very clear message to be sent to those of a similar mind that these acts are not to be condoned in our society.

Those men and women—the 103,000—who have lost their lives serving our nation have done so for our lifestyle to be maintained and for our life in this country to continue as it does today. We don't do their memory any service by what we've seen at the War Memorial, whether it's the Australian War Memorial or whether it is any commemoration of the life and sacrifice of the men and women of the Australian Defence Force. They rightly stand condemned for these actions, and we hope that they shall not be repeated.