James Paterson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

Here we are again. It's the third time today the Greens have tried to weaponise a foreign conflict for political benefit here at home, just as they have done so shamefully over the last 2½ years since 7 October terror attacks in Israel and the disgusting antisemitism that we've seen in the country ever since. You would think they would have learned from recent years for the consequences of their behaviour that were visited on them at the last election when voters delivered them a very strong message—and us too. We're very humble about our election results, and we've owned that on the public record. I've yet to see a single green own up for the fact that the positions that they took on antisemitism and the Israel-Gaza conflict resulted in them losing three out of their four lower house seats across the country, where voters rejected the way in which they sought to weaponise a foreign conflict for political benefit. It is very, very clear that there is no level to which the Greens are unwilling to stoop when it comes to taking advantage of these foreign conflicts.

Let's remember the famous words of the former Greens leader Adam Bandt at a closed party conference of the Greens which was leaded to the media and reported in the media, which he probably thought would never see the light of day but which really, really illustrates the depths to which the Greens are willing to go. Mr Bandt said, at the time that 'if we don't win seats from the Labor Party at the next election, then they will get away with bombing Gaza'. On what planet is the Australian Labor Party involved in bombing Gaza? On no sane planet among no sane people is the Australian government involved in that in any way, shape or form, and yet that's exactly what the Greens sought to propagate in the community. They sought to propagate it particularly in lower house seats in Melbourne, like in Wills, where they targeted Peter Khalil, reprehensively and dangerously, which resulted in his office and his staff being regularly harassed by extremists in the community who had been whipped up by the Greens for partisan political benefit. And here they are again, spouting complete mistruths—total misinformation—about Australia's involvement in this conflict or lack thereof, as the case actually is, seeking to put up social media videos to whip people into a frenzy and get them agitated about this foreign conflict and try to bring it here. Australian do not want foreign conflicts imported to Australia, and yet the Greens, at every single opportunity, seek to do exactly that. We are not a party to this conflict. Australia is not involved in the strikes against Iran, but sensible people in this place recognise that the Iranian regime is not one that deserves defending, like the Greens have been running interference for over the last week or so. The Iranian regime has killed tens of thousands of its own citizens, including women for the crime of failing to veil themselves in public. This includes Mahsa Amini, who was bashed to death by the IRGC and the Basij of the Iranian regime for the crime of not wearing a headscarf. The Greens, as supporters of women's rights and feminism, should not want to associate themselves in any way, shape or form with a regime like that, and yet here they are and that is what they do.

Let's not forget this is a regime that has struck Australian soil and that has perpetrated terror attacks against Australian citizens, including the attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne, in my home state of Victoria. A regime that thinks it's okay to sponsor terror attacks on Australia is not a regime that deserves defending. This is a regime which also sponsors terrorism across the world. It is a primary financier and organiser of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and many other terror organisations that have struck across the world and killed innocent civilians. They attempted to sow those sorts of attacks here against our community. There was not just the attack in Melbourne against the Adass Israel Synagogue but also the attack at Lewis' Continental Kitchen in Sydney.

I would have thought a political party dedicated to peace and nonviolence would be highly critical of a regime like that. I would have thought they would consistently apply their concerns about international law. I don't remember hearing their concerns about international law when Iran was directing its proxies to launch strikes on Tel Aviv to kill innocent civilians in Israel. That's against international law. I don't remember the Greens asking questions about that in question time. I don't remember the Greens moving an urgency motion or holding a press conference about Iran's breaches of international law over the last 50 years, as they've attempted to acquire nuclear and ballistic weapons in defiance of international sanctions and resolutions of the United Nations. The Greens are not concerned about that because the Greens just want to run and peddle an anti-American and anti-Israel line for domestic political benefit. They've been exposed for that. There are political consequences of that that they should own up to.