Interview with Laura Jayes, AM Agenda

2 October 2024

LAURA JAYES: Live to Melbourne now, the Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume joins us, so there's a lot of protests to talk about this morning, but let's start with that one outside the weapons expo that was violent that we now know police are pursuing. What should be the consequences there Jane?

JANE HUME: Well, the full force of the law should come down on those protesters that caused violence, caused damage and assaulted police forces and policemen themselves, using pepper spray, sorry, using rocks, using crates, using an acidic irritant that they threw at both the horses and the policemen. This is unacceptable behavior. Peaceful protest should be allowed. It is allowed. It is legal. But this wasn't peaceful protest. This was violent protest, and now we find that Victorians are going to foot a $30 million bill for that additional security. I think that Victorians rightly expect that those that have breached the law will be brought to justice.

LAURA JAYES: What about the planned protest for October 7, some planned in Sydney, and we've heard Chris Minns talk about that in just the last couple of moments. He says he fully backs New South Wales police going to the Supreme Court to try and stop this. But we've also seen number of flags, Hezbollah flags being waved. We see a number of vigils for the slain leader Nasrallah. What should be the consequences of that Jane?

JANE HUME: I have to admit that I fully support Chris Minns in his support for the New South Wales Police who have gone to court to try and prevent the protests that will occur that are scheduled to occur in Sydney on October 7, next Monday. This is a very important day for many people in our community, and particularly the Jewish community, who will be acknowledging the largest loss of life of Jews since the Holocaust on that day. The idea that those protests would go ahead, those protests that potentially can incite violence, that will be potentially displaying the symbols of terrorist organisations, is unacceptable. This is hate speech. There are laws that have been put into place specifically for this purpose, and we would hope that at a federal level, as well as a state level, that all those laws are brought into effect to prevent members of the Australian community feeling intimidated and incitements to violence that come with it. Displaying those symbols is illegal. We wouldn't put up with it if it was symbols of ISIS. We wouldn't put up with it if it was symbols of al Qaeda. Why we would put up with it because it's symbols of Hezbollah is beyond me. I would like to see the Victorian Government take as strong action as the New South Wales Government has, and I would like to see the Victorian police also seek a court order to prevent those protests going ahead here in Victoria, where there is a large Jewish population.

LAURA JAYES: Jane, just because you stop protests doesn't mean the tension goes away. So what is your concern with social cohesion? Protests stop and that's fine. People sometimes feel like they need an outlet. How do we get back to that point, because I think we lost that point more than a year ago, almost a year ago now, and there has been tension in the community in Sydney and Melbourne, I would say more, but right around Australia, what's the solution there?

JANE HUME: Well, it starts with leadership, doesn't it. There has been equivocation, sort of soft pedaling, of trying to play both sides of the fence in this conflict that's going on in the Middle East, which has allowed it to flourish here too. We want to make sure that…

LAURA JAYES: Well we’re about to hear from Anthony Albanese, Jane. So what do you want to hear from him? Perhaps we can simplify it.

JANE HUME: Well, I would like to hear him not prevaricate on this issue. We heard Joe Biden this morning saying that he fully, fully fully supports Israel. That should be Australia's position too. Israel is an ally. The US is an ally. We do not want to see an escalation of violence in the Middle East, certainly. But Israel has a right to exist and it has a right to defend itself, and that should be our unequivocal position.

LAURA JAYES: So we fully, Australia fully supports Israel, even though Benjamin Netanyahu this morning has said it was a big mistake and he vows to retaliate against his retaliation as well. It's now at that point.

JANE HUME: No one wants to see an escalation of violence, but Israel has a right to exist, and it has a right to defend itself. Whether it be against Hamas’s attacks back in October 7. There are still, as we know, hostages that are being held in Gaza. The ceasefire could have occurred had those hostages have been released any time in the last 12 months. Hezbollah has fired missiles upon Israel consistently, constantly for the last 12 months, and now Iran is also firing missiles in support of Hezbollah and Hamas. Israel has a right to exist. It has a right to defend itself. What we are looking for is leadership from our prime minister to reiterate that message and make sure that the violence that we're seeing escalate in the Middle East isn't replicated here in Australia, within our own communities.

LAURA JAYES: Well, we will see in just a couple of moments time. Jane, thanks so much for your time as always.