The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, has accused Peter Dutton of seeking to “raise the temperature” of public debate over conflict in the Middle East, after protests on the weekend included some people holding the Hezbollah flag.
The opposition leader on Monday suggested parliament should be recalled to enact new anti-terror laws that would cover such actions, if it was not already illegal.
But Burke rejected Dutton’s demand, saying federal law supported by both parties was already in force, with police and authorities investigating the rallies. He claimed Dutton wanted to “throw more kerosene on the fire” of the public mood around the widening Middle East conflict.
Politicians have been critical of protesters who waved the flag of Hezbollah, which is proscribed as a listed terrorist organisation under federal law. It is illegal to provide support, to be a member of, or associate with a listed terrorist organisation.
But experts said some protesters likely viewed Hezbollah as a group that freed their communities from Israeli occupation.
On Tuesday, Burke again raised concern about civilian deaths in Lebanon, repeating government calls for a ceasefire as Israel escalated its military operation in the country’s south.
He said the government would not hesitate to cancel visas if those responsible for waving Hezbollah flags at rallies were found not to be Australian citizens. But the minister also said he “presumed” most of those holding flags were Australian citizens.
“I’ve got no presumption that anyone’s on a visa,” Burke told Radio National on Tuesday.
“[But] I’ve got very strong views against hate speech and hate symbols, very strong views, and I don’t want the anger and hatred from around the world being imported into Australia.
“With Peter Dutton, it remains the case that no matter how many times our security agencies say we need to lower the temperature in Australia, he wants to raise the temperature every single time.”
The Australian federal police confirmed on Monday that it was expecting at least six reports of alleged crimes from their Victorian counterparts involving symbols and chants which are prohibited under federal hate speech law relating to weekend protests in Melbourne against Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.
Some marchers at capital-city protests over the weekend carried Hezbollah flags and portraits of leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli attack.
Dutton and the Coalition opposition had demanded visas be cancelled for any non-citizens involved in those actions. Burke on Monday said “any indication of support for a terrorist organisation is unequivocally condemned”.
But the opposition leader claimed the government had not acted swiftly enough.
“To be out there waving a Nazi flag, or a Hezbollah flag, to be out there glorifying a terrorist leader or somebody like Osama bin Laden, it’s completely and utterly unacceptable, and it’s unacceptable that the government isn’t demonstrating the leadership that Australia needs at the moment,” Dutton told Sky News on Tuesday.
“If it continues to compound, if these people know no boundaries, then it will end in tragedy in our country, and that’s something that the prime minister really should be very cognisant of.
“The police and the government need to apply every resource to speak with the leaders in the community, with the imams, etc, to say that these celebrations should not proceed, and there should be very significant pressure applied to the leadership group within the communities to make sure that these celebrations are called off.”
Burke said he was unable to comment directly on the incident, citing potential legal processes, but said he was strongly against “inciting discord and hatred in Australia”, and had asked his department to prepare briefs on whether visas would be cancelled.
The minister said federal law already applied, with current laws supported by both major parties.
“He doesn’t want to recall parliament because he wants to change laws that he supported a year ago, he wants to recall parliament because he wants to throw more kerosene on the fire and get people angrier with each other and say more outrageous things in the parliament,” Burke claimed.
Majed Kheir, a Sydney lawyer and community volunteer, said there were likely a number of people who attended the protests that would have held negative views of Hezbollah and Nasrallah.
But for others – particularly those from south Lebanon – Hezbollah was viewed as a group that freed their communities from Israeli occupation, Kheir said on Tuesday.
Hezbollah has ministers in the Lebanese government and has become a political and social powerhouse in the country – running medical clinics, schools and a regional television network.
Kheir was part of a community group that was consulted on the legislation prohibiting the display of terror symbols.
He said the “intent” part of the laws was crucial to the Muslim community given some symbols adopted by terrorist organisations had long carried holy significance.
“We understood why this legislation was important but we also didn’t want the government to inadvertently criminalise things that were holy to our faith,” he said.
On Monday, the Australian federal police released a statement highlighting the legislation outlawed prohibited symbols when carried with intent to incite hatred or violence.
“The AFP seemingly came out themselves in an effort to quell this silly back and forth which in my opinion was laced with undertones of racism and bigotry to confirm those intent part of the laws,” Kheir said.
Associate Prof Jumana Bayeh, a Middle East expert at Macquarie University, argued people at the protests were “demonstrating their mourning” for a leader who helped end past Israeli occupations.
Though not universally loved across the diaspora, for some, Hezbollah under the leadership of Nasrallah represented the “force which can guarantee Lebanon its security on its sovereign border with Israel”, Bayeh said.
“What Hezbollah represents is a moment within which the Lebanese were able to have a sense that they would no longer be subject to Israeli aggression. That’s what the flag and picture of Nasrallah represents for them.”
Alex Ryvchin, the co-chief executive officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said “regardless of one’s subjective view of Hezbollah or the history between Israel and Lebanon, Hezbollah is, in this country, a designated terrorist organisation”.
“One can express support with the Lebanese people. One can express opposition to Israeli policy. These are all legitimate things and totally fine. What they can’t do is, in this country, express support or pledge allegiance ... to a terrorist organization and its dead leader. That is a shameful thing.”
