In a wide-ranging attack on the government, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has argued that protesters who supported terrorist group Hezbollah at rallies over the weekend should face criminal charges or deportation, comparing the move to supporting Adolf Hitler or Osama bin Laden.
“I really worry that we’re moving into a very precarious period now,” Dutton told Brisbane’s 4BC radio, referring to Jewish schools reportedly employing armed guards.
“There is an absolute outrage in relation to the glorification of a terrorist leader, which surely must be against the Australian law; and if it’s not, the Parliament should be recalled to pass a law that prohibits that from happening,” Dutton said.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“Now, of course, the laws do provide for an offence in that regard, and the law should be enforced. I find it completely unacceptable that the government wouldn’t be arresting people already, or cancelling visas of people who are glorifying Hezbollah and Hamas and others. They have no place in our country.”
However, an Australian Federal Police spokesman clarified on Monday morning that “the mere public display of a prohibited symbol on its own does not meet the threshold of a Commonwealth offence”.
Dutton then spoke directly of the protesters who held photos of Hezbollah’s slain leader Hassan Nasrallah at protests in Sydney and Melbourne, comparing the act to glorifying Hitler or bin Laden.
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“Imagine the outrage if there were photos being held up of somebody like Osama bin Laden or Adolf Hitler. These people are responsible for hundreds, if not thousands of people being killed,” Dutton said.
“Hezbollah is a listed terrorist organisation in our country. If we’ve got people here who think that that organisation is OK, and they’re saddened by the death of this terrorist, if they’re on a visa, they should be deported because if we knew about that when they made their visa application, they wouldn’t get a visa to come here in the first place.”
Dutton concluded that it was up to the government to “get serious” and start deporting “a few people” to send a very clear message.
“If you’re in Australia, you abide by our laws, you live by our values and, if not, then go and live somewhere else. That’s fine by us,” Dutton said.
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