Senator CASH (Western Australia—Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (12:13): I rise on behalf of the coalition to support the motion put forward by Senator Lambie. Let me make this very, very clear upfront: there has been one group of parties—the coalition—that has unequivocally, since October 7 2023, condemned the vile rise of antisemitism in this country. The Jews of Australia are currently living in fear. There are people who don't want their children to go to school on a daily basis. There are people who wake up every morning and wonder, 'Is it going to be me when I leave my house today?' There are people waking up every single morning and wondering, 'Is it my shop, my business, that is going to be targeted today?' On October 7 2023, when that vile act of terrorism occurred, the Leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton, made it very, very clear to the Prime Minister of Australia that we would work with the government to address whatever needed to be done to fight antisemitism. Let's look at where, in February 2025, we are now at. I'm sorry, but ever since 9 October 2023, when, as I said, we saw the despicable pro-Hamas protest outside the front of the Sydney Opera House, just one day after the massacre of 1,200 Jewish people in southern Israel, the Prime Minister of this country has failed to lead us when it comes to antisemitism. Jewish Australians across Australia not only deserve our support but are crying out to the Australian government, 'Please don't just listen to us and give us words; give us concrete action that will show us you stand with us and you understand us but, more than that, you will put in place the necessary laws to fight the rise of antisemitism in this country.' Unfortunately, in the recent events in my home state of Western Australia, we saw the most vile display of graffiti: a swastika with 'F the Jews' inscribed on a person's home in the suburb of Dalkeith. This is actually getting worse, and I just wish the government would wake up and understand it. What is it going to take? A synagogue was firebombed in Melbourne. A Jewish childcare centre was firebombed in Sydney. A car was firebombed outside the recent address of a prominent Jewish leader. Then, of course, a caravan full of explosives was found in suburban Sydney with a map of Jewish targets, including the Great Synagogue. As we all know, had this attack actually come off, it could have been the most disastrous terrorist attack in Australian history. The list goes on. Synagogues have been sprayed with swastika graffiti. Homes—these are people's homes, where they live, their pride and joy, the places where they go home to for solace at night—have been sprayed with stars of David, reminiscent of Nazi Germany. Senator McKenzie interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order! Senator CASH: I don't know what more it's going to take for government to wake up and understand that we have a crisis of antisemitism in this country and they, by their lack of action, are enabling it. Let's have a look at what the Prime Minister of Israel himself, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, has said. This is what he said in relation to the attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne: Unfortunately, it is impossible to separate this reprehensible act from the extreme anti-Israeli position of the Labor government in Australia … That is the Prime Minister of Israel. Israel's deputy foreign minister, Sharren Haskel, has also criticised the Albanese government in the wake of the recent antisemitic attacks in Sydney. This is what she said: I note, however, that the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, and other Australian ministers are refusing to accept any responsibility for the shocking recent surge in anti-Semitic terror in Australia. There is no doubt the rise in anti-Semitism in Australia has been caused in part by the Australian government's ongoing campaign against Israel. We see that campaign in the United Nations. This is what the chief rabbi of Perth Hebrew Congregation in Western Australia, Dan Lieberman, said in relation to the graffiti that I referred to previously: 'It's a turning point for the Jewish community of WA. People will get sick of this nonsense very quickly and they will make plans to leave. Jewish people have moved around for 2,000 years, and we will do it again. Australian society has to decide whether the people of Einstein, Salk, Freud and Monash are worth keeping around. If they decide that they are not then all they need to do is continue down this path and allow incidents like this to go unchallenged and unpunished. The Jewish community will move on, and Australian society will be the poorer for it. We have contributed and will continue to contribute so much to this country and to Western society, and we will continue to do so—but not if the society that we are attempting to benefit rejects us, either explicitly or implicitly, by way of silence and inaction in the face of antisemitism.' It's no wonder that Jewish Australians are feeling let down. Journalist Sharri Markson has said: 'Vulnerable is an understatement. This isn't the world any of us want to live in. Jewish Australians have only ever contributed in a wonderful way to this country, in every area of life, to help make Australia a better place to live.' The coalition completely supports the motion put by Senator Lambie today. But what I fear more than anything is that, even though the Leader of the Opposition told the Prime Minister in 2023 that we would work with the government to tackle the rise of antisemitism in Australia, it is very clear in February 2025 that the Jewish people of Australia have been let down. This motion will pass the Senate, but, based on the government's track record to date, it's going to be mere words. Words, quite frankly, are not what the Jewish community or Australians need. They need leadership and they need action. The PRESIDENT: Senator McKenzie, I thought you might have taken note that this debate is being heard in silence, but I had to call you to order. I was very reluctant to sit Senator Cash down. She is the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. She is entitled to be heard in silence, as is every other senator. If you can't sit and not make interjections, then please leave the chamber.