Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie has called for police to prosecute former Australian of the Year Grace Tame.
Her comments come after Tame faced criticism for leading chants of ‘globalise the intifada’ at a protest against the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
‘She should be prosecuted…’ McKenzie told Sunrise on Wednesday.
‘President Herzog’s visit should be a time of healing in the wake of the Bondi attack and what we’ve seen on our streets, unfortunately, is reinforcing that global perspective that our country is not safe for Jewish people,’ she said.
McKenzie reiterated her stance in a comment to Daily Mail, saying Grace Tame should be prosecuted but should retain her Australian of the Year award.
‘Ms Tame was awarded Australian of the Year for her bravery in sharing her personal story of sexual abuse and bringing attention to important public taboos. That hasn’t changed, so I don’t support taking that award away from her,’ she told Daily Mail.
‘But being a leader as she is means being very careful with what you say and do. Grace’s hateful comments are deeply offensive.’
Jewish Liberal MP Julian Leeser threw his support behind similar calls on Wednesday, urging NSW authorities to investigate whether Tame breached state hate‑speech laws over her chant.
Housing Minister Clare O’Neil declined to back any move to remove Tame’s award, and instead highlighted her significant contribution to protecting survivors of child sexual abuse.
‘We just remember that every single child in our country is safer today because of her willingness to talk about traumatic incidents of sexual abuse, events that occurred in her childhood,’ she told the Sunrise panel.
‘That has got to be a part of the discussion here.’
However, she also condemned the language Tame used at the rally, saying references to an ‘intifada’ were deeply distressing to Jewish Australians.
‘I also feel very strongly that no Australian today should be on our streets using words like “globalise the intifada”,’ O’Neil said.
‘We need to put ourselves in the shoes of Jewish Australians and understand that those words are heard by this community as saying that violence against Jews should be encouraged, and that is not the right thing to say today or any day in our country.’
She said Jewish Australians ‘have just been subjected to the worst terrorist attack in Australian history’ and called for calm.
‘We do not want to see global conflicts brought to our streets here in Australia. We are a peaceful, harmonious community and we need to act like it,’ she said.
In an interview with Sky News, NSW Council for Civil Liberties president Timothy Roberts said the comments could have been in violation of federal vilification laws, but they did not pass Parliament.
‘There are some really weak, blurry laws on the state books,’ he said.
‘I don’t think she will be charged.’
CRE: DAILYMAIL