“This is utterly unacceptable. It is also incredibly dangerous.
“Jewish Australians are no more responsible for Israel’s conduct of this war than Palestinian Australians are responsible for Hamas’ terrorist attack that prompted it.”
Sharma described the attacks in Australia as “mob rule” and intimidation and said Australian leaders had “muted their voices” on the issue,while institutions had neglected their duty to protect the social compact.
“Today it might be Jewish Australians,but tomorrow it will be another group or another minority against which the forces of the populist mob are unleashed,” he said. “Down that road lies civil turmoil and national disunity. Staying quiet,sitting on the sidelines,and hoping it will all go away is a complete failure of leadership.”
The Islamophobia Register Australia has warned of a surge in Islamophobia in the wake of the conflict between Israel and Hamas,while the Executive Council of Australian Jewry said there had been a 738 per cent increase in antisemitism.
Protests in support of the Palestinian people have also heightened concerns in Parliament House about threats to politicians and the disruption of public events.
Early Childhood Minister Anne Aly,who was born and raised in Egypt and is one of Australia’s first Muslim ministers,was berated by pro-Palestinian protesters at a “meet and greet” with her community on the weekend but she said it would not change her conduct.
“I will continue to take every opportunity to talk with people from my local community about the issues that matter to them. This kind of behaviour won’t stop me,” she said.
Sharma told this masthead he was appalled at the aggression towards Aly.
The Liberal senator’s first speech to the upper house also called for stronger federal reform to boost competition among big companies.
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“What we have witnessed is a rapid redistribution of national income,” he said. “Big business has won. Workers and small businesses have lost.
“Australia now has one of the most concentrated economies in the developed world.”
On housing costs,Sharma said the biggest solution was a focus on increasing supply and that this meant Australia had to find a way to build more homes,more quickly.
“Until we are able to accelerate our pace of home building,we need to reduce our immigration intake,or else we will simply place further pressure on our housing market,” he said.
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