MP fails in bid to extend antisemitism inquiry and have PM front it

MP Julian Lesser tries to call on government to extend antisemitism royal commission In short: As the antisemitism royal commission is due to conclude public hearings next week, a Liberal MP has called for the inquiry to be extended. Julian Leeser's request for a debate on the extension, and calls for federal politicians to appear, were adjourned in parliament. What's next? The commissioner is expected to deliver her final report and recommendations by December this year. A bid to extend the timeline of the royal commission on antisemitism and have the prime minister front the inquiry has failed to gain traction. The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion was called in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack in December, during which 15 people died and dozens more were injured. Upwards of 20,000 submissions to the inquiry have been received and more than 220 witnesses have fronted public hearings since May, with Commissioner Virginia Bell AC SC expected to deliver her final report and recommendations by the first anniversary of the shooting. Liberal MP Julian Leeser on Tuesday told the House of Representatives the timeline had "imposed severe constraints" on the commission's capacity to examine antisemitism in Australia, and that "critical players" had gone unheard. Commissioner Bell has been clear in her intention to meet her report deadline, and not seek an extension. Mr Leeser called for the government to "immediately extend the royal commission's reporting date to allow the commission to hear and test evidence from key witnesses". "Instead of spending December 14 scouring royal commission recommendations, let that day be a day when Australians remember victims and comfort the bereaved. Give the commission more time," he said. Debate stalls after motion Mr Leeser, who is Jewish, gave evidence at the royal commission about his experience with antisemitism, and the impact of the Bondi Beach attack on his family. He said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the attorney-general, the foreign minister and the ministers for home affairs and the arts and education should front the inquiry. "Let us hear from you, under oath, what went wrong from the very top," he said. "Show that you are serious about fixing antisemitism into the future." Mr Leeser requested to suspend business of the day in the lower house to debate an extension of the inquiry. Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke spoke briefly in response, before moving the debate be adjourned. "There is no division within this parliament about the horrific nature of antisemitism, about not merely viewing the horrors of the antisemitic terrorist attack at Bondi but also the antisemitism which has occurred in our country both before and since that moment as being unilaterally rejected by every member of this house," he said. "I don't want to offer anything other than respect to the members for the arguments they've just put." Mr Burke's motion succeeded and the debate did not proceed. 'Inviting you to be the best versions of yourself' The commission is due to conclude public hearings next week, and has this week heard from organisations working to foster social cohesion in their communities. After noting staff and students were hesitant to engage in difficult discussions, cognitive psychologist Farid Zaid and historian Daniel Heller partnered to create their Brave Conversations program. Dr Zaid said Brave Conversations, which is led by Monash University, aimed to equip people with the skills to view disagreements as opportunities for meaningful connection. "Disagreement should be the beginning of the conversation not the end," he told the inquiry. Dr Zaid said many students and academics shy away from disagreement because they "don't want to hurt or upset anyone". "The majority of academics and colleagues that we work with often adopt that viewpoint that when things get tense and there's disagreement, self-censorship is the safest option," he said. Dr Heller said the Brave Conversations workshops gives participants the permission to ask "curious questions" of each other and consider how their different life experiences may have contributed to their diverse viewpoints. "We thought when we started doing this work that it would require deeply intricate choreography, that it would be like pulling teeth, and the opposite is true," he said. "When you say to people, 'We are inviting you to be the best versions of yourself, calm kind, curious, compassionate,' more often than not people rise to the occasion." In his teaching of Israeli and Palestinian history, Dr Heller said he works with his Iranian, Egyptian, Israeli and Palestinian colleagues to demonstrate how people can have respect for people they disagree with. "Even in disagreement there is so much care that we all show one another as a teaching team," he said. "Our young people have next to no models in real time of people disagreeing with each other and caring for one another deeply."