Free speech is under constant assault in this country, and this week was no exception, with Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke disgracefully barring the Israeli parliamentarian Simcha Rothman from coming into the country. The purpose of Mr Rothman’s visit was precisely that – to speak freely. To use his words and his thoughts to offer some degree of comfort and hope to the many Australian Jews feeling increasingly insecure after close to two years of unrelenting antisemitism fuelled not only by Islamist sympathisers but also by the actions, inactions and shameful deeds of the Albanese government, the most appalling government in our history.

The excuse given by the unctuous Mr Burke was as offensive as it was Orwellian as he announced that it may be distressing for Australian Muslims to hear calls for Hamas to be eliminated and that there is no room for people who ‘spread division and hate’ on these shores. This is the same Minister Burke who has welcomed without hesitation some three thousand individuals from Gaza to come into our country. What are we to suppose these worthy individuals may or may not choose to ‘spread’ here? Are we to imagine every single one of these three thousand new Australians will devote the rest of their lives to sitting around ecumenical campfires holding hands and singing ‘Kumbaya’ with their new Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu and Christian friends? Or is there just a slight possibility that most if not all will be more inclined towards following the example of their fellow religionists who enjoy racing around the streets of our western suburbs in large SUVs flying Palestinian flags and letting off flares and fireworks to express their feelings of ‘elation’ every time some horror or other befalls Israel?

What actions have Mr Burke and his Canberra colleagues taken against the ‘spreading of division and hate’ on the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House on 9 October 2023? What actions has this government taken against the vile messages of ‘death to Australia’ and ‘death to the IDF’ that have echoed from angry pro-Palestinian protests, including the so-called ‘peaceful’ Sydney Harbour Bridge march?

The accusation against Mr Rothman is as ridiculous as it is absurd. It’s clear he was manipulated by an antagonist journalist into making a comment which taken out of context labels Palestinian children as ‘the enemy’. Cue outrage. One can argue about the specific meaning of his words and the definition of ‘children’, but there is no escaping the brutal truth of twenty years of Hamas rule over Gaza, which has seen a deliberate campaign to militarise and radicalise children to the Islamist cause. With few exceptons, every one of the three thousand Gazans coming into Australia will have almost certainly been exposed at some point in their education to the most hateful and murderous Hamas propaganda, where children are literally taught in song and dance and play acting to murder Jews. Disgustingly, and to his eternal shame, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese specifically made a reference to Palestinian ‘martyrs’ this week, the Palestinian euphemism for the cold-blooded killers of innocent civilians.

So on the one hand the Albanese government panders to the dystopian language of the pro-Hamas crowd, deliberately absolving the meaning of murderous words and phrases, but at the same time accuses a member of Israel’s parliament of hate speech based on a questionable interpretation of his words. Hypocrisy on steroids.

As in Britain, here in Australia we are increasingly facing a government of the kind that George Orwell warned us about, a socialist government that twists language to its own ends and in doing so twists the rule of law to suit those same ends. There is no good outcome from such a scenario. The more the Albanese government gets away with suppressing free speech, or silencing people for their politics, the more authoritarian censorship will soon dominate all aspects of our lives. As they say, it always starts with the Jews, but it never ends with the Jews.

Another visitor coming to these shores soon is Toby Young, an associate editor of this magazine and, more importantly, the founder of the Free Speech Union in Britain and in Australia. Lord Young, as he now is, is currently leading the campaign against the UK’s disgraceful Online Safety Act. This involves fighting for the release of Lucy Connolly, the woman who received a 31-month prison sentence for a social media post (which she deleted four hours later) calling for mass deportations, made in the heated aftermath of three young girls being murdered in Southport. Cue ‘Hate Speech!!!’. Other cases include appealing a conviction for burning the Koran, which essentially expanded the definition of a ‘hate crime’ to cover blasphemy, and campaigning against the ‘banter ban’ which makes employers liable for the ‘harassment’ of their employees by third parties. Unbelievable stuff. But these are the horror shows coming our way courtesy of our own Censorship Czar, the eSafety Commissioner. Indeed, here in Australia the Free Speech Union have already taken on our ‘e-Karen’… and won.

The Menzies Institute are hosting their annual dinner and oration for Lord Young on 24 September in Melbourne. As a favourite Speccie writer, it goes without saying that it will be a most engaging evening.