Anthony Albanese declares perpetrators of anti-Semitic crimes should be ‘hunted down and put in the clink’

Perpetrators of anti-Semitic crimes should be “hunted down (and) put in the clink”, Anthony Albanese has declared after the arrest of two men in Perth on charges related to hateful graffiti over the weekend.

The Prime Minister said these arrests, and others around the country, showed police were getting on with the job of cracking down on anti-Semitism.

“That’s a good thing,” he said.

“On the issue of anti-Semitism, we have a very clear position: I want to see people who are perpetrators of this, what are crimes, hunted down, put in the clink and dealt with.

“That’s what I want. And we’ll provide all of the authorities the resources to do so.”

Parliament is dealing with stronger federal hate crimes laws on Wednesday, with independent MP Allegra Spender seeking to broaden the remit to better tackle anti-Semitism.

Her electorate of Wentworth in Sydney has also been the target of multiple arson and graffiti attacks.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has repeatedly linked the issue of anti-Semitism to his record on cancelling visas as Home Affairs and immigration minister, including in a speech to colleagues meeting in Canberra on Tuesday.

However, it’s believed the two men arrested in Perth are Australian citizens – meaning they do not have visas to cancel.

Mr Albanese said as far as he was aware, all those charged with anti-Semitic crimes in recent months have similarly been Australians.

“I’m not aware of any non-citizens but in terms of the arrests, there have been a range of arrests made – including under Operation Avalite and by state and territory jurisdictions – and what that indicates is that the police are getting on with the job that they have,” he said.