Anthony Albanese driven by ‘political motivation’ over antisemitism response, Peter Dutton claims

Peter Dutton has escalated his attacks over Anthony Albanese’s response to a growing wave of antisemitic attacks in Australia, claiming the Prime Minister was driven by “political motivation” to win votes of inner city Greens

In a Sunday morning television interview before Parliament returns on Monday, Mr Dutton said it was “inconceivable” Mr Albanese was not told after police apprehended a caravan filled with explosives in the northwest Sydney suburb of Dural.

In what was believed to have been a targeted attack against the Jewish community, the investigation was kept secret until media reports forced the confirmation of the discovery.

While NSW Premier Chris Minns said he had been told about find a day after — on January 20 — Mr Albanese has refused to disclose when he was informed.

“I suspect what has happened here, if I’m being honest, is that the New South Wales Police have been worried about the Prime Minister or the Prime Minister’s office leaking the information, which is the only, the only explanation,” Mr Dutton told the ABC.

“Otherwise, it’s inexplicable that the Premier of New South Wales would have known about this likely terrorist attack with a 40 meter blast zone and he’s spoken to the Prime Minister over nine days, but never raised it.”

Mr Dutton claimed the Prime Minister had allowed antisemitism to fester in Australia.

“There should have been, from day one, a very clear message that we don’t tolerate racism and antisemitic conduct, whether it’s by neo-Nazi nut jobs or whether it’s by the left wing of crazy organizations,” he said.

“We’ve said that there should be zero tolerance, that there should be mandatory sentencing for people convicted of terrorist offenses, and that I would have absolutely no tolerance, and I would convey that in in the most certain terms to the AFP commissioner and ASIO and the other agencies to stamp it out.

“The Prime Minister hasn’t done that because he’s seeking the votes of green voters in inner city Sydney and Melbourne and South Western Sydney.

“He’s been driven by political motivation here, and I think it is a disgrace.”

Speaking on Sky, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said Mr Dutton “should be condemned” for politicising the issue.

“I think this is a ridiculous criticism from Peter Dutton, and just shows that all he wants to do is play politics with what is a really serious issue,” she said.

“It is unacceptable that there are people of Jewish faith feeling unsafe in this country, but for the government, it is about being responsible and making sure people are actually safe, not playing politics.

“Ensuring police and agencies, security agencies can do their job and keep the community safe should be, in my view, the number one outcome we all want to see.”