Season 3 - Episode 2- What about the Rule of Law

In the wake of the massacre at Bondi, there was a movement that really gained traction in Australia to have a royal commission into anti-Semitism.

And at the forefront of that campaign to get that royal commission off the ground was Member of Parliament Julian Leeser.

So we went to Julian and we asked him why he felt so strongly that a Royal Commission was needed.

The reason we needed a Royal Commission, the reason why I jumped on so strongly is that There are large sectors of our society that have failed to recognise the gathering storm of anti-Semitism that's occurred in this country, have failed to root out due hatred from government-funded organisations, particularly in education and the cultural sector.

The Royal Commission, it's the highest form of public policymaking in this country in a sense.

You've got a retired judge, you've got experienced silks cross-examining witnesses.

You know, you can't evade questions like you can at a parliamentary committee.

And the history of royal commissions is that, you know, they're the one body where if recommendations are made, they tend to be adopted.

They're taken very seriously.

And the time for pussyfooting was well and truly over.

So Rob, were you in favour of a Royal Commission or not? Like we're already now, since that was recorded, we are actually in the Royal Commission, but were you in favour or were you against or were you neutral?

I mean, I think overall I was for it because it was such a horrendous event that happened and it had been, it wasn't, I didn't believe it was an event that came in isolation like, you know, we spoke about in the first episode.

So I think I was for it, but it wasn't without ambiguity.

What about you?

Oh, gosh.

I mean, I think that I wasn't against it and I wasn't for it.

I was comfortable to sit back and let it play out and fall where it did.

And, you know, I'm making a submission now that it is happening.

I'll be making a submission.

And I think the reason I was neutral was because I could see the advantages and the disadvantages.

I definitely feel like now that we're actually in the middle of it, you know, there's been pros and cons to it like there's been positive like non-Jewish friends are going my gosh I didn't know it was that bad I mean there are aspects of it that I didn't even know were that bad like you know watching Ajax talk about little kids being you know subjected to antisemitic bullying you know stuff like that I didn't you know it's just really harrowing at the same time I think that there there is risk there is risk in terms of the government saying oh well we've had a royal commission Now we don't have to do anything else.

And a Royal Commission on its own I don't think is enough, which we will actually go into in some of the subsequent episodes.

Like what are the other things that are needed in addition to whatever the Royal Commission recommends? So, you know, ultimately none of us really know until the findings are delivered.

But I have to say I think Virginia Bell's incredibly impressive thus far.

When I watch the Royal Commission, it's a lot worse than I even had believed, the level of anti-Semitism.