NITV Radio News - 07/07/2025
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News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
‘Pretty stupid': Melbourne man fronts court for threatening Anthony Albanese
A Melbourne man charged with threatening Anthony Albanese says his comments were 'stupid'. Dale Byrne, 42, faces two Commonwealth charges related to threatening to cause 'serious harm' to the Prime Minister and making a 'menacing' social media post about the political leader. Mr Byrne didn't enters any pleas during a brief hearing in the Dandenong Magistrates' Court on Thursday, and the matter was listed for a contest mention hearing in September. Outside court, Mr Byrne told NewsWire: 'I haven't got much to say because I haven't got my solicitor here, except I said something pretty stupid I shouldn't have said.' He would not comment when asked if he would plead guilty. The most serious charge carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. In Thursday's court hearing, magistrate Nunzio La Rosa continued Mr Byrne's bail, which includes the condition not to go within 100m of state or federal politicians, including Mr Albanese. Mr La Rosa scheduled the matter to be called again at a contest mention on September 4. Court documents show Mr Byrne is charged with threatening 'to cause serious harm to a Commonwealth Official, namely Australian Prime Minister, the Honourable Anthony Albanese' on February 7. The second charge alleges Mr Byrne used a carriage service 'in a manner that a reasonable person would regard as menacing' when he made an X post 'towards' Mr Albanese. The charges are under negotiation. Initially, the Australian Federal Police alleged Mr Byrne made death threats and anti-Semitic comments to a Commonwealth member of parliament. 'The AFP will allege the man used social media to contact a Commonwealth MP multiple times between 7 January, 2025, and 19 February, 2025, making death threats and anti-Semitic comments,' it said at the time he was charged on March 18. The state of the charges or details of the allegations were not aired in court on Thursday.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Anthony Albanese urged to scrap funding to unis failing to combat anti-Jew hate
Australian universities, educational programs and staff should have government funding scrapped if they are found to 'facilitate, enable or fail to act against anti-Semitism,' a landmark report has revealed. Australia's special envoy to combat anti-Semitism Jillian Segal, who handed down the 'Special Envoy's Plan to Combat Anti-Semitism' on Thursday, said anti-Semitism had risen to 'deeply troubling levels' since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. Anthony Albanese said the recommendations would be 'carefully' considered and 'implemented quickly'. Among the key reports were a set of recommendations to combat anti-Semitism at institutions, including launching a university report card. Ms Segal will also 'work with government to enable government funding to be withheld, where possible, from universities, programs or individuals within universities that facilitate, enable or fail to act against anti-Semitism'. 'Working with government and grant authorities, the envoy will, where possible, establish that all public grants provided to university centres, academics or researchers can be subject to termination where the recipient engages in anti-Semitic or otherwise discriminatory or hateful speech or actions,' the report said. The report also recommended that public funding agreements for cultural institutions and festivals include clauses for the 'efficient termination of funding where the institution or festival promotes, facilitates or does not deal effectively with hate or anti-Semitism'. Festivals and events that promote anti-Jewish speakers should also have their deductible gift recipient status stripped. Ms Segal said upholding consistent standards and accountability at universities and educational institutions was 'central' to promoting 'Australian values'. 'It shapes not only what young Australians know but how they think and how they treat others,' she said. 'The plan promotes a nationally consistent approach to teaching, about the history, harms and modern forms of anti-Semitism through the lens of democracy, social inclusion, shared civic responsibility in Australian values.' Asked if the recommendations would be put in place within the year, Home Affairs Minister Tony Bourke declined to issue a deadline but said some of the issues 'get taken into account in different ways already' through Creative Australia. The report also called for lesson plans on Holocaust and anti-Semitism education to be integrated into both national and state curriculums and media monitoring to ensure 'accurate, fair and responsible reporting' and digital guardrails, including working with eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant to ensure AI doesn't amplify anti-Semitic content. Ms Segal also called for a review into immigration and citizenship policies to screen potential applicants for extremist and anti-Semitic views. 'Visa applicants should be screened for anti-Semitic views or affiliations. Non-citizens involved in anti-Semitism should face visa cancellation and removal from Australia,' the report said. 'Australia should also collaborate with international partners to share intelligence and fight anti-Semitism across borders.' The report has been welcomed by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion, who said it 'completely' aligns with the 'Jewish community's expectations'. He also thanked Mr Albanese and Mr Bourke for 'standing with the Jewish community'. 'It is evident that much research and thought has gone into this document over many months,' he said. 'Its release could not be more timely, given the recent appalling events in Melbourne. The actions which the plan call for are now urgently needed. 'We call upon all sectors of society, including government, law enforcement, the media, the university sector, education authorities and online platform providers to co-operate with the special envoy and the Jewish community to give this action plan full force and effect.' Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler 'particularly' backed the call to cut funding to unis who fail to act against anti-Semitism. 'Some of our major universities have seen a complete dearth of leadership, notwithstanding extensive consultation with Jewish students, staff, and numerous parliamentary inquiries,' he said. 'The real measure of this report will be its implementation. It is essential that these recommendations are enacted swiftly, and consistently by governments and institutions.' Sussan Ley called on Mr Albanese to act and explicitly clarify which recommendations will be adopted by the government. 'This report shows anti-Semitism is not just a problem of security or law enforcement. It's a cultural and societal cancer that needs attention through our schools, universities, media, and even the arts,' the Opposition Leader said.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Antisemitism plan would strip funding from unis, arts events who fail to fight Jewish hate
The special envoy to combat antisemitism will work with government to withhold funding from universities who fail to reduce hatred against Jewish students, monitor media organisations to ensure accurate coverage, and screen visa applicants for antisemitic views under a sweeping plan launched by the prime minister on Thursday morning. Special envoy Jillian Segal says she will also work with the government to review Australia's hate speech laws, including vilification offences and the promotion of hatred. Ms Segal, who was appointed to the envoy role by the prime minister a year ago, said her plan was a comprehensive, long-term approach to combating antisemitism and introducing a strategy already in place in many other nations. "We cannot hope to really abolish antisemitism, but we can push it to the margins," Ms Segal said. The envoy warned that antisemitism in Australia had become more common since the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel, and Israel's subsequent invasion of Gaza. "In the space of just one year, reported incidents increased over 300 per cent. These are not isolated events and they form part of a pattern of broader intimidation and violence that is making ordinary Jewish Australians feel very unsafe," she said. Standing alongside Ms Segal, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed her report and said it would now be considered by the government. Ms Segal has been working on the plan since her appointment, but it has been delivered just a week after another series of antisemitic incidents in Melbourne. Last week, the entrance of a Melbourne synagogue was set alight, while protesters stormed Israeli-owned restaurant Miznon in the city's CBD. "It furthers illustrates the importance of adopting this," Ms Segal said. Mr Albanese set the measure of success for himself. "It will be successful … where students can go to school without any fear, where cultural diversity and expression is flourishing, where people can engage with each other and be enriched by the diversity that is our society," he said. Under the envoy's plan to combat antisemitism, Ms Segal intends to review federal and state legislation addressing antisemitic and other hateful conduct, including vilification offences. Those laws were strengthened by the federal government, and last term bans on Nazi symbology were also introduced with strict penalties. But Ms Segal has continued to advocate for reforms that would criminalise the promotion of hatred. Under current laws, inciting a person to commit a hate crime is a criminal offence, but is difficult to prove, and is only triggered if a person's hateful commentary leads to an act of violence. Guidance for police would also be developed to assist in applying the laws. With the prime minister pointing to social media as one of the causes of a rise in hatred, Ms Segal also recommended regulations that would require social media companies to be more transparent with their algorithms to "prevent the amplification of online hate". "In particular, law enforcement should be supported to prioritise the identification and prosecution of those who commit offences online, with cooperation from the host platforms. Group harm should be considered as well as individual harm in framing any law reform," the envoy wrote. She noted that a group of envoys globally were already in discussions with the major social media platforms in relation to this. Ms Segal warned Australia must prevent "the normalisation of antisemitism", with the plan including a wide-ranging approach to debate online, in the media and at school and university campuses. The envoy recommended that she become a monitor of media organisations to encourage "accurate, fair and responsible reporting" to ensure impartiality and balance and to avoid "accepting false or distorted narratives". While the envoy said freedom of expression was vital to Australian culture, funding for public institutions like arts galleries, festivals and public broadcasters should be able to be "readily terminated" where organisations facilitate antisemitism. "Jewish Australians have historically been highly active in Australian cultural life. Unfortunately, in recent times, there have been many examples of the active and deliberate exclusion of Jewish artists, performers and creatives. Such conduct must be strongly rejected and countered," she wrote. Ms Segal would also assess universities with a "report card" of their implementation of practices to combat antisemitism, including complaints systems and policies to ensure Jewish students and staff could participate "actively and equally" in university life. Those who failed to act against antisemitism would have government funding withheld where possible, and grants terminated where if recipients were found to engage in discriminatory or hateful speech. Ms Segal also raised concerns with investigating foreign sources of funding for "antisemitic activities and academics" at universities. A judicial inquiry would be established into campus antisemitism by the start of the 2026 academic year if the envoy determined matters had remained unaddressed. She noted that there was a marked difference in the experiences of younger Jewish Australians and older Jewish Australians, and that education was needed in schools and universities to improve understanding of Jewish culture.
