Latest news with #NovaPeris
The Age
30-07-2025
- Politics
- The Age
‘Does not belong in this country': Hockey Australia stands by Peris as more anti-Islam re-posts emerge
Hockey gold medallist and former Labor senator Nova Peris shared a series of social media posts scathing of Islam in the lead-up to her election as a director of the sport, including one which said the religion 'should be banned in the West'. Peris was voted onto the board of Hockey Australia last month, nearly three decades after her triumph with the national women's team, the Hockeyroos, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. But her position as a director of the government-funded national federation has come under question because of comments she has re-posted online this year. This masthead reported that the pro-Israel campaigner shared a comment from another user on X in April that called Muslims 'Satan worshipping cockroaches that need to be eradicated'. That account is no longer active, but other Peris re-posts of anti-Islam rhetoric in the three months before her elevation to the Hockey Australia board have remained on her profile on the social media platform. The 54-year-old, who has 15,000 followers on X, shared a comment by right-wing commentator Kobie Thatcher on April 18 that denounced Muslims praying in public in Parramatta on Good Friday. 'An Islamic prayer service taking place in Prince Alfred Square. This does not belong in this country!' the post said. Peris re-posted material from another user on April 16 who said, 'Islam should be banned in the West'. The comment was made in reaction to a Muslim man in the US who told an interviewer: 'this American empire must fall' and 'people are willing to fight and put their lives on the line to bring these Western empires down'.
Sydney Morning Herald
30-07-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Does not belong in this country': Hockey Australia stands by Peris as more anti-Islam re-posts emerge
Hockey gold medallist and former Labor senator Nova Peris shared a series of social media posts scathing of Islam in the lead-up to her election as a director of the sport, including one which said the religion 'should be banned in the West'. Peris was voted onto the board of Hockey Australia last month, nearly three decades after her triumph with the national women's team, the Hockeyroos, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. But her position as a director of the government-funded national federation has come under question because of comments she has re-posted online this year. This masthead reported that the pro-Israel campaigner shared a comment from another user on X in April that called Muslims 'Satan worshipping cockroaches that need to be eradicated'. That account is no longer active, but other Peris re-posts of anti-Islam rhetoric in the three months before her elevation to the Hockey Australia board have remained on her profile on the social media platform. The 54-year-old, who has 15,000 followers on X, shared a comment by right-wing commentator Kobie Thatcher on April 18 that denounced Muslims praying in public in Parramatta on Good Friday. 'An Islamic prayer service taking place in Prince Alfred Square. This does not belong in this country!' the post said. Peris re-posted material from another user on April 16 who said, 'Islam should be banned in the West'. The comment was made in reaction to a Muslim man in the US who told an interviewer: 'this American empire must fall' and 'people are willing to fight and put their lives on the line to bring these Western empires down'.
Sydney Morning Herald
27-07-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Anti-Muslim post shadows Nova Peris' election to Olympic sport board
Olympic gold medallist and former Labor senator Nova Peris was elected as a director of Hockey Australia just weeks after sharing a comment on social media from an anonymous account that called Muslims 'Satan worshipping cockroaches that need to be eradicated'. The 54-year-old joined the board of the government-funded national federation last month, nearly three decades after she played in the Hockeyroos' triumph at the 1996 Atlanta Games, becoming the first Indigenous woman to win Olympic gold for Australia. Hailing her as a legend of the sport, Hockey Australia president Ross Sudano said Peris would be a powerful advocate for the women's game and regional communities, 'enriching our increasingly diverse board'. But Peris' re-posting of the anti-Islam rhetoric has brought into question her fitness to sit on the board of an organisation that receives $9.5 million a year from the Australian Sports Commission and whose diversity policy includes a focus on multicultural communities. The post was made by a since deactivated account on X on April 14 above a cartoon which depicted a drowning Muslim man pleading for help before turning on his rescuers in a boat labelled 'England'. The heading below the image read: 'The path of Islam is always the same'. Peris distanced herself from the comment when contacted by this masthead. 'I absolutely do not share the views expressed in that post, more importantly that account no longer exists and hasn't done so in many months,' she said in a text message. She did not answer why she had shared the post, a screenshot of which has been published on the social media platform and in an article by the National Indigenous Times.
The Age
27-07-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Anti-Muslim post shadows Nova Peris' election to Olympic sport board
Olympic gold medallist and former Labor senator Nova Peris was elected as a director of Hockey Australia just weeks after sharing a comment on social media from an anonymous account that called Muslims 'Satan worshipping cockroaches that need to be eradicated'. The 54-year-old joined the board of the government-funded national federation last month, nearly three decades after she played in the Hockeyroos' triumph at the 1996 Atlanta Games, becoming the first Indigenous woman to win Olympic gold for Australia. Hailing her as a legend of the sport, Hockey Australia president Ross Sudano said Peris would be a powerful advocate for the women's game and regional communities, 'enriching our increasingly diverse board'. But Peris' re-posting of the anti-Islam rhetoric has brought into question her fitness to sit on the board of an organisation that receives $9.5 million a year from the Australian Sports Commission and whose diversity policy includes a focus on multicultural communities. The post was made by a since deactivated account on X on April 14 above a cartoon which depicted a drowning Muslim man pleading for help before turning on his rescuers in a boat labelled 'England'. The heading below the image read: 'The path of Islam is always the same'. Peris distanced herself from the comment when contacted by this masthead. 'I absolutely do not share the views expressed in that post, more importantly that account no longer exists and hasn't done so in many months,' she said in a text message. She did not answer why she had shared the post, a screenshot of which has been published on the social media platform and in an article by the National Indigenous Times.
Sky News AU
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
DFAT's efforts to support stranded Australians in Israel labelled 'shambolic' as evacuation email contained 'incorrect link'
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's efforts to support stranded Australians in Israel has been labelled 'shambolic' after an evacuation email was sent out which contained an 'incorrect link'. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's efforts to support stranded Australians in Israel as Iranian rockets hammer Tel Aviv has been labelled 'shambolic' after an evacuation email was sent out which contained an 'incorrect link'. In the email, which requested Australians in Israel to upload their personal details to register for evacuation, contained a link which redirected them to a Department of Home Affairs' Translation and Interpreting Service for people with limited English. According to The Daily Telegraph, the website was for people with 'limited English proficiency and for agencies and businesses that need to communicate with their non-English speaking clients', and not to evacuate a high-risk warzone. An Australian, whose first language is English, spoke to the publication said DFAT's blunder 'pretty much sums up this whole situation' after he was sent a link to book an interpreter instead of a seat on a plane to get home. 'Lots of Aussies got an email from DFAT asking for more information but the link didn't work - which pretty much sums up how this whole situation has felt,' the stranded Australian said. 'Unless someone was planning to translate their evacuation request into Mandarin, Hindi or Swahili, it wasn't much help.' The Australian stranded in Israel said it 'took days' before the Department and the Australian Embassy in Israel were able to set up an operational system to gather passport, visa and flight details from trapped Australians. 'We just hope it actually leads to action … It's not enough to just collect names - people are scared and want to get out,' the Australian traveller said. 'It's shambolic, and would almost be funny if it wasn't such serious and stressful situation.' has contacted DFAT for comment. Among those trapped in Israel is Olympian and former senator Nova Peris who shared here 'extremely frightening and distressing' experience witnessing 'unrelenting ballistic missiles' raining down across Israel. — Nova Peris OAM OLY (@NovaPeris) June 13, 2025 Ms Peris, who was in Jerusalem on the weekend, said she was with 11 other Australians, including First Nations people, who had spent the early hours of Friday and much of Saturday in a bomb shelter. 'There have now been three waves of missiles fired directly from Iran, targeting civilians, destroying homes, and causing widespread devastation,' Ms Peris wrote. 'We can't wait to come home. But for now, we're safe, in bomb shelters, we're together, and our hearts are with all those living through this terror.' Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other on Sunday, killing scores of civilians and raising fears of a wider conflict, and US President Donald Trump said it could be ended easily while warning Tehran not to strike any US targets. In Israel, rescue teams combed through rubble of residential buildings destroyed by Iranian missiles, using sniffer dogs and heavy excavators to look for survivors after at least 10 people, including children, were killed, raising the two-day toll to 13. Sirens rang out across the country after 4pm on Sunday in the first such daylight alert, and fresh explosions could be heard in Tel Aviv. In Iran, images from the capital showed the night sky lit up by a huge blaze at a fuel depot after Israel began strikes against Iran's oil and gas sector - raising the stakes for the global economy and the functioning of the Iranian state. -with Reuters
