The federal opposition says the Prime Minister should consider recalling parliament to strengthen laws banning the display of ‘terrorist symbols’ after several Hezbollah flags were spotted at protests in Sydney and Melbourne over the weekend. But so far, no charges have been laid. The state opposition says if Canberra won’t act, then News South Wales should go it alone.
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00:00While the weekend's protests against Israel's military action in Gaza and Lebanon were mostly
00:08peaceful, the appearance of the flag of Hezbollah, which Australia's designated a terrorist
00:17organisation, has police, politicians and the Jewish community on edge.
00:22I think it was a rude awakening for the Jewish community that the flag of a listed terrorist
00:29organisation was so freely flown both in Melbourne and in Sydney.
00:34Who's actually carrying out the aggression and the violence right now? This is, Israel
00:38has killed 42,000 people.
00:40The protests came just a day after Israel killed Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah,
00:45and some protesters held placards with his image.
00:48We are a tolerant society, but we are not going to accept the glorification of somebody
00:53who has led a terrorist organisation.
00:56While laws already ban the display of terrorist symbols in some circumstances, the opposition
01:01leader says if they're not strong enough to bring criminal prosecutions, the Prime Minister
01:06should recall Parliament to change them.
01:08Any use of terrorist symbols will be investigated by the security agencies as is appropriate.
01:15Investigating is one thing, laying charges is another. Under the law, it's not enough
01:19to simply hold a flag, there needs to be another element, like incitement to violence or intimidation.
01:25The New South Wales opposition is calling for state legislation that would go even further
01:30than the federal laws.
01:31If the feds won't fix them, then New South Wales should.
01:34If there's further legislation that maybe is required to ensure that this doesn't happen
01:41on our streets, we're open to considering that.
01:43A lot of these laws that exist and that are currently in place are racist and they're
01:48just dog whistling tactics.
01:49Even bigger protests are planned next week on the anniversary of October 7. Organisers
01:54say anyone with a Hezbollah flag should leave it at home.