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Australia’s major political parties clashed Thursday over a planned October 12 rally at the Sydney Opera House, with opposition figures demanding authorities block the demonstration while the Greens defended protesters’ right to gather two years after the Hamas attack on Israel.
National Party Senator Bridget McKenzie told Sky News the Palestinian Action Group’s planned march would “celebrate the rape of women, the murder of babies and the beheading of their parents,” while Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said demonstrators would gather peacefully to honor innocent civilians killed in what she called a genocide in Gaza.
“This group is clearly wanting to celebrate and sympathise with the terrorist group Hamas,” McKenzie said during a Thursday morning interview with Sky News host Kieran Gilbert. “Our whole country was shamed on the global stage following the atrocities of October 7th, 2023, when our Opera House was the site of horrific celebration of the actions of Hamas.”
Hanson-Young offered a contrasting view in a separate interview on the same program, framing the planned rallies as memorials for civilian casualties across two years of conflict.
“What people will be gathering for in peace, in a peaceful gathering, with respect, is to honour the lives of too many innocent civilians, including, of course, those that were taken as hostages and slaughtered on October 7th,” Hanson-Young said. “But those innocent children” who have died since deserve recognition, she added.
The Palestinian Action Group announced plans to hold marches on October 12, including at the iconic Sydney waterfront landmark. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said police would make an announcement later Thursday regarding public safety considerations for the demonstration.
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McKenzie, who serves as National Senate leader, urged the state government to prevent the rally entirely.
“I hope the Minns government does something to make sure this does not occur and does not once again see us embarrassed on the world stage,” McKenzie said.
The 2023 protests at the Opera House drew international condemnation when demonstrators gathered shortly after Hamas militants killed approximately 1,200 people in southern Israel and took hostages. Images of celebrations at the landmark circulated globally, prompting widespread criticism.
McKenzie referenced her visit to sites of the October 7 attacks, including Kibbutz Beri and the Nova Music Festival.
“I’ve stood at Kibbutz Beri. I’ve spoken to people at the Nova Music Festival. I’ve seen the video of the atrocities that were committed then,” she said. “It was Hamas that entered Israel and did that.”
The senator noted that 48 hostages remain in Hamas custody.
“They’re refusing to lay down their arms and surrender, and so the war continues,” McKenzie said.
Hanson-Young acknowledged the sensitivity surrounding the timing of the planned protests but defended demonstrators’ intentions.
“I understand that these rallies will be happening around the country on the 12th of October on that Sunday, two years on from what has been a brutal bloody war,” Hanson-Young said. “One, I must say, Kieran, that has cost far too many lives of innocent civilians, of aid workers, of journalists.”
The Greens senator characterized the conflict in stark terms.
“There is a genocide going on in Gaza,” Hanson-Young said. “The Israeli government has gone well beyond the rules of war, and the rest of the world is looking on with horror. I want this brutality to stop.”
When Gilbert pressed Hanson-Young on whether the timing seemed provocative given the Jewish Australian community’s inability to grieve immediately after October 7, 2023, she maintained her position.
“Look, I can understand that that is some people’s reaction, but I’ve got to say, Kieran, this is two years on and too many innocent people have been slaughtered and starved in this bloody war,” Hanson-Young said. “And it’s got to stop.”
The senator called for an immediate ceasefire and criticized Israeli government restrictions on humanitarian aid.
“I’m watching the news reports of those very brave humanitarians who are trying to get food through to Gaza right now, being stopped by the Israeli government,” Hanson-Young said. “And I know many people around the Australian community who are just horrified and want this bloody war to end.”
When asked about Hamas’s responsibility, Hanson-Young agreed hostages should be released.
“Look, I think, of course, all of those hostages should be released immediately,” she said. “It is just unthinkable that they are still, that some, you know, people are still being held in these terrible conditions. Absolutely. And Hamas must be kept for how they have behaved in this.”
McKenzie acknowledged Australians’ right to express views but drew a line at demonstrations she characterized as sympathizing with designated terrorist organizations.
“Everybody’s entitled to their view in this country, as long as they express it respectfully,” she said. “But to stand on the streets of our globally appreciated, iconic opera house and stand with terrorists as their somehow sympathisers, I think is appalling.”
The dispute over the October 12 demonstrations reflects broader tensions in Australian politics over Middle East policy and community cohesion. Jewish and Palestinian Australian communities have organized competing rallies and vigils throughout the two-year conflict.
Gilbert noted the original 2023 Opera House protests occurred “just in the wake of October 7” before any Israeli military response, which many in the Jewish Australian community found particularly distressing.
Hanson-Young said rallies would occur at multiple locations, including Parliament House steps in her home state of South Australia.
“The people who have borne the brunt of this bloody war, are children,” Hanson-Young said. “And that’s what I find just absolutely devastating about this.”
The contrasting statements from McKenzie and Hanson-Young illustrated the sharp partisan divide over how Australia should approach Middle East policy and domestic demonstrations related to the conflict.
Greens Senator Pays Tribute to Jane Goodall
Earlier in her Sky News interview, Hanson-Young paid tribute to primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall, describing her as “one of the global giants of environmentalism.”
“Jane Goodall was one of the global giants of environmentalism, but she was a tower of hope for the planet,” Hanson-Young said. “Anyone who knows Jane or spend any time with her would know that she’s actually, she’s a very small and slight person, but you wouldn’t know that from the enormous amount of intellect, character and passion that she brought to saving nature and saving animals.”
Hanson-Young recalled learning about Goodall as a child growing up in rural Australia.
“I was a young girl grew up in the Aussie bush I loved the wildlife in my backyard and the magical and just such special relationship that Jane had with animals was just mesmerizing and such an inspiration to women and girls right around the world who wanted to do better things to protect nature,” Hanson-Young said.
The senator met Goodall during an Australian tour last year when the renowned researcher was 90 or 91 years old.
“Even right at the age of 90, 91, her intellect was quite clear, very sharp, very to the point and knew clearly that education and encouraging the next generation is what we need in order to save the planet and protect our wildlife,” Hanson-Young said.
Gilbert noted Goodall’s unusual academic achievement of receiving a PhD without an undergraduate degree, calling her “an incredible mind.”
“So, yes, you know, a PhD for a woman of her generation, just incredible,” Hanson-Young said. “And as you say, a legacy that will live for many decades to come.”
Hanson-Young emphasized Goodall’s impact on conservation philosophy.
“She has just given so much to this planet, so much to humanity and so much hope that at a time when we are losing incredible parts of our natural environment, that protecting habitat is the only way to protect our wildlife,” the senator said.
The tribute highlighted Goodall’s pioneering chimpanzee research and decades of environmental advocacy that inspired generations of conservationists worldwide.
Political Implications
The October 12 protest controversy arrives as Australia grapples with community divisions over the Middle East conflict. Police assessments of public safety will determine whether demonstrations proceed at the Opera House or face restrictions.
McKenzie’s forceful language reflected conservative concerns about national security and international perceptions. Hanson-Young’s defense of protest rights and harsh criticism of Israeli military operations aligned with progressive positions calling for immediate cessation of hostilities.
The debate tests the balance between democratic freedoms and community sensitivities in Australia’s multicultural society. State authorities face pressure from multiple directions as they prepare guidance on the planned demonstrations.
Premier Minns indicated New South Wales Police would base decisions on operational considerations rather than political pressure, though the timing and location of the proposed rallies guarantee scrutiny from all sides.
Whether authorities move to restrict the October 12 demonstrations will shape perceptions of how Australia handles contentious political expression during a period of heightened tensions over Middle East policy.
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