Tony Burke is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), and has served as member of parliament (MP) for Watson since 2004. According to obtainable ABS data, the electorate of Watson has the second highest proportion of Muslim voters with (at least) 21% identifying by the Islamic faith. This is more than twenty times the national average for any federal electorate in Australia. The division is mainly located in the south-western suburbs of Sydney, with smaller parts located in the Inner West.
Stephanie Peatling from the Sydney Morning Herald reported that “Tony Burke will take on a super portfolio of home affairs and immigration in a ministerial reshuffle Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will use to build momentum against the Coalition heading into the next federal election.” To say this is frightening from an Australian Jewish Community perspective is putting it mildly.
It therefore comes as no surprise that placing someone like Tony Burke in charge of home affairs and immigration has raised more than a few eyebrows on those on the conservative side of politics like myself. Why on earth would Burke portray himself as even remotely supportive of the Australian Jewish Community, or better yet, being open to supporting the State of Israel. When you have one in five from your electorate identifying as Muslim, it would be committing political carnage by doing so. Burke, like any federal politician, wants to keep his seat. He wants to keep his job.
To give you a little taste of what our newly appointed home affairs and immigration minister believes in relation to the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza: “In my part of Sydney, people are watching, everyday, death, they’re watching, everyday, images, sometimes of people they know, often of children. Often the images they are seeing turn out to be people they know.”
Burke has a proven, tangible track-record of being biaised and one-sided when it comes to issues relating to the tidal wave of antisemitic abuse being hurled on Australian Jews since the barbaric acts of Hamas on October 7th last year. Here are a couple of examples to illustrate my point:
- In November last year, Burke was interviewed by ABC Radio host Patricia Karvelas. As reported by the Australian Jewish News, “Burke described people in his southwest Sydney electorate “seeing horrific images updated every hour” from Gaza. He also quoted Hamas casualty figures from Gaza as fact. Burke also quoted Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant referring to ‘human animals’ without clarifying that Gallant was speaking strictly about Hamas.”
- Canterbury-Bankstown was the first council in Australia to officially raise the Palestinian flag since the Hamas-Israel war broke out. In November last year, SBS reported that “Canterbury-Bankstown Councillor Khodr Saleh said the motion to raise the Palestinian flag passed easily, with support of the mayor and unanimous support of city council members. The council says the flag will fly until a ceasefire is declared in the Hamas-Israel conflict.” This Council falls within Burke’s electorate of Watson, where he tweeted “I completely support the Canterbury Bankstown Council’s decision to raise the Palestinian flag”, following this decision, as a way to “truly represent the grief in the community.”
Sky News host Sharri Markson rightly said that Anthony Albanese has failed to put a “unifying figure” in the home affairs role. At a time when Australian Jews are crying out for overt support, protection and advocay, what does our Prime Minister do? He places one of the most anti-Israel members of his front bench in charge of the two portfolios which matter most to our community. Just another shameful act by our Prime Minister. Appointing a Special Envoy for Antisemitism is a symbolic move to try and calm any pro-Jewish tensions from within his party. I would like to think that most members of the Australian Jewish Community see right through this.
As my late grandfather used to say, judge a person by their actions and not their words. In the case of Tony Burke, we can judge him on both.
6 thoughts on “Burke appointment further disappoints Australian Jewish Community”
Not just a problem for Jewish community but safety of Australia. We have all seen in Europe what uncontrolled Muslim immigration results in. Unless there are proper checks and balances put in place Australia will suffer irreversible damage to its way of life. Need Dutton as next PM to put these policies in place.
You will never see such checks and balances under the Albanese regime, Mac.
Albanese found it very opportunistic to “reshuffle” his ministry at this time. He had to get rid of two of the most useless ministers Australia has ever seen without too much upsetting the left of the party, whilst he is still advocating he didn’t have to sack anyone since being elected. He will use Burke as another attack dog (Watts is the other one) to get the Labor Party across the line at the next election. And Albanese will think he doesn’t have to be seen doing any of the dirty work, he still hasn’t realised the electorate are awake to his lies and tricks. Tony Burke wants the Prime Ministership himself and will do anything to make this happen. The Australian electorate should be very worried about this Government, it is a Government that knows no shame, they are only interested in their own personal preservation and gains.
I could not agree with you more, Maree. Thanks for your thoughts.
One thing people failed to mention is that Burke is a Muslim, as are Ed Husic and Anne Aly. They are all decent people, but the Govt’s stance on this is so wrong.
And as for Opposition Leader Dutton, well, he’s doing the dog-whistling that he so despises. He is only a three-trick pony and not the whole package.
I can’t agree with you, Maree.
As for the electorate “being awake to his lies”, which ones are they? Oh, you mean, “we support Israel, but we support a two-State solution more”, that lie? Or the temporary relocation of our embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to appease the Jewish voters of Wentworth and others, yet riling up Indonesia et al?
As for your assessment of Burke wanting to be PM, having been an insider, but no longer, I believe Jim Chalmers to be the better choice, younger and more astute. I’m actually fed up with people who don’t seem to have a political cell in their brains making asinine comments.