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An almighty row has rocked question time after Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus blasted the opposition for “politicising antisemitism”, drawing an extraordinary motion from the opposition to silence the Labor minister for remarks they deemed offensive.

Dreyfus was asked to explain his previous stance against minimum mandatory sentences. Last week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese overruled him to legislate for minimum mandatory sentences for antisemitic and terror offences after sustained Coalition pressure.

In response, Dreyfus said the Albanese government had done more than any other “to combat the abhorrent and shocking rise in antisemitism”.

“The Liberals are still baying, and shouting, and talking. This government acts on antisemitism,” he said, before listing legislation the government had passed, such as banning the Nazi salute and hate symbols.

Dreyfus, who is Jewish, then became particularly impassioned:

The past few months, I’ve stood in the shadow of the main gate at the Auschwitz death camp. I’ve stood on the field where a music festival in Israel was turned into a bloodbath. And I’ve stood in the ruins of a burnt-out synagogue in my home town.

But those opposite have taken every opportunity since the 7th of October, 2023, to politicise the trauma and the experiences of the Jewish people.

I do not need the leader of the opposition or any of those opposite to tell me what antisemitism is, or how seriously I should take it.

Liberal MP Michael Sukkar, the manager of opposition business, then rose to his feet for a point of order. As he walked to the microphone, Dreyfus said: “You’re disgusting.”

Sukkar then moved that Dreyfus no longer be heard, drawing an uproar from Labor MPs. In the ensuring vote, Sukkar’s motion was defeated 91-52.

The fight was not over, however, as Sukkar then asked Dreyfus to withdraw the accusation that the Coalition was politicising antisemitism, which drew a cacophony of shouting from Labor MPs.

The prime minister then rose to his feet and said:

The idea that the minister should withdraw a statement is, quite frankly, totally inconsistent with things that have been said by those opposite over a considerable period of time.

The minister, due to who he is … he is someone who feels this very personally and deeply. He was being interjected against by those opposites in behavior that I regard as completely disorderly and completely unacceptable.

In a prolonged argument about whether Dreyfus’ remarks were unparliamentary, Speaker Milton Dick acknowledged “this is an emotive debate” and asked Dreyfus to refrain from any comments that others might deem offensive. He ultimately did not ask Dreyfus to withdraw, and put an end to ongoing points of order.

Dreyfus concluded his answer: “I say to members of this House that we’ve had a wave of antisemitism in this country. Right now, what we need is unity.”

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