Thursday, 14 August 2025

Members statements

Community safety

Ryan BATCHELOR (Southern Metropolitan) (09:44): I rise today to lend my voice to that of the Premier and many others across the community condemning the cowards hiding behind masks who brought their hatred to the streets of Melbourne over the weekend. As the Premier said, neo-Nazis have no place in our city, no place in our state and no place in our country, and the gutless display that we saw on the streets of Melbourne last week must stand condemned. This government has moved and passed criminalising of hate speech in this state, laws the Liberal Party –

Members interjecting.

The PRESIDENT: Order! The clock is going to start again. If anyone yells to the level that I just heard on my left-hand side, they are going to be out of the chamber for 30 minutes. Reset the clock. Mr Batchelor was not being provocative. I think he was talking in terms that we could all agree on.

Ryan BATCHELOR: I rise to lend my voice to condemn the actions of the cowards –

David Davis interjected.

The PRESIDENT: Order! Sit down. Mr Davis, you can get out for 30 minutes.

David Davis withdrew from chamber.

Ryan BATCHELOR: I rise to lend my voice to that of the Premier and many in this state to condemn the actions of the cowards who hid behind masks and brought their hatred to the streets of Melbourne late at night over the weekend. As the Premier said, neo-Nazis have no place in our city. They have got no place in our state. They have got no place in our country. I am proud to be part of a government that has just passed laws to criminalise hate speech in this state, and I stand here today particularly following a discussion that I was part of last week at the Holocaust Museum. Reflecting on the trip we made, several members of this Parliament, on a bipartisan delegation, visited Auschwitz and Birkenau and the death camps. We, as part of that delegation, bore witness to where hatred leads, and we affirmed at that discussion last week we would stand up against hatred in all of its forms here in Victoria and condemn those who seek to marginalise and who seek to vilify others on the basis of their religion. I stand particularly with members of Victoria’s Jewish community at a very difficult time.