A Greens senator has been condemned as ‘an absolute grub’ for justifying the vandalism of war memorials in Canberra as a form of ‘political expression’.
Jordon Steele-John said his party could not support a motion condemning the actions of protesters because war memorials are ‘not politically neutral spaces’.
The Australian National Korean War Memorial, Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial, and the Australian Army National Memorial were graffitied with messages condemning the Palestinian war on Saturday night.
The messages read ‘blood on your hands’ and ‘from the river to the sea, Free Palestine‘. Another singled out Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
Mr Albanese said it was an act of desecration of the worst kind and called on those responsible to be publicly exposed.
Senator Jacqui Lambie moved a motion to condemn the actions in the Senate, but the Greens abstained, with Mr Steele-John later arguing ‘the Australian Constitution contains no explicit commitment to freedom of speech’.
‘If we are to believe that the men and women of the ADF gave their lives in wars and conflicts to defend such freedoms, then you have to engage with the reality that protesting, that painting is a form of speech,’ he said.
The Liberal party’s assistant defence spokesperson Phillip Thompson later slammed Mr Steele-John, describing him as an ‘absolute grub’, along with the rest of the Greens who abstained.
‘Our nation’s parliament, the people that are here to serve the community, to look after the people, to make sure that our veterans and our ADF personnel and their families are supported, and we have those people saying things like they support the freedoms to graffiti,’ he said.
‘I just think that’s a disgrace and they do not deserve to be sitting in.’
Mr Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton jointly condemned the graffiti.
Speaking more widely about the ‘frankly idiotic, criminal actions’, the PM said ‘nothing is as bad as the desecration of those memorials’.
‘I hope sincerely that these people who are responsible are found, they get the full force of the law, and they get the book thrown at them,’ he said.
‘(They should) get exposed publicly as well for who they are. We know what they are – they’re unworthy of having any respect and any leniency as a result of their own actions.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton joined Mr Albanese’s condemnation and hoped the perpetrators would be arrested soon.
‘I hope that the police can double down on their efforts to identify these people (and) allow a very clear message to be sent to those of a similar mind that these acts are not to be condoned in our society,’ he said.
Mr Thompson said he would like ‘to see these criminals in handcuffs and before the courts’.
Ms Lambie was outraged at the Greens’ refusal to show their support, shouting ‘whole new low’ in the chamber.
Labor’s Raff Ciccone also hit out at the Greens, saying Mr Steele-John’s comments were ‘totally out of order’ and ‘offensive’.
He said Labor condemned vandalism at ‘one of the most sacred places in the country’.
‘Australians have a right to peaceful protest but they do not have a right to vandalise, spray paint, desecrate … our memorials.’
The Coalition’s James Paterson said the motion could have been a ‘moment of unity’ for the chamber, if the Greens had supported it.
‘It is extraordinary that any elected member of this place would come in here and defend the defacing and the desecration of these monuments,’ he said.
An ACT Policing spokesman said the latest vandalism at the three memorial sites and a wall on the western side of Anzac Parade will be investigated.
‘The incidents will be considered alongside previous similar matters that have occurred in recent months,’ he said.
The spokesman said a search warrant had been executed on Friday, however no charges had been laid at the time of publication.
‘Police remind the community that peaceful protest is part of healthy democracy however criminal acts will not be tolerated,’ the spokesman said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
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