Fowler MP Dai Le says we need to talk about what constitutes ‘terrorism’
The independent MP for Fowler, Dai Le, says a conversation needs to be had about the definition of terrorism after a 16-year-old boy was charged with terror-related offences following a stabbing attack at a church in the Sydney suburb of Wakeley. Wakeley is in Le’s electorate of Fowler.
The charges have been criticised for having been made based on circumstantial evidence.
Le says she has been speaking to her “multi-faith and multicultural” community, who have concerns:
Living in a very multi-faith, multicultural electorate like mine, it’s so sensitive and is a very difficult conversation that we must have and I need to have with my community.
I doorknocked, for instance, around Wakeley just this week for, Monday to Wednesday, went around to check in with people. About 100 homes so far. A lot of people were shocked by what happened.
At the end of the day, because they live in such a multicultural and cohesive electorate, they didn’t want that destroyed. We had people of refugee back grounds, people who are new arrivals from the Middle East, who escaped terrorism as well.
They are living side by side. When we talk about a terror act, we just need to be aware of how that language lands in a community like [the electorate of] Fowler.
Key events
Crowds are beginning to gather in Melbourne for a rally against gender based violence.
As hundreds of people gather, her a few photos from social media:
The demise of Twitter: How a ‘utopian vision’ for social media became a ‘toxic mess’
If anything is emblematic of the demise of Twitter, it is the rise and stall of the account of Oprah Winfrey.
Oprah joined the platform in 2009, tweeting for the first time live from her wildly popular TV show: “HI TWITTERS. THANK YOU FOR A WARM WELCOME. FEELING REALLY 21st CENTURY.”
It was “a breakthrough moment” for the platform, says Axel Bruns, professor in the digital media research centre at Queensland University of Technology.
That really was the moment where numbers absolutely took off.
These days, Oprah still has an account on the now-renamed X, with 41.7m followers. But since November 2022, a month after Elon Musk’s acquisition of the site was finalised, she has posted just once – in January 2023, when she told Chelsea Clinton she was “still laughing out LoUD for real 😂” over Clinton accidentally wearing two different black shoes to an event.
Debates about X have reignited in the last week, as the Australian government has taken the platform to court in an effort to get it to remove a video of a Sydney bishop being allegedly stabbed as he officiated a church service last week.
X says it has complied with orders to remove footage of the stabbing (though ironically, the post announcing its compliance had a comment directly underneath in which someone had shared the full and graphic video) and Musk has been scathing about Australia’s requests for the footage to be taken down. X has been contacted for comment.
The disinformation hurricane surrounding the Bondi stabbing marks the end of Twitter as a breaking news destination
But as the debate has raged about what responsibility social media platforms have for stopping the spread of violent or extremist content, another question has emerged: what even is Twitter/X any more?
For more on this story read the full report by Guardian Australia reporter Kate Lyons:
Peter Dutton ‘reached out’ to Fowler community after Wakeley church stabbing, Dai Le says
Finally, Dai Le is asked about a dinner she recently had with the federal opposition leader, Peter Dutton, in her electorate, and whether they spoke about what might happen if there is a hung parliament after the next federal election.
No. Look, the opposition leader reached out following the Wakeley incident and asked us to dinner, just to check in, to see if there are issues important to our community. I think he’s the only one that reached out and came out to see us.
Dai Le says funding for domestic violence prevention more important than a royal commission
Asked about social media platform Twitter and Elon Musk’s claims that efforts to ensure a video of a stabbing of an Assyrian priest be taken down globally would constitute a threat to “free speech”, Dai Le says supports the government’s effort but has concerns about potential overreach:
Honestly, how can we not stop images of violence?
Asked whether she would support a royal commission into gender-based violence, Le says she is not sure if “another royal commission would do any good”.
What I think government needs to do is to get the funding and target that to communities. Communities are experiencing high domestic violence. Getting it implemented … ,making sure that we don’t alienate one group from another [is important].
Israel-Gaza conflict traumatic for Fowler community because of their own experiences, says Dai Le
Dai Le says she was one of the first to support a ceasefire in Gaza and many of those in her electorate talk about being appalled at the images of children being killed.
It’s just not something people can take. It is very emotional for people and me as a person who escaped Vietnam and being a child who ran from the war, it’s very traumatic for me and very traumatic for people in my community.
Le also says the Israeli hostages being held by Hamas should also be recognised and says she “cannot understand” how the conflict has “continued for so long” and why the international community have “failed to get those hostages released”.
Asked about whether Australia should recognise a Palestinian state, Le says she is “not a Middle East expert” but the Australian parliament has called for a two-state solution.
I think that everybody, from my understanding, would like a two-state solution.
Refugee communities fear they are unfairly targeted by police, Sydney MP says
Talking to the ABC, Dai Le says she isn’t criticising police for swiftly labelling the Wakeley church stabbing attack a terrorism-related incident.
I questioned how did [officials] come to that conclusion so quickly.
Le says many in her electorate have escaped tyrannical regimes elsewhere and are concerned their communities may be unfairly targeted by police.
However, she stops short of directly supporting a change to the definition of terrorism.
I’m not an expert in terrorism. I need to leave that with the people in the field. We need to include people in the community to engage with them to get information, to consult with them, because those in ASIO, do [they] have people with different faiths, cultural background and lived experience giving that advice within that space? Or are they making the decision from a group of people, I have to say, who are mainly, I don’t know, Anglo-Celtic and making that decision and bringing it out there?
Multicultural communities like Fowler worry about safety, financial security, Dai Le says
Dai Le says she will reserve judgement about the conduct of authorities and law enforcement until the investigation is concluded.
I am watching and waiting to see the outcome of the investigation. I’m saying that the police in our area had challenges working and connecting with, especially, the young people.
Over the decades, we had Vietnamese refugee kids and kids from Iraq that are feeling very much disconnected from society in the first place. They are feeling they don’t belong in the first place. They feel like they can’t connect with their own parents in the home because they are growing up here.
There’s all of this challenge that a community we have in Fowler. What we need to understand is that what are some of the work that’s being done to ensure that people are feeling like they belong, that we have so much uncertainty out there in the world.
How do they feel safe, secure, in terms of financial safety, food safety? All of that are the challenges our communities in Fowler are facing
Fowler MP Dai Le says we need to talk about what constitutes ‘terrorism’
The independent MP for Fowler, Dai Le, says a conversation needs to be had about the definition of terrorism after a 16-year-old boy was charged with terror-related offences following a stabbing attack at a church in the Sydney suburb of Wakeley. Wakeley is in Le’s electorate of Fowler.
The charges have been criticised for having been made based on circumstantial evidence.
Le says she has been speaking to her “multi-faith and multicultural” community, who have concerns:
Living in a very multi-faith, multicultural electorate like mine, it’s so sensitive and is a very difficult conversation that we must have and I need to have with my community.
I doorknocked, for instance, around Wakeley just this week for, Monday to Wednesday, went around to check in with people. About 100 homes so far. A lot of people were shocked by what happened.
At the end of the day, because they live in such a multicultural and cohesive electorate, they didn’t want that destroyed. We had people of refugee back grounds, people who are new arrivals from the Middle East, who escaped terrorism as well.
They are living side by side. When we talk about a terror act, we just need to be aware of how that language lands in a community like [the electorate of] Fowler.
Marles meets with Ukrainian PM and officials, pledges $100m in extra assistance
The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, has visited Ukraine overnight where he met with his counterparts and pledged $100m in additional military assistance for the country as he seeks to defend itself against a Russian invasion.
Marles landed in Lviv where he met with the Ukrainian prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, government officials, and toured defence sites.
Marles met with Ukrainian armed forces personnel for a demonstration, visited a defence manufacturing facility that makes drones and the National Army Academy, where he laid a wreath in tribute to academy graduates who lost their lives.
Marles also received a briefing from the assistant minister of defence, Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk, and other defence officials.
The $100m additional package promised by Australia takes the total value of Australian support to more than $1bn, including $880m in military assistance.
For more on this story read the full report by Guardian Australia Mostafa Rachwani:
Independent MP Dai Le will speak to ABC Insiders host David Speers this morning.
We will bring you all the latest as it happens.
Marches demanding safety for women held in capital and regional cities
Thousands of men and women marched through the streets of Sydney, Adelaide and Hobart on Saturday to call out gendered violence.
Chants of “Whatever we wear, wherever we go, yes means yes and no means no” and “When our right to safety is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back” erupted from crowds at the Sydney rally, attended Malcolm Turnbull, his wife Lucy Hughes Turnbull, the NSW premier Chris Minns and federal independent MP Sophie Scamps.
Addressing a cheering crowd, What Were You Wearing Australia chief executive Sarah Williams said she hoped Albanese would listen to what marchers nationwide were calling on leaders to do.
I’m not sure what to be prepared for but I’m hoping he will name this as a national emergency and changes will be made.
The weekend of action began on Friday when hundreds of people descended on Ballarat and Newcastle.
Demonstrations will be held on Sunday in Melbourne, Bendigo, Geelong, Coffs Harbour, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Wagga Wagga, Brisbane, Perth, Canberra, Orange and Cobram.
– AAP
Prime Minister joins rallies calling for end to violence against women
The prime minister will join thousands of demonstrators as they march for a third day throughout Australia to demand action to end violence against women.
A dozen rallies will be held in major cities and regional towns on Sunday as part of a series of national events calling for a break in the cycle of violence that has claimed the lives of at least 26 women so far in 2024, according to Destroy the Joint.
Anthony Albanese will attend the Canberra rally on Sunday after former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and NSW Premier Chris Minns joined crowds at the Sydney event on Saturday.
A 30-year-old Perth woman was allegedly murdered with WA police taking a man in his 30s, who was known to her, into custody on Friday.
It comes after the regional town of Ballarat was rocked by the alleged murders of Samantha Murphy, Rebecca Young and Hannah McGuire at the hands of men within two months.
Two weeks ago, Jade Young, 47, Ashlee Good, 38, Dawn Singleton, 25, Pikria Darchia, 55, and Yixuan Cheng, 27, were all killed at a Bondi Junction shopping centre in Sydney when Queensland man Joel Cauchi went on a stabbing rampage.
Earlier this week, Molly Ticehurst, 28, was found dead at her home in Forbes in NSW and Emma Bates, 49, was discovered dead at a property in Cobram in Victoria.
– AAP
Good morning
And welcome to another Sunday morning Guardian live blog.
Australia will send $100m in military assistance to Ukraine in a pledge made during a visit to the country by deputy prime minister Richard Marles. During the visit, Marles told Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal Australia remains committed to supporting the country as it seeks to fend off a Russian invasion.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will join ongoing protests demanding an end to violence against women. The protests will enter their third day and take place across major cities and regional centres on Sunday in response to violence that has killed 26 women so far in 2024.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs and I’ll be taking the blog through the day.
With that, let’s get started …