Media
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Transcripts
March 16, 2026
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: I'll just make a couple of opening comments, then, very happy to take some questions. Firstly, there have been media reports this morning that the Infrastructure Minister, Catherine King, has announced that Australia will not make any contribution if there is a request from the United States to the Strait of Hormuz, in keeping that open. It's very unusual for a domestic, non-national security minister to make a public announcement like this. So the Prime Minister and the Minister for Defence should clarify, was Catherine King speaking on behalf of the government when she categorically ruled out any assistance to the U.S in keeping the Strait of Hormuz? Of course, if a request is made by the United States, we should very carefully consider it against our national interest and the availability of suitable naval vessels.
Secondly, I've taken the step today to write to the Royal Commission to refer to them for investigation into the Australian Football League. One of the key questions that the Royal Commission has to determine is why so many institutions failed our Jewish community in the lead up to October 7, and most critically, the Bondi terrorist attack. It's particularly alarming that the Australian Football League seems to have failed Jewish Australians even after the shocking wake-up call at Bondi. It's reported that the Sydney Swans made a generous initiative to recognise the Jewish community and first responders at their game last week, and that in a draft transcript of remarks to be read out by the CEO included an acknowledgement of the Jewish community. It has also been reported that that acknowledgement of the Jewish community was removed at the request of the AFL from the draft transcript. Now, if that's right, that is a shocking thing. It is not a political thing, as apparently the AFL was concerned, to acknowledge that the victims of Bondi were Jewish. And the AFL certainly has not shown any reluctance in the past to get engaged in political acts, including backing a highly contentious Voice Referendum. So really, the AFL needs to front up. Who made the request to change the script, and why did they do so?
JOURNALIST: Senator, Andrew Dillon, yesterday, said he just can't explain what happened. Um, are they covering up, do you think? Dragging their feet? They very well know how to manage media and scandals. What is this?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Well, before Andrew Dillon went and did media interviews yesterday, he knew this was an issue. He knew he would be asked about it, and what he should have done is made inquiries to understand exactly how this happened. The fact that he wasn't able to provide any answers to reasonable questions asked of him about this indicates to me that, at the best, he was trying to obfuscate his way through this and, at worst, maybe he was trying to cover this up. If it is true that someone at the AFL requested that the Swans remove a reference to the Jewish community, that is a travesty for which they should apologise.
JOURNALIST: At the game there was first responders standing on the pitch, there were survivors of the Bondi attack, is that not enough?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Well, it is certainly very welcome that the Sydney Swans initiated this to recognise the Jewish community and the first responders, but it's bizarre to talk about Australia's worst ever terrorist attack which targeted the Jewish community, it was on the first night of Hanukkah, and overwhelmingly the victims were Jewish, without acknowledging the fact they were Jewish. And if it's true that they were airbrushed out of the script, then that is just inexcusable, and we must get to the bottom of it.
JOURNALIST: Are you confident the AFL will hold onto that evidence, the paperwork behind this, while you make this request to the Royal Commission, because, not wanting to fear monger, but that those documents could disappear.
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: I've asked the Royal Commission to direct the AFL to keep all records, all documents and all correspondence, both internal AFL communications and communications with the Sydney Swans, so that the council assisting can review the evidence and, if necessary, cross-examine any witnesses in relation to this. It would be very unfortunate if any of the records are lost and we're not able to get to the bottom of this, so it's critical that AFL preserve all records and all documentation.
JOURNALIST: Gerard Healy seemed to be confident that there were changes to that script. Do you know what evidence there is of that?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Well, Gerard Healy has reported this, and so has Tom Morris on SEN on Saturday. He said his understanding was that it was the AFL which made the request to remove a reference to the Jewish community because they wanted to de-politicise the statement. Well, as I said before, there's nothing political about acknowledging that the victims of Bondi were overwhelmingly Jewish and they were targeted because they were Jewish. And of course, the AFL is no stranger to getting involved in political debates. If this is a new stance from the AFL, they should say so. If they're not going to be involved in any political debates anymore, well, let's have it consistent. Thank you very much.
ENDS