REMEMBER THE DURAL CARAVAN

Remember the Dural caravan. I call on the relevant anti-corruption bodies to investigate these events, and I encourage every Australian to look into it, question it, and speak up about it.

Fear was used in an event initially presented as a bomb threat against our Australian Jewish friends — and which, over time, turned out to have nothing to do with antisemitism or terrorism.

It became a national event and it installed fear throughout the nation. Why was that allowed to happen, and who benefited from it?

Think about the terror that placed on Jewish Australians and on all Australians — children, women, the elderly. It was wrong, it was handled badly, and we must learn from it rather than repeat it. Weeks passed before it emerged that the caravan was a criminal set-up rather than antisemitic terrorism. By then serious damage was done, and the division it created is still with us.

The inquiry has already put a good deal on the public record. The select committee heard from senior police that the Premier had been briefed “very early on” that the caravan might be a set-up, while it was still being described publicly in the language of a mass casualty event. The New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties raised the extraordinary fact that a senior New South Wales police officer had to sign a non-disclosure agreement before the Australian Federal Police would confirm the incident was an opportunistic criminal conspiracy rather than terrorism. Three bills — on places of worship, racial and religious hatred, and inciting racial hatred — went through the Council on 20 and 21 February 2025, in that atmosphere.

The Premier and the Police Minister declined to appear before the committee. Summonses were issued to senior staff. The committee was established on 19 March 2025 and has still not reported.

That is the point. Parliamentarians were legislating under an impression of a serious terrorist event on our shores. They may have acted to fix a problem that was not actually present.

Authorities must not use events to instil fear in our society. If they are unsure of the motive, they need to be straight with the people. Enough of fear-based media and reporting — it is tearing our nation apart.

If there are documentary makers or film makers out there, this is the perfect subject. It had an enormous influence on our society and there is much to analyse, from the Prime Minister down to the accused caravan owners.

I have compiled news reports, videos and documents on my X account — have a look at the material and judge it for yourself.