Former Labor Minister Calls for Debate on Islam’s Role in Democracies

BRISBANE, Australia—Former Labor Minister Gary Johns has suggested debating the role of Islam in modern democratic systems, and halting taxpayer-backed funding to multicultural initiatives, in a sweeping proposal to deal with anti-Semitism.

Speaking at the Virginia International Hotel in Brisbane, Johns addressed attendees of the Melanie Phillips Annual Lecture Series hosted by the Jewish Association of Australia where he laid out recommendations on the response to the Bondi Beach terror attack.

Johns also spoke about the Labor government’s internal challenges with coming to grips with Israel-Hamas tensions, but said there were parts of Islamic teaching that needed reform.

“While religion is free from the law, it is not the law. It should fall foul of the law if it incites, promotes or celebrates violence,” Johns said.

“[Islamaphobia Envoy Aftab Malik] omitted the fact that there are problems in Islamic teachings about Jews. Islam needs reform, as Judaism and Christianity did during the Reformation and the Enlightenment. Islam needs to be relegated to the private realm,” Johns told attendees.

The former MP also said Judeo-Christianity had developed alongside democratic ideals for hundreds of years and been implemented through Western courts and parliaments.

“It is doubtful that Islam can improve on it,” Johns said.

Another point was that taxpayer funding for advancing multiculturalism should cease.

“Australian Jews must argue for a muted multiculturalism–one in which no ethnic, religious, or cultural group receives government funding,” Johns said.

“Australia should bury multiculturalism, not have it government-funded.”

He also called for migration requirements to be tightened for Palestinians who do not renounce “their desire to destroy Israel as a Jewish homeland.”

“It beggars belief that celebrations of murderous violence are not threats of violence [under current law],” Johns said. “For political reasons, Premier [Chris] Minns and Prime Minister [Anthony] Albanese thought it best to reinforce ‘social cohesion’ rather than to disturb hateful groups that may be part of a Labor constituency, such as Islamists.”

The event was held to examine the responses so far to the Bondi Beach terror attack that killed 15 people during a Hanukkah event.

“This has been the most difficult period in the history of the Australian Jewish community,” said Jewish Association of Australia CEO Robert Gregory.

“We’re all feeling very tired. There is a sense of pessimism.

“There are people considering whether they have a future in this country, and there are people taking practical steps to leave Australia.”

The Leftward Shift of Labor

Meanwhile, Johns spoke of the Labor Party’s steady shift towards the left, and in turn, a more critical view of Israel.

“The Hawke cabinet (1983 to 1991) consisted of 12 right [faction members] and six left. The Albanese cabinet consists of 12 left and 11 right,” he said, attributing this change the Labor Party’s recruitment of university graduates.

Johns says this has led to the steady adoption of policies from the radical left.

“Identity politics, disdain for the nation state, multiculturalism, and an obsession with rights unrelated to merit or responsibilities, each played their part,” Johns said.

He also said Israel’s own success and transformation post-World War II has fostered a sense of jealousy or tall poppy syndrome.

“Success implies wrongdoing and oppression, ‘Only losers count in the left’s pantheon,'” Johns said.

“Since the victory in the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel has been portrayed as a colonial oppressor.”

Johns also pointed to a growing proportion of Muslim voters in several Labor-held electorates, saying these demographic changes have altered the party’s political stance towards Israel.

Concerns Royal Commission Could Miss the Mark

In a public hearing on Feb. 18, 2026, Commissioner Victoria Bell outlined the terms of reference in the Royal Commission.

She said there was a need for more law enforcement, immigration and security agency involvement in combatting anti-Semitism. She also highlighted the need to examine causes and motivators for extremist behaviours.

“It requires the Commission to investigate the nature and prevalence of anti-Semitism in institutions and society by examining its key drivers in Australia, including religious and ideologically motivated extremism and radicalisation,” she said in the public hearing (pdf).

An interim report is expected to be released on Apr. 30, 2026, and a final report at the one-year anniversary of the Bondi Beach massacre, Dec. 14, 2026.

However, Johns worries that the commission would fall into the social cohesion trap, focusing more on broad narratives of harmony and inclusion rather than confronting underlying ideological and political drivers of anti-Semitism.

“The Commission will no doubt hear from Islamic groups about Islamophobia. It will hear from the Australian Human Rights Commission about racism.

“It will find that the Commonwealth has already passed laws to restrict the sale of weapons and to restrict speech promoting violence, but not to touch the calls to violence against Jews in passages of the Koran and Hadith.”