PETER VAN ONSELEN: Do Lefties realise what Hezbollah and Hamas would do to people like them if THEY ran Australia?

PETER VAN ONSELEN: Do Lefties realise what Hezbollah and Hamas would do to people like them if THEY ran Australia? By Peter van Onselen, Political Editor for Daily Mail Australia Published: 02:47 BST, 1 October 2024 | Updated: 02:48 BST, 1 October 2024 e-mail 1 View comments Weekend protests in Sydney and Melbourne saw all manner of banners, flags and pictures emblazoned with Hezbollah and Hamas advocacy. They included pictures of slain terrorist leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Ismail Nasrallah, including signs declaring 'a nation led by martyrs will triumph'. Hezbollah and Hamas are listed as terrorist organisations.

It is an offence to display symbols of such organisations. The law isn't an old one - the criminal code was amended less than a year ago, seemingly to prevent exactly the sort of scenes we witnessed in Australia's two largest cities over the weekend. However, the AFP released a statement claiming that merely holding a flag of a terrorist organisation, or photo of a terrorist leader, isn't enough to fall foul of the law.

If that is true the law needs updating and quickly. Scenes like those we saw on the weekend have no place in Australia. A protester holds up a photo of slain Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah during a pro-Palestine rally in Melbourne on Sunday Flags representing these terrorist organisations being waved by young men hiding their identity behind face masks, presumably in a bid to evade police detection, can't be justified under the banner .