7 OCT 2026Albanese and Burke Lakemba Mosque
7 OCT 2026 The Herzog Protests
Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a four-day visit to Australia, which the ABC described as "initiated by the governor-general and prime minister to support people grieving those killed in an attack on a Hanukkah gathering". On 9 February 2026 thousands attended a Palestine Action Group rally at Sydney Town Hall, and rallies were also held in Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Hobart. The Sydney rally went ahead after the organisers lost a last-minute legal challenge to a major event declaration that gave police expanded powers, and marching was prohibited.
NSW Police said 27 people were arrested, including 10 for assaulting police, and officers used pepper spray (ABC). Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna said officers were "jostled, threatened and assaulted". Nine people, aged 19 to 67, were later charged (BBC; SBS). Video showed police dragging away a group of Muslim men who were praying in the Town Hall forecourt, led by Sheikh Wesam Charkawi (Guardian). Greens MLC Abigail Boyd said she was hurt by police (SMH).
Premier Chris Minns defended police: "It was, in effect, in the middle of a riot." NSW Police later said a senior officer had agreed to let the prayer finish, "However, some worshippers were moved on before the message from the senior officer was able to be relayed." Commissioner Mal Lanyon said: "I have apologised for any offence taken for interfering with that religious process" (Guardian, 13 Feb).
The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission opened an investigation (Operation Makalu) "Following the receipt of a significant number of complaints". The LECC's progress update says public examinations will not be held in September 2026 because of procedural issues. No findings had been published when the page was checked on 5 October 2026.
More sources:
7 OCT 2026 
ISIS Brides return to Australia
On 6 May 2026 Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed that 13 members of the Australian cohort in Syria, four women and nine children, had made plans to travel to Australia. They arrived in Sydney and Melbourne on 7 May. The NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team arrested a 32-year-old woman at Sydney Airport and charged her with entering or remaining in a declared area and being a member of a terrorist organisation (AFP). She was refused bail (ABC), and the ABC named her as Janai Safar. The Victoria JCTT charged two women, aged 53 and 31, with crimes against humanity (enslavement) and slavery offences. The AFP alleges one "was complicit in the purchase of a female slave for US$10,000, and knowingly kept the woman in the home". A fourth woman was not arrested (ABC).
On 26 May 2026 two flights brought a further 19 women and children to Melbourne and Sydney. Burke's statement listed "seven women and 12 children" as planning to travel, while the ABC reported that six women arrived. No one was arrested, but the AFP said investigations were continuing (ABC). Confirming their return, Burke said the government "has not and will not provide any assistance to this group" (BBC). The BBC reported they were understood to be the last Australians in al-Roj camp. One woman subject to a temporary exclusion order remained in Syria with her child.
On 28 May 2026 the Victoria JCTT charged a woman, 34, who had returned from Lebanon in September 2025, with terrorism offences. According to the AFP release, Deputy Commissioner Hilda Sirec "said the JCTTs had charged four women in the past three weeks for alleged crimes against humanity and terrorism-related offences". AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said planning for the returns began in 2015 under what became Operation Kurrajong.
Lebanese Muslim Association secretary Gamel Kheir defended the women's return, telling Daily Mail Australia (8 May 2026): "I am no defender of these individuals. I am no defender of ISIS. If they are guilty of breaking Australian law, charge them." He added: "I don't care what the government does or doesn't do, I care even less what the Opposition thinks."
More sources:
- afp.gov.au
- afp.gov.au
- afp.gov.au
- minister.homeaffairs.gov.au
- minister.homeaffairs.gov.au
- abc.net.au
- abc.net.au
- abc.net.au
- bbc.com
- theguardian.com
- bbc.co.uk
- Daily Mail Australia - Muslim leader defends ISIS brides' return (Caitlin Powell, 8 May 2026) - copy held by The Evidence Project
7 OCT 2026 Two preachers’ visas cancelled over antisemitic remarks
In late March 2026, two Bangladeshi preachers, Mizanur Rahman Azhari and Shaykh Ahmadullah, arrived in Australia on visitor visas for a speaking tour of Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra organised by the Islamic Practice and Dawah Circle (IPDC).
Bangladesh's Daily Star reported that Azhari's past sermons had described Adolf Hitler as divine punishment for Jews and called Jewish people "the biggest terrorists of the world" and a "poisonous blemish". In 2021 he had been stopped from boarding a flight to the UK (NCA NewsWire). Australian authorities cancelled his visa on Tuesday 31 March 2026, partway through the tour, and the Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra events were cancelled. Senator Jonno Duniam said: "There's a litany of examples of antisemitic hate speech, his maligning of the Hindu religion, demonising of the Bengali culture." Azhari said his remarks had been "taken out of context".
The Australian Jewish News reported that Ahmadullah had said Jewish people "keep the whole world in turmoil". His visa was revoked on Sunday 5 April 2026, after he had already left Sydney, which prevents him returning.
NCA NewsWire reported that The Daily Telegraph had revealed Azhari's visa was revoked after Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke was asked to remove him by the community group Australian Federation for Ethnic and Religious Minorities in Bangladesh, and that Burke cancelled the visa "after becoming aware of the case". Senator Duniam said several MPs had been alerted to Azhari's arrival by community organisations. AIJAC's Joel Burnie said the case "exposed a fundamental failure in Australia's immigration screening" (Australian Jewish News).
Two months earlier, in January 2026, Burke had cancelled the visa of Israeli influencer Sammy Yahood hours before he flew to Australia, saying "Spreading hatred is not a good reason to come" (Al Jazeera).
More sources:
7 OCT 2026 Hizb ut-Tahrir listed as a prohibited hate group
The Department of Home Affairs national security website says: "The Australian Government listed Hizb ut-Tahrir as a prohibited hate group under the Criminal Code on 5 March 2026. The regulations came into effect on 6 March 2026." The legal instrument is the Criminal Code (Prohibited Hate Group—Hizb ut-Tahrir) Regulations 2026 (F2026L00210), made by the Governor-General on the advice of the Federal Executive Council.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said it was "the first listing under the new prohibited hate group listing framework", which is part of the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Act 2026. He said it was now a criminal offence "to be a member of, recruit for, provide training or funds to, or provide material support to Hizb ut-Tahrir." He also said: "For a long time, Hizb ut-Tahrir has been able to spread hate and create a pathway for others to engage in violence." ABC reported that the offences carry a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment.
ABC reported that the laws were passed in response to the Bondi terror attack of December 2025. It said Hizb ut-Tahrir had "been on Australian spy agency ASIO's radar for years, but had previously fallen short of meeting the legal bar to be formally banned". Mr Burke said ASIO's recommendation was a key condition of the listing. Shadow Home Affairs Minister Jonno Duniam said the listing showed the laws were working as intended. (SBS reported that the listing took effect on the Thursday, 5 March. The official Home Affairs page gives 6 March as the date it came into effect.)
More sources:
7 OCT 2026 Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion – hearings
The Governor-General issued Letters Patent on 9 January 2026 establishing the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, with the Hon Virginia Bell AC SC as Royal Commissioner. SBS reported that it was set up in response to the Bondi Beach terror attack, in which 15 people were killed at a Hanukkah celebration in December 2025. The Commission held its opening hearing on 24 February 2026. After the Bondi attack, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had first appointed former ASIO Director-General Dennis Richardson to lead a review of the intelligence and law enforcement agencies; that review was folded into the Royal Commission, and Richardson became a special adviser to the Commission. At the opening hearing, Commissioner Bell said delays made it "unlikely that counsel assisting the commission will be in a position to adduce evidence concerning the adequacy of the security arrangements" in time for the interim report (ABC). Richardson resigned on 11 March 2026, and Bell thanked him without giving a reason. Richardson later said he felt "surplus to requirements" and was "way overpaid for what I was doing" (the Australian Financial Review reported his rate as $5,500 a day). He also said that on the intelligence findings "it cannot wait until December", and that the interim report would be "a very different document to the one that I would have done when I was doing the review, prior to the royal commission being announced" (ABC, SBS). The Interim Report was tabled in Parliament on 30 April 2026.
According to the Commission, nine hearing blocks followed: nature and prevalence (May); Bondi (from 25 May); online, social media and media; universities; community security; guidance and training; protests and policing; drivers and deradicalisation; and social cohesion (17–26 August 2026). Parts of the Bondi block were closed to the public "to avoid prejudice to national security and/or the ongoing criminal proceedings relating to the attack." At the opening of that block, ABC reported that counsel assisting Richard Lancaster SC said 11 people were shot within 29 seconds of the attack starting, 10 of them fatally. ABC also reported that ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess told the Commission: "We can't be everywhere all at once."
A former ASIO undercover agent known as "Marcus", who told Four Corners that ASIO was warned in 2019 about Naveed and Sajid Akram, sought to give evidence. Immigration authorities refused both of his applications for a visa to travel to Australia, saying they were "unconvinced he intends to stay temporarily". Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said he was "free to give evidence in public"; Commissioner Bell said the Commission would not hear his evidence in open hearings because of the risk of prejudicing separate criminal proceedings. ASIO has called him "disgruntled and unreliable", which he rejects. As at 29 August 2026, after the scheduled hearings had ended, the Commission said it had yet to hear from him and was working with DFAT to find a secure overseas venue (ABC).
SBS reported that more than 340 witnesses gave evidence over 62 days. The Commission's own figures, as at 11 September 2026, are 347 witnesses and 20,000 submissions. On 3 September 2026, amended Letters Patent moved the final report deadline from 14 December to 18 December 2026. SBS reported that the extension followed Jewish community concern about the report landing on the anniversary of the attack.
More sources:
- asc.royalcommission.gov.au
- asc.royalcommission.gov.au
- asc.royalcommission.gov.au
- abc.net.au
- sbs.com.au
- abc.net.au - Dennis Richardson says sense of urgency 'didn't quite align' with royal commission (14 Mar 2026)
- sbs.com.au - Former ASIO chief says he quit antisemitism royal commission as he felt 'surplus'
- abc.net.au - Ex-ASIO source denied visa to give evidence at royal commission (23 Jul 2026)
- abc.net.au - Ex-ASIO agent can give evidence in open hearings, minister confirms (21 Aug 2026)
- abc.net.au - Former ASIO agent offers to give evidence from abroad (29 Aug 2026)
Imams council demands end to ‘radical Islam’ wording after Morrison’s reform call
On 27 January 2026, speaking at an antisemitism conference in Israel, former prime minister Scott Morrison called for reform of how Islam is "practised and governed in Australia" after the Bondi Beach attack, saying such questions could not remain "taboo". He said: "I am advocating reforms I believe will help religious leaders in our Islamic community keep the wolves from their flock." Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg separately said on ABC Radio that Muslim leaders should "take responsibility".
The next day, 28 January 2026, the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) issued a statement calling their comments "reckless, irresponsible, and deeply ill-informed". It said: "Associating terrorism with Islam is wrong, rejected, and has no factual or moral basis. We cannot and must not blame entire communities for the actions of a few criminal individuals." ANIC added: "We call on former Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Senator Bragg, and all political parties and leaders to act with responsibility, restraint, and integrity in their public commentary, and to refrain from using divisive and misleading terms such as 'radical Islam', 'extremist Islam' or other divisive language." ANIC president Imam Shady Alsuleiman was quoted in the statement: "To blame an entire community for the actions of a few criminal terrorists is unacceptable, rejected, and undermines our social cohesion." The statement pointed to the 2019 Christchurch mosque attack by a man "radicalised on Australian soil", saying "no collective blame was placed on a race, religion, or community" then. The statement also said the 2018 Bourke Street attacker "was later confirmed to be mentally ill". The Victorian Coroner found in June 2021 that the attack was "a premeditated act of terrorism, an ISIS-inspired attack attributable to his adherence to an extremist interpretation of Islam", and said mental illness could not be ruled out because there was not enough evidence (ABC).
Morrison replied on social media the same day that he was "asking for Islamic leaders to regulate and provide stronger protections against radicalisation within the Islamic faith community", adding: "This is not about blame for December 14 - that is a straw man argument - but an honest appeal for what is needed to prevent such radicalisation in the future."
More sources:
- anic.org.au - ANIC statement, 28 January 2026 (official release)
- news24.com.au - Morrison responds as Australia's peak imams body demands end to terms like 'radical Islam' (28 Jan 2026)
- The Australian - "Stop saying 'radical, extremist' Islam: imams" (28 Jan 2026)
- abc.net.au - Bourke Street inquest finds attacker was motivated by Islamic State (28 Jun 2021)
ASIO chief: Islamic extremism is about 70% of caseload; 16 plots stopped since Bondi
In an interview on Neil Mitchell's Mitchell Unlimited podcast, released in September 2026, ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess said: "I bristle when I hear people saying that we have a growing Islamic extremism problem in this country. We don't. We have an Islamic extremism problem in this country. That is true. It is not growing, but it's still a problem. It represents about 70% of my organisation's caseload."
He said that since the Bondi Beach attack, "my agency and the police have prevented ... activities of individuals that could have led to an attack. 16 of those events have been stopped by the Police and Security Service since Bondi." Left unchecked, he said, they could have led to a terrorist attack resulting in harm or loss of life.
Burgess also said that "some people are confusing Islamic extremism with the good people of Islamic faith. They are not the same thing," adding that Muslim Australians were "on the receiving end" of Islamophobia. He told Mitchell: "I wouldn't rule out the possibility that Iran would want to kill prominent Jewish Australians," and said he had raised this with community leaders.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that ASIO and the Department of Home Affairs had begun reviewing the national terrorism threat advisory system, which Burgess said "was not designed for a situation like the one we now face"; he described the threat as at "the upper end of probable".
In his 2026 Annual Threat Assessment speech on 24 June 2026, three months earlier, Burgess said: "In the aftermath of Bondi there were calls for greater focus on countering Sunni violent extremism. This made sense when ISIS and al-Qaeda were the principal security threats, but contemporary terrorism is far more complex and this is borne out by recent events." He then cited two Western Australian cases: a man charged with throwing a homemade bomb, which did not detonate, into an Invasion Day rally in Perth in January, allegedly inspired by neo-Nazi ideology; and a man charged in February with allegedly preparing a mass-casualty attack on WA Parliament House, police headquarters and mosques, allegedly motivated by extreme right-wing ideology. Neither case has gone to trial. In the same speech he said Islamic State and al-Qaeda were "growing their capability to conduct and inspire attacks", and that ASIO and police had foiled "31 major plots since 2014", including 14 since Bondi.
The figure has moved over time. At Senate Estimates in February 2023 Burgess said "70 per cent [are] religiously motivated, and 30 per cent [are] ideologically motivated" (ABC). In ASIO's 2025 Annual Threat Assessment, fewer than half of the potential terrorism matters investigated in the previous year were religiously motivated.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xFY8z0VeBc (relevant section from 25:56; 16 plots from 45:38)
More sources:
- The Sydney Morning Herald, "Low, moderate, critical: ASIO boss sounds alarm on urgent upgrade of Australia's terror warnings", Matthew Knott, 18 September 2026 (copy held)
- abc.net.au - Right-wing terror threat has receded, ASIO chief says (13 Feb 2023)
- asio.gov.au - Director-General's Annual Threat Assessment 2025
- ASIO - Annual Threat Assessment 2026, Director-General of Security (24 June 2026), from 8:43
“ABC Misinformation Report” dossier published
In May 2026 a 58-page dossier titled the "ABC Misinformation Report" was published by an "Independent Research Group" of four Jewish Australian researchers, who kept their identities hidden, they said, to avoid harassment. It argues that the ABC, a publicly funded broadcaster with a legal duty of accuracy and impartiality, showed "a pattern of systematic missteps that resulted in disinformation" in its Gaza war coverage, and that this "vilifies Israel and, by extension, Jews" and contributed to antisemitism in Australia. The report was covered by The Australian (Chris Kenny), The Jerusalem Post and Quadrant.
The dossier groups its examples under three headings it calls the "famine", "baby killers" and "genocide" narratives. Among its claims:
- Images of sick children presented as starving: it says the ABC used images of children with genetic or medical conditions, including a boy with cerebral palsy shown during an interview with the Prime Minister on 27 July 2025, as evidence of famine. The ABC acknowledged the boy's pre-existing condition in an article on 31 July 2025.
- "14,000 babies": the ABC broadcast a UN official's claim that 14,000 babies could die within 48 hours. The ABC Ombudsman later found that ABC News Breakfast and ABC News Mornings breached the ABC's editorial standards on accuracy and on correcting errors (standards 2.1 and 3.1a), and Afternoon Briefing breached the accuracy standard (2.1), in its coverage on 21 May 2025 (finding published 19 June 2025).
- "Genocide scholars": it says the ABC described the International Association of Genocide Scholars as "the world's leading association of genocide scholars" when reporting its September 2025 resolution, without telling audiences that membership required no academic qualifications.
- Sources: it says the ABC relied on sources linked to Hamas, often without disclosure, and that ABC headlines in the two weeks after 7 October 2023 were four to five times more sympathetic to Gaza than to Israel.
The dossier says that where the ABC acknowledged errors, corrections were "delayed, minimised, or buried in low-visibility formats". These are the dossier's claims; apart from the Ombudsman findings and ABC clarifications cited above, they have not been tested by the ABC or an independent body.
More sources:
- The ABC Misinformation Report - full document (PDF, 58 pages)
- ABC Ombudsman - breach finding, '14,000 babies in Gaza' (published 19 Jun 2025)
- ABC Ombudsman - resolved complaint (AM / The World Today, Aug 2025)
- Jmedia Online - interview with two of the report's co-authors (13 Jun 2026)
- The Daily Declaration - new dossier shows the ABC spreading Gaza war falsehoods (14 May 2026)
- Quadrant - Their ABC's Gaza Fantasyland
Introduction
On 20 March 2026, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke attended Eid al-Fitr prayers at Lakemba Mosque in Sydney's south-west. It is one of Australia's largest mosques and sits inside Burke's own electorate of Watson.
Not long after the ministers arrived, a small group of attendees began loudly protesting their presence, and the protest was filmed.
The incident
Albanese and Burke sat among worshippers at the gathering marking the end of Ramadan. The shouting started after the prayers, when Lebanese Muslim Association secretary Gamel Kheir stood to address the congregation.
RNZ reported the shouts recorded from the floor:
"Boo Tony Burke, boo Albanese."
"Genocide supporters."
"Get them out of here."
"You don't represent us anymore."
Kheir pleaded with the men to sit down and tried to keep the program going. The video then spread across Australian news and social media.
The reasons given
Reporting pointed to anger in sections of the Muslim community over the Albanese Government's position on Israel and the war in Gaza. SBS reported that Albanese had visited Lakemba Mosque several times before 7 October 2023, and was not invited back for the next two and a half years amid dissatisfaction with that position. The protesters named Gaza and accused both ministers of supporting genocide.
Albanese gave a different explanation. He said some people were unhappy that his government had outlawed extremist organisations, and he named Hizb ut-Tahrir. He described the disruption as a very small number of people among an estimated 30,000 at the wider Eid gathering, and said his overall reception was overwhelmingly positive.
The Australian Muslim newspaper AMUST reported that this framing was “widely rejected by community members as dismissive”.
The wider dispute
On 7 October 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel triggered the war in Gaza.
The Albanese Government condemned the attacks and recognised Israel's right to defend itself, while stressing compliance with international law. It called for humanitarian aid and ceasefires. On 21 September 2025 it formally recognised the State of Palestine.
Some Australian Jewish organisations and supporters of Israel argued the government had drifted too far from Israel. Some Palestinian and Muslim organisations and activists argued it had failed to act firmly enough over Israel's military operations in Gaza.
The footage
The footage shows the words shouted inside the mosque, how other attendees reacted, and how Albanese and Burke responded.
Government Response
Albanese addressed the incident the same day. He said 30,000 people attended, that the reception was overwhelmingly positive, and that nobody heckled him on the walk to the mosque. Inside, he said, a couple of hecklers "were dealt with."
He rejected suggestions that he and Burke were rushed out. In his account, they sat there, and the community itself dealt with the disruption because it overwhelmingly did not want it.
The Nightly reported that one heckler was tackled and removed by security, and RNZ reported that the ministers stayed until the end of the speech before being escorted out of the prayer hall.
No formal government action followed beyond the Prime Minister's statement.
Summary
On 20 March 2026, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke attended Eid al-Fitr prayers at Lakemba Mosque. A small number of attendees loudly protested their presence. Some called the ministers "genocide supporters" and told them to leave.
Albanese said the disruption involved a handful of people among tens of thousands at the Eid celebrations, and suggested that opposition to his government's banning of extremist organisations was a factor. Other accounts connected the protest to anger over the Australian Government's response to Israel and the war in Gaza after 7 October 2023.
The original footage records what happened, and the competing explanations record what was said afterwards about why.
You be the judge.
