Television Interview, ABC Melbourne

SUBJECT/S: October 7; Middle East conflict

RAF EPSTEIN, HOST: Richard Marles is the Deputy Prime Minister, he’s the MP for Corio as well. Good morning.

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Raf. How are you?

EPSTEIN Just wondering, Deputy Prime Minister, your response when you saw the photo of that billboard in Fitzroy?

MARLES: It's disgraceful. It's the short answer. I mean, really, on this day where two years ago, more than 1,200 people lost their lives, innocent people, in an act of terrorism, I mean, this day can only be one thing, and that is a day of commemoration and remembrance. It's a deeply solemn day. And to have that message scrawled in that way is obviously disgraceful and, you know, we need to be a society which is cohesive, which looks out for each other, and that is obviously a message of division.

EPSTEIN: Hamas is prescribed as a terror organisation. Do you know if it's illegal to graffiti that on a billboard? Does that become a terrorism offence?

MARLES: Look, I'm not exactly sure, but no doubt this will be looked into. But whatever, it is very clear that this is a disgraceful message to be putting in the public domain. I mean, Hamas is a terrorist organisation. Hamas was responsible for the terror attack which occurred two years ago on this day in which 1,200 innocent people lost their lives. And to have a message of that kind scrawled on this day is deeply disgraceful.

EPSTEIN: Some people listening might feel this is threatening. Do you think it is?

MARLES: Well, I certainly think that there are people in our society today who do feel threatened, and I think that is of enormous concern– should be of enormous concern to every Australian is very much a matter of concern to the government. We are doing everything in our power to stand by the Jewish community as they face acts of antisemitism. Of course, we stand by every community in this country. But it comes back to the point I made earlier, we need to be a country which looks out for each other. And part of being a multicultural society with all the diversity and richness that comes with that, must also be an accompanying care that we have for each other. And this is a message of division. This is not a message which is designed to provide for the care of others within our community and that is in part why this is absolutely a disgraceful message to have at any moment, but particularly on this day.

EPSTEIN: Richard Marles is the Deputy Prime Minister. You're listening to 774. 1300 222 774 is the talkback number. Richard Marles, it's been almost two years and more than 65,000 people have been killed in Gaza. Some people want to protest today about that. That's a much larger number than died on October 7 in Israel. Is it OK to protest today?

MARLES: Today, I don't think is a day for protest. I think today is a day for remembrance and commemoration of those who lost their lives on this day. Innocent people in a terrorist attack. Now, you know, we have seen an enormous loss of life over the course of the last two years, be it innocent people in Gaza or innocent Israelis, every life is the same and–

EPSTEIN: But there's no day for the people in Gaza, is there?

MARLES: Well, we as a government have made it absolutely clear that what we're seeing play out in Gaza is a humanitarian catastrophe; that the terms on which Israel defends itself matter; that ultimately, you know, international law will apply and, you know, for anyone in the conduct of any military action, their actions will ultimately be judged. But it is very clear that we've seen an enormous loss of innocent life in Gaza. We absolutely–

EPSTEIN: Sorry to interrupt, Richard Marles. When you said people will be ultimately charged, are you saying that charges will eventually come?

MARLES: Judged. Judged is what I said. 

EPSTEIN: Oh judged, sorry OK. Judged. Sorry, continue. 

MARLES: Yeah, there’s been an enormous loss of innocent life in Gaza, and we absolutely remember those people. But it is really important, in the context of the loss of their life and the loss of all the innocent lives that we’ve seen, that we see an end to these hostilities, that we see a return of the hostages, and that we pursue a process which sees an enduring peace. And that’s, you know, in our view, only achievable through a two-state solution, which is, of course, why we have recognised the State of Palestine.

EPSTEIN: The graffiti — to end on where we began. Are you worried about — I mean, it’s clearly very divergent views on what’s happening in Gaza now and what happened in Israel two years ago. Are you worried about just tensions inside the community in Melbourne?

MARLES: Well, I think social cohesion has been put under pressure over the last two years. People have a right to have their views — of course they do — and that’s an innate part of living in a free society where there’s freedom of speech. It’s also really important, though, that people use judgement in the way in which they exercise their voice and that, you know, what makes our country special is the peace that we have here and that that does—

EPSTEIN: Is this a new level of tension?

MARLES: I really think we have seen social cohesion put under, well, as much pressure as I’ve seen in my lifetime over the course of the last couple of years. And it’s really, therefore, important that we are thinking about that in the context of our own nation and making sure that we are looking after each other as Australians. That very much means that people have the right to express their view, to celebrate their cultural heritage, of course. But there is something that unifies us as Australians, and we need to be thinking about that as well. And that does mean that we need to be taking care of each other. And it’s why messages such as this, which are obviously divisive, are really disgraceful messages in the context of what we need to be as a society.

EPSTEIN: The tension as bad as you’ve ever seen in your lifetime — that’s a terrible thing to hear a Deputy Prime Minister say.

MARLES: Well, I think the social cohesion has been put under enormous stress in the last couple of years. And, you know, it’s why we are very focused on thinking about our own society in the context of all that has played out in the Middle East over the last two years. And it is really important that we are focusing as a nation on taking care of each other, which is why this is a really appalling message to be scrawled on this day.

EPSTEIN: Richard Marles is the Deputy Prime Minister, also the Labor MP for the seat of Corio. Richard, thanks for your time.

MARLES: Thanks, Raf.

ENDS