There are calls for Jillian Segal to be stood down as Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism in Australia. Picture: UNSW.
The Federal Government is in damage control over a $50,000 donation the husband of special envoy to combat antisemitism Jillian Segal made to a right-wing, anti-Muslim political lobby group.
While there is no suggestion Ms Segal herself had anything to do with the donation, there are calls for her to be stood down over the issue.
Those calls come just days after the government launched her plan for sweeping changes aimed at countering antisemitic violence in Australia.
Ms Segal’s husband John Roth and his brother Stanley Roth are directors of the trust Henroth Investments Pty Ltd, which according to the Australian Electoral Commission gave Advance Australia $50,000 in the 2023-24 financial year.
Advance Australia, which is now simply called Advance, lobbied hard against Labor and the Greens during the May federal election campaign.
It also spearheaded the no campaign in the 2023 Indigenous Voice to Parliament Referendum.
The lobby group consists of climate change deniers who campaign against immigration, renewable energy and net zero, as well as Indigenous welcome to country ceremonies.
Once news broke of the $50, 000 donation to Advance, Ms Segal issued a statement to SBS News denying she was involved.
“No one would tolerate or accept my husband dictating my politics, and I certainly won’t dictate his,” she said.
“I have had no involvement in his donations, nor will I.”
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke says he believes Ms Segal had nothing to do with the donation and that she didn’t even know about it.
He came to her defence during an interview on 7.30 Monday night (14 July).
“I wasn’t aware of it until the reports came out, and I’d say two things. First of all, Advance is an appalling organisation, and that organisation does the opposite of pursuing social cohesion,” the Minister said.
“And you go through a long list of people who they try to push to the margins and a long list of tropes that they’re guilty of using, but I have no time for that organisation at all.
“Secondly … it’s a long time since we’ve been a country where you would blame a woman for decisions of her husband.
“And so with that in mind, I don’t think she’s answerable for her husband. She said she didn’t know about it. I’ve got no reason to do anything other than believe her.”
But that’s not good enough for some groups who are now calling for Ms Segal to step aside or be sacked over the controversy.
Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi took to social media to say the special envoy’s position had become untenable.
Senator Faruqi also said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese needed to be questioned about what due diligence was conducted before Ms Segal was appointed in July last year.
The Lebanese Muslim Association has issued a statement saying the government should step in if Ms Segal refuses to step down.
“This wasn’t a distant relative or a faceless entity,” the statement said.
“It was a donation that aligns her household with a group that actively undermines the very goals she claims to champion: social cohesion, tolerance, and the fight against hate.”
The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network also issued a strongly-worded statement saying Ms Segal had to go, and that her attempts to distance herself from the donation were “disingenuous”.
Under Ms Segal’s antisemitism plan, launched last Thursday (10 July), funding would be withheld from universities and other publicly funded cultural institutions that failed to combat antisemitism.
Hate speech laws would be reviewed to include and penalise vilification offences, and the promotion of hatred would be criminalised.
Visa applicants would also be screened for involvement in hate speech and activities, and media outlets monitored to ensure accurate coverage of race-related events and news.
The Prime Minister lauded the report and said he would review all its recommendations.
Reactions to the report across the political spectrum, however, have been mixed, with some groups describing the proposed changes as divisive and potentially dangerous overreach.
