Minister warned unis of campus tensions days after October 7

Universities assured Education Minister Jason Clare they had measures in place to deal with antisemitism on campuses within days of the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, months before a wave of pro-Palestine student protests fuelled scrutiny of the sector’s ability to balance free speech and student safety.

The fresh revelations came as the Coalition sharpened its critique of the tertiary sector, with Coalition MP Julian Leeser presenting a private members bill that would introduce a judicial inquiry with royal commission powers to investigate antisemitism on campuses. The Coalition also used budget estimates on Monday to accuse the government of turning a blind eye to antisemitism on campuses – a claim disputed by the government, which has launched a two-year review of racism on campuses and told universities it expects them to keep students safe.

Both the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney pointed to their anti-racism statements, while Sydney, the University of NSW, UTS and the University of Wollongong had boosted their visible security presence or stood up an incident response team.Both UNSW and Wollongong were also working with local police while monitoring social media and websites for any signs of protest activity or threats.

But the student protest movement did not take off until this year, when activists set up camps on university grounds. The protests heightened unease about the legal lines between free speech and discrimination, and “We appreciate the events are evolving very quickly and responses needed to be constantly reviewed and adjusted,” the authority’s chief commissioner, Peter Coaldrake, and chief executive Dr Mary Russell said in the letter.

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