Julian Burnside a barrister, human rights advocate and author says senior political figures including the Prime Minister are creating a sense of fear about Muslims.
Mr Burnside said comments made by Mr Abbott during his announcement of new counter-terrorism measures were “islamophobic” and stir up a hatred of Muslims.
In his speech today Mr Abbot said “I’ve often heard western leaders describe Islam as a ‘religion of peace’. I wish more Muslim leaders would say that more often, and mean it.”
Mr Burnside says the Prime Ministers comments amount to Islamophobia.
“Lets be blunt about that it is the new Antisemitism”.
“He did refer to Muslims ,he did not refer to any other religious group”.
“In my opinion what he was doing was in a sense creating a sense of fear in the community, a fear of Muslims and that is very dangerous”.
“I don’t think a Prime Minister in this country should be doing that”,he said.
Mr Burnside also defended the decision to grant Martin Place Siege gunman Man Haron Monis bail.
Monis was on bail for 40 sexual assault charges and accessory to murder when he stormed the Lindt cafe taking 18 hostages last December.
Mr Abbott says Monis’s release on bail is a failure of the system “plainly the system has let us down because plainly this guy shouldn’t have been in the country, he shouldn’t have been out on bail”.
Mr Burnside says whilst the siege was “shocking” and “appalling” he understands the decision to release Monis.
“I think it is wrong to say the bail system is letting us down”.
“The principle that you don’t jail a person before they are convicted is an important one and the bail system is a reflection of that principle”, he said.
Mr Burnside says the risk of a terrorist attack should be weighed against the curtailing of civil liberties when drafting counter-terrorism legislation.
“In Australia you are more likely to die of a lighting strike or falling off a ladder than in a terrorist attack”, he said.
“How many of our accepted civil liberties are we willing to sacrifice in order to protect ourselves against a statistically insignificant risk”.
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