University of Sydney vice-chancellor Mark Scott says New South Wales police raised no security concerns about members of extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir taking part in anti-Israel protests on campus two years ago.
Appearing at the anti-Semitism royal commission, Professor Scott also apologised for not consulting with Jewish groups about negotiations with pro-Palestine students to end their two-month-long encampment.
Professor Scott, and his University of Melbourne counterpart Glynn Davis, were both grilled on Wednesday about the handling of “threatening” demonstrations that targeted Jewish students and staff at their institutions.
In June 2024 Professor Scott met with senior police figures following media reports that members of the now prohibited Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir had joined the protest encampment at the University of Sydney.
Counsel Assisting Zelie Heger asked the vice-chancellor whether the advice he received was that police were not aware of any risk of “extremist, violent, or radicalised behaviour” by the group or others involved in the campus protests.
“I got the distinct impression in my meeting that the police were aware of some of the people who had been in around campus, possibly speaking,” Professor Scott responded.
“They were quite well known to the police. They were well known as participants of Palestinian protest events that had taken place, and they were telling me that there was nothing flashing on their radar as far as the university was concerned.”
In March this year Hizb ut-Tahrir became the first organisation to be prohibited under Australia’s new hate group legislation, following similar bans imposed on the extremist Islamist group around the world.
Legal advice given to the University of Sydney indicated removing non-staff and students from the campus fell outside the Enclosed Lands Protection Act, limiting enforcement to civil rather than criminal remedies.
Professor Scott testified that the university had since sought inclusion under that Act and introduced bollards and signage, although conceded there was still legal uncertainty.
“We didn’t anticipate an encampment, and one of the reasons we didn’t anticipate encampments is that in our history, for the best part of 175 years, it hadn’t been part of the protest tradition,” he said.
Under questioning about the university’s negotiations with protesters to end the encampment on campus, Professor Scott apologised for leaving Jewish staff and students out of the discussion but stood by a decision to review defence contracts.
“I am sorry to them that it took so long for us to get it done, and I’m sorry we did not keep them more closely engaged in dialogue and listen more intently to them as it was going on.”
“I still feel that the risk of the encampment blowing up by forcibly ending it, police in riot gear taking students away, could have seen an encampment 10 times the size the day after.”
University became a ‘threatening environment’
Earlier the University of Melbourne’s vice-chancellor Glyn Davis was quizzed whether it was appropriate to negotiate with protesters who had set up tents in a building and a pro-Palestinian encampment in May 2024.
“The police made the judgment, and it’s theirs to make, that they weren’t going to move on the occupation of the building, even though it was, from the university’s point of view, unsafe, damaging the building, unfair to staff and students,” Mr Davis said.
“The aim of the management at every point was to end these protests without violence. We had all seen what happened in the United States and in other places where these things had gone terribly wrong.”
Questioned about the experience of Professor Steven Prawer who was targeted by pro-Palestine student activists in his office, he conceded the environment on campus for the Jewish academic was “threatening” and protesters had “made it personal”.
This week at the royal commission, Students for Palestine organiser Yasmine Johnson defended the University of Sydney encampment along with other protests held at 21 campuses across Australia and was questioned about Hizb ut-Tahrir’s presence.
“I think the resistance of people against colonisation has always involved elements of both mass non-violence and also violent resistance,” she told the inquiry on Monday.
Ms Johnson, who is a Jewish woman, denied any knowledge of links to the now proscribed hate group Hizb ut-Tahrir.
She said the “rapidly escalating” violence in Gaza and lack of acknowledgement by Australian politicians and media to it had prompted her to follow the US encampment movement.
The University of Sydney graduate also defended chants like “globalise the Intifada” and “there’s only one solution, Intifada revolution”, while invoking the slogan “from the river to the sea”.
During robust questioning, Professor Scott was asked about Ms Johnson’s comments on violence as well as a speech she gave at the university in August advocating a one-state solution and the elimination of the state of Israel.
“She was a guest speaker at the time. We are not vetting speeches in advance. We have said in our statements that we do not support terrorism or violence. I was not aware of her speaking at that conference,” Professor Scott said.
“I totally reject her views. I do not believe that that is an appropriate use of academic freedom and discourse, and I in no way support or associate myself with self with her comment.”
Former Australian members of Hizb ut-Tahrir have claimed a crackdown on hate speech after the Bondi terror attacks is being applied “disproportionately to pro-Palestinian and Muslim activism” and could breach UN obligations.
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