Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus to attend 80th anniversary of Auschwitz liberation

Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus will attend the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp after reports suggested senate president and Israel critic Sue Lines would lead the delegation. The Nazi concentration and extermination camp was the site of some of the most horrific scenes of the Holocaust, where 1.1 million people were murdered, many in gas chambers. Of the prisoners who died at the camp, which included prisoners of war and political prisoners, about one million were Jews. On Wednesday, the government confirmed Senator Wong would lead the delegation, with Mr Dreyfus, who is the most senior Jewish cabinet minister, also attending the ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the camp by Soviet troops on January 27. Special envoy to combat anti-Semitism in Australia, Jillian Segal AO, will also join the official Australian delegation in Poland. While in Poland, Senator Wong will also visit Switzerland and Austria, where she will meet with the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and International Committee of the Red Cross president Mirjana Spoljaric Egger. Sky News reported on Tuesday that Senator Lines had been touted to lead Australia’s delegation to Poland as recently as December, with her name featuring in emails to delegates. Coalition MPs and Jewish leaders condemned the decision due to Senator Lines’ 2022 comments in which she accused Israel of committing the “crime of apartheid” towards Palestinians. Former federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg said it was a “serious error of judgment”, while the Coalition’s home affairs spokesman James Paterson said it was “appalling judgment”. Speaking to reporters, Senator Wong said it was her understanding that Mr Dreyfus would attend the commemoration. “We did make that decision, I think, to start around Christmas and communicated it after the shutdown,” she said. “I’m very honoured to be able to go with Mark and others, and this is a part of history we should not forget.” In light of the domestic rise of anti-Semitic acts in Australia, Senator Wong said it was important to “never forget” the events of the Holocaust. “It is a reminder what occurred during WWII, the hatred, prejudice, dehumanisation and the murder of over a million people and a million Jews was something that humanity should never forget because it tells us something about where hatred leads.”