‘We must prevent the horrific events overseas from dividing our country’

VIC ALHADEFF sits down with federal politician ALLEGRA SPENDER, who has been outspoken in supporting the Jewish community since the Hamas attacks.

“I know that many in the community are frightened, grieving and distressed,” says the Federal Member for Wentworth. “I’m incredibly concerned about what is happening and at the fact that the Israel-Hamas conflict is creating chasms in our society.

“We have to stop the increase in antisemitism and we mustn’t let conflict overseas generate conflict here. I support everyone’s right to protest peacefully, but not to chant antisemitic messages.”

Spender attended last weekend’s vigil of solidarity with the Jewish community and spoke out forcefully after the pro-Palestinian motorcycle convoy at Coogee. “A motorcycle convoy that travels into the eastern suburbs, where more than half of the Jewish community lives, hundreds of metres from a synagogue, is deliberately provocative and intimidating.

“I am exploring what legal options are available to prevent such protests in the future, and I’m supportive of the NSW Government’s move to tighten laws against hate speech, threats and incitement to violence.” 

Spender is aware that the past few weeks have had a profound personal impact on many in the Jewish community: “The horrific attacks in southern Israel and the destruction in Gaza are not distant tragedies to us. Wentworth has one of the largest Jewish communities in Australia, so many of the stories I hear come from that perspective.

“But I know that communities connected to Gaza feel the pain just as deeply. Each day I speak to people fearful for family and friends in Israel and for their own safety here. I’ve been proud to stand with Israel and my community. Israel must protect its people.”

Her priority as a Federal MP “is to push for further national measures to address the antisemitic hate speech we’ve seen in recent weeks,” she says.  “Speaking to parliamentary colleagues, I have heard about the rising antisemitism and Islamophobia impacting our communities, and I’m supporting broader action to promote social cohesion through the multicultural framework review.”

It’s difficult to think clearly “when grief and anger cloud our vision”, says Spender, “but it’s important to resist division into ‘us’ and ‘them’. We cannot let stereotypes define our fellow-Australians. We must approach each other with empathy and tolerance and be open to others’ perspectives.

“Regardless of how you see the Middle East, every Australian needs to recognise that this conflict demonstrates that we cannot take our multicultural society for granted. We may have different views, but must always come back to respect, compassion and a desire to be part of a country that allows every culture, religion, sexuality and creed to thrive. It’s up to all of us to safeguard that.”

Allegra Spender is a child of multicultural Australia. Every school holiday since she and her siblings were children, they were put to work in their mother’s fashion business. “Mum came from nothing,” she recalls. “She arrived from Italy at the age of 11, lived in Bullfinch – a mining town in Western Australia - left school at 14 went to work.” Her mother, Carla Zampatti, became a fashion icon, her flourishing business now marking its 58th year.

“Working there was a defining feature of my childhood,” says Spender. “I learned what it takes to survive. Mum had a migrant work ethic. Her dad had been interned as an enemy alien and she met him for the first time when she got off the boat. I derive my values from her - no-one owes you anything and everyone can make a contribution. She embodied the Australian dream.”

When Spender’s father John, a Liberal Party politician, was appointed Ambassador to France, she applied and was accepted to study economics at Cambridge. Landing her first job at McKinsey’s in London, she acquired a grounding in business skills and met her future husband, Mark Capps.

After a year in Kenya helping banana farmers build businesses, they returned to London, where Spender was appointed Change Leader at King’s College Hospital, her role being to improve outcomes for patients. “I learned that change isn’t always about money, but about doing things better and working as a team. That’s how I see the world - and how to improve outcomes in government.”

Returning to Australia, Allegra ran her family’s fashion business, Carla Zampatti, for nine years before taking up a challenge as head of the Australian Business Community Network, connecting promising students with business mentors.

She rose to prominence both nationally and within the Jewish community when she challenged incumbent Dave Sharma for the federal electorate of Wentworth in the 2022 election. Not only was Wentworth a heartland Liberal seat which had been held by the party for half-a-century - with the brief exception of Dr Kerryn Phelps - but Sharma had served as Ambassador to Israel, acquiring a high standing within the Jewish community.

Spender campaigned as a Teal independent with a focus on climate action, political integrity, women and a dynamic future-focused economy, and achieved a first-preference vote of 35.8 percent, which enabled her to defeat Sharma on preferences.

Her work was cut out for her on two fronts. She needed to establish her independence credentials in the shadow of her family legacy. Her father was a shadow minister under Andrew Peacock and John Howard, while her grandfather, Sir Percy Spender, was the lead Australian architect of the ANZUS Treaty. Secondly, she had to earn the trust of the Jewish community, including fighting a rearguard action against voices that sought to undermine her.

“I had to establish my credibility,” she says. “Dave Sharma was well respected. Many members of the community didn’t know me, and some people identified environmental policies with the Greens [whose attitude to Israel has been less than friendly].

“I had to show that my commitment to climate action went hand in hand with my commitment to business and a dynamic economy, and my commitment to Israel.

“I grew up in Wentworth. We have the largest Jewish community of any electorate in Australia, but this isn’t just about the numbers. These are the people I went to school with, who are big parts of my life. The Jewish community is a unique and special part of Wentworth.”

When she was in her early twenties, Spender accompanied her father to Auschwitz. “What impacted me most were the clothes and suitcases and artefacts. Seeing the simple possessions that people left behind was so affecting. That experience and attending the Reading of Holocaust Victims Names at Rookwood Cemetery [in Sydney] were deeply significant moments for me.”

These Holocaust insights, together with her awareness that antisemitism is far worse today than when she was at university, prompted Spender to take on the role of co-chair of Friends of IHRA (the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) in the Federal Parliament with Liberal MP Julian Leeser and Labor MP Josh Burns.

“I hate to see discrimination,” she says. “Antisemitism at universities is a problem for all of us, not just the Jewish community. That’s why the IHRA working definition of antisemitism is so important. It marks a line that gets crossed and which comes from misunderstanding Israel’s history and regarding it as a colonial import, as opposed to being the homeland of a people who have a connection to the land stretching thousands of years.

“A recent survey which reported a widespread hiding of Jewish identity on campuses is extremely sad because Australia is a wonderful multicultural country. It’s what makes us special. We must do all we can to prevent the horrific events overseas from dividing our country, regardless of views on the conflict. We are failing if we lose the ability to come together. It’s an issue for the entire country.”

Photo: Giselle Haber

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