Why Men Are Condemned Before the Evidence Is In | Janice Fiamengo, James Nuzzo and Tom Golden... youtu.be/1NyEW2H_NrQ?si=6bdw… via @YouTube

Australia’s Long, Overlooked History of Political Violence Tom Gilling, The Australian, 24 October 2026 Tom Gilling challenges the popular perception that Australia has historically been insulated from terrorism and political violence. Prompted by the horrendous incident involving independent MP Helen Haines, he documents a disturbing history of bombings, assassinations, extremist plots and politically motivated attacks spanning six decades... Gilling and co-author Clive Small identified more than 200 terrorist incidents and documented threats between 1966 and 2009, with numerous additional incidents since. theaustralian.com.au/inquire… The article traces several distinct waves of violence: - 1960s–1970s: Croatian-Yugoslav ethnic conflicts, attacks on diplomatic missions, the 1966 shooting of opposition leader Arthur Calwell, and the 1978 Sydney Hilton bombing, which killed three people. - Organised crime and political assassinations: The 1977 murder of anti-drugs campaigner Donald Mackay, the 1994 assassination of Labor MP John Newman, and the bombing of the National Crime Authority headquarters. - 1980s–1990s: Murders and bombings targeting Family Court judges, Armenian attacks against Turkish diplomats, antisemitic violence, and attacks by neo-Nazi and white nationalist organisations. - 2000s: Islamist terrorism emerged as a major threat, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 88 Australians, the 2004 Jakarta embassy bombing, and foiled plots targeting Australia's electricity grid, major sporting events and military facilities. - 2010s: Islamic State-inspired attacks and disrupted plots included attempted beheadings, attacks on police, and a sophisticated 2017 conspiracy to bomb a passenger aircraft departing Sydney. - 2020s: Renewed antisemitic violence, including attacks on synagogues and Jewish institutions, culminated in the December 2025 Bondi Beach massacre, killing 15 people. Gilling also highlights Australia's evolving counterterrorism legislation, including expanded powers targeting terrorist organisations, their financing and operational networks. The central message of this article is that political violence is neither new nor exceptional in Australia's history. It has arisen from diverse ideological, religious, ethnic, criminal and geopolitical motivations. Australia's relative political stability should not obscure the persistent threat posed by extremists, including those importing overseas conflicts onto Australian soil... The article provides historical context rather than arguing that any single ideology explains Australia's experience of political violence.