There are calls for Australia's special envoy to combat antisemitism, Jillian Segal, to resign from the position following revelations that a trust linked to her husband made a $50,000 donation to right-wing political lobby group Advance Australia.
The conservative lobbying group was formed in 2018. It has shared anti-immigration content, recently claimed Palestinians in Australia were a "risk to security", and accused left-wing politicians of being "mostly on the same side as Hamas".
It was also one of the most prominent drivers of the No campaign during the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum, running campaigns urging people against voting in favour of a Voice.
Segal's husband, John Roth, is a director of Henroth Discretionary Trust, which made the donation in the 2023/2024 financial year, according to Australian Electoral Commission records. Segal is not listed as a director or shareholder of the company, and there is no suggestion Segal herself was directly involved in the donation.
Segal denied any involvement following reports of the donation, which were published by the Guardian and, more recently, by independent outlet The Klaxon.
"No one would tolerate or accept my husband dictating my politics, and I certainly won't dictate his," Segal told SBS News in a statement. "I have had no involvement in his donations, nor will I."
Segal's position criticised
At least three Australian organisations have called for Segal to step down in the wake of the revelations. Segal was appointed as the inaugural special envoy to combat antisemitism in July 2024, with Aftab Malik appointed as Australia's first special envoy to combat Islamophobia a few months later in September.
The roles were established in response to an increase in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents in Australia following Hamas' October 7 attack on southern Israel in 2023, and Israel's subsequent military campaign in Gaza.
In the role, Segal is tasked with helping to promote social cohesion and advising the government on issues related to antisemitism. Last week, she delivered a report on combating antisemitism to the Albanese government. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would consider the plan's recommendations but has not committed to it in full.
Jillian Segal was appointed Australia's inaugural special envoy to combat antisemitism in July last year. Source: AAP / Thomas Parrish
"This wasn't a distant relative or a faceless entity. It was a donation that aligns her household with a group that actively undermines the very goals she claims to champion: social cohesion, tolerance, and the fight against hate."
The association called for the government to intervene if Segal did not resign.
On Monday afternoon, the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) also called on the Australian government to remove Segal as the antisemitism envoy in the wake of the donation being made public.
In a statement, it said Segal's attempts to distance herself from the donation were disingenuous, and that her household's political donations were a matter of legitimate public concern.
APAN president Nasser Mashni said Segal's appointment to the position, and the role's existence itself, had always been "profound insults to Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, anti-Zionist Jews, and First Nations people", and that the new revelations "heighten the problem we are dealing with".
"Segal must be stood down, and this government must seriously reconsider its anti-racism work," Mashni said.
The Jewish Council of Australia (JCA), a progressive group formed in 2024 to represent non-Zionist Jews in Australia, which is critical of Israel's actions in Gaza, made similar comments.
Max Kaiser, JCA's executive officer, said reports linking Segal's household to Advance Australia "further erode any credibility the special envoy might claim to have on matters of racism".
"These revelations only strengthen the case for comprehensively rejecting the plan and the envoy position itself."
Treasurer says donation is a matter for Segal
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the issue is a matter for Segal herself.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the donation was a matter for Jillian Segal. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
"We are taking substantial steps to crack down on this disgraceful escalation in antisemitism that we're seeing in our society. We're already taking a number of steps and the envoy has provided us with some suggestions and ideas, proposals, for what else might be considered. We're working our way through that. But when it comes to donations made by her husband to that organisation, she's addressed this publicly on the record and I see that as a matter for her."
The Prime Minister's Office declined to comment when contacted by SBS News.
— With additional reporting by Madeleine Wedesweiler and the Australian Associated Press
