Jillian Segal and Advance

On July 12 and 13 The Klaxon broke news that John Roth, the husband of Australia’s Antisemitism Envoy Jillian Segal, donated $50,000 to Advance:

In the July 18 2025 ECAJ Weekly Update Daniel Aghion wrote the following of Jillian Segal:

This past week, we have seen a smear campaign attacking the Special Envoy’s Plan to Combat Antisemitism, soon after its launch last week.  

This concerted campaign has focused on just a couple of details in a wide-ranging programme of 49 key actions in 13 focus areas, and (most outrageously) attacked the Antisemitism Envoy herself personally, for her husband’s private political activity.  

I am not going to discuss the personal attacks on the Antisemitism Envoy herself – other than to say it is the lowest form of smear tactics – because they are irrelevant to the merits of her plan.  

Amongst the range of marginalised groups that Advance copiously hates on are LGBTIQA+ people. With pathological obsession, they have posted multitudes of negative articles over many years demonising us.

Hearing that Australia’s Antisemitism Envoy is unprepared to call out such bigotry is beyond comprehension. She would realise homophobia, biphobia and transphobia are as insidious as antisemitism. It beggars belief that a person appointed by the government to combat hate and intolerance does not know what all forms of hate and intolerance look like.

Australian Jewish News – July 25 2025 – Page 18 – Letters
Unforgivable
THE Friday after news broke that
Jillian Segal's husband's family
trust donated $50,000 to the far
right lobby group Advance, ECAJ
president Daniel Aghion claimed
criticism levelled at her for her hus-
band's donation was "outrageous"
and a "smear tactic"
It's not without precedent that
public figures have been called out
for their spouse's actions, such as
when Senator James Paterson held
Monique Ryan accountable for her
husband's removal of a sign in the
recent federal election. Rightly or
wrongly, Ryan took the fall for her
husband's indiscretion and apol-
ogised.
The nature of the role of the
antisemitism envoy is to combat
racism and hatred. For that person
to remain silent on a significant
donation by her spouse to an outfit
that has racism and hate in its DNA
beggars belief, and to my thinking
amounts to tacit endorsement. She
does not need to apologise for her
husband, but to remain silent on
who he donated to is unforgivable.
Michael Barnett
Ashwood, Vic

Australian Jewish News – August 1 2025 – Page 17 – Letters
Defending Advance
MICHAEL Barnett (A/N 25/07)
fulminates about antisemitism
envoy Jillian Segal's husband
making a donation to Advance
Australia. Advance is anything but
a "far right lobby group". The
Jewish community has much to be
thankful for to Advance. For start-
ers they were instrumental in pre
venting the virulently antisemitic
Greens from achieving a danger-
ous foothold in the last election.
As for Barnett's claim that
Advance is filled with "racism
and hate", he would be good
to remember that the work of
Advance in helping to defeat the
Voice referendum saved Australia
from a dangerously racially divi
sive situation from evolving. Any
organisation, like Advance, which
espouses conservative ideals and
fights against the destruction of
the values of Western civilisation is
labelled by Barnett and those of his
ilk as "far-right" by default.
The Jewish community has
come to realise in recent times that
the left are not our friends, but in
Barnett's case the message seems
to be taking somewhat longer to
sink in.
Robert Weil
Highett, Vic

Not the same
IT is not helpful when progressive
activists such as Michael Barnett
spout reflexive hysterical hyperbole
for political gain rather than care-
fully analysing a situation
His comparison of Jillian Segal's
husband's donation to lobby
group Advance with the actions
of Monique Ryan's husband is
just wild fantasy. Any student of
critical thinking could easily see
that Segal's husband John Roth
donated the money in his own
right, and which had nothing to
do with his wife's work.
On the other hand, the removal
of promotional signs by Monique
Ryan's husband was active inter.
ference on behalf of her campaign
with the express purpose of giving
her an electoral advantage
Alan Freedman
St Kilda East. Vic

SMH | Antisemitism envoy distances herself from husband’s donation to right-wing lobby group

[Aleph Melbourne notes that Advance Australia actively campaigns against progressive causes including LGBTIQA+ issues]


Antisemitism envoy distances herself from husband’s donation to right-wing lobby group

Olivia Ireland

By Olivia Ireland

July 13, 2025 — 5.00pm

Antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal has distanced herself from donations by her husband’s family trust to controversial conservative lobby group Advance Australia days after she released recommendations on how the government needs to respond to rising hate towards Jewish people.

Australian Electoral Commission donation records lodged by a company Segal’s husband John Roth is a director of show that the Roth family trust, Henroth, gave $50,000 to Advance in 2023-24.

Advance Australia has previously said a vote for Labor is endorsed by the Chinese Community Party, that teal candidates are hidden Green politicians and accused left-leaning politicians of being “mostly on the same side as Hamas”.

Jillian Segal and John Roth.Credit:Facebook

Segal’s role as envoy is to fight antisemitism and enhance social cohesion, and she has asked for endorsement of her report on combating antisemitism. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese explicitly said he did not want the report to be politicised.

In a statement, Segal said she had no influence on the donations made by Roth’s trust. “No one would tolerate or accept my husband dictating my politics, and I certainly won’t dictate his. I have had no involvement in his donations, nor will I,” she said.

ASIC documents show Henroth Investments Pty Ltd is co-directed by Stanley and John Roth. AEC donation records state the company lodged its donation return on behalf of Henroth Discretionary Trust.

The company has also previously given money to the Liberal Party. Henroth was named after their father Henry Roth, who was a successful property developer.

The brothers own gelato chain Gelatissimo which has stores across Australia and globally in the Philippines, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the US.

The donation was first reported by Guardian Australia and The Klaxon.

There is no suggestion Segal was aware of a donation or that it has affected her work.

Segal was previously a prominent lawyer and eventually partner for what was then called Allen, Allen and Hemsley before leaving to become a commissioner and later deputy chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Special envoy to combat antisemitism Jillian Segal and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday.Credit:Dylan Coker

She has also served on boards for the Australian Securities Exchange, the National Bank of Australia, served on the council of the Australian War Memorial and was deputy chancellor of the University of NSW.

Segal also is the immediate past president of the Executive Council of the Australian Jewry.

Lobby group Advance Australia prominently campaigned against the 2023 Voice Referendum and during the 2022 and 2025 elections shared various banners and ads against the Greens, teal independents and Labor.

Trucks were seen across the country in 2022 with slogans comparing the Australian Labor Party to the Chinese Community Party, with an image of Chinese Premier Xi Jinping and a caption stating: “CCP says vote Labor”.

The lobby group in late 2024 also released a petition, which remains on its website, calling for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to stand up to pro-Palestine activists.

“[Pro-Palestine activists] have the full backing of the elites – the Labor/Green/Teal politicians, the media, the universities and the taxpayer funded bureaucrats and nonprofits are now mostly on the same side as Hamas,” the petition said.

Advance Australia has been contacted for comment.

On Thursday, Segal released her antisemitism report beside Albanese who said the government would consider all recommendations.

The report has sparked wide-ranging debate as it includes recommendations to rate universities on how they have cracked down on anti-Jewish hate and stripping funding from educational institutions, cultural events and charities that fail to address antisemitism.

A controversial definition of antisemitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Association was also recommended to be adopted by all Australian institutions.

The definition has been embraced by Jewish groups and some parts of the Australian government for its clarity and breadth, but attacked by critics, who argue it stifles free speech and conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism.

Olivia Ireland

Olivia Ireland is a federal politics reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, reporting on political breaking news and workplace relations from Parliament House in Canberra.Connect via Twitter or email.

Just.Equal MR: Anti-Semitism envoy highlights need for LGBTIQA+ rights commissioner

Media Release
Wednesday July 10th 2024

Anti-Semitism envoy highlights need for LGBTIQA+ rights commissioner

Just.Equal Australia has renewed its call for a national LGBTIQA+ Commissioner following the appointment of Jillian Segal as Australia’s first anti-Semitism envoy.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the appointment of Segal is in response to rising hate, will “promote social cohesion” and will be followed by the appointment of an envoy against Islamophobia.

Just.Equal Australia spokesperson, Rodney Croome, said,

“The appointment of envoys against anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, highlights the absence of a national official advocating for the LGBTIQA+ community.”

“Rising hate against LGBTIQA+ people demands a response from the federal government in the form of an LGBTIQA+ Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission.”

“The Australian Human Rights Commission has commissioners for first nations, culturally diverse communities, women, older and younger people, people with disability, and for human rights, but no dedicated commissioner for LGBTIQA+ Australians.”

“This sends the message that the human rights of LGBTIQA+ people, and discrimination against us, are less important.”

Mr Croome said the Sex Discrimination Commissioner has an advisor on LGBTIQA+ human rights, but this is not enough to deal with the many challenges faced by LGBTIQA+ people or to send the message that their rights matter.

For a copy of this statement on the web, click here

For more information contact Rodney Croome on 0409 010 668.