Bipartisan Victorian delegation heading to Poland
A bipartisan Victorian delegation will join March of the Living in Poland for the 80th anniversary.
In a historic first, a bipartisan Victorian parliamentary delegation will participate in the March of the Living in Poland, marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the end of World War II.
The Parliamentary Friends of Israel delegation, co-organised by Liberal MP David Southwick and Labor MP Paul Hamer, will depart on April 20.
“This is probably the first official parliamentary delegation in Australia that has gone to March of the Living,” Southwick told The AJN.
“With the rise of antisemitism, there’s no more important time to do this in a bipartisan way, having the Liberal Party, the Labor Party and members of the National Party all together.”
Hamer emphasised the importance of cross-party cooperation.
“This is a trip that David and I have worked very hard on to have a bipartisan approach,” he said.
“All of the members who are coming genuinely want to be part of this trip because they know how important it is for them personally and for their communities. The stars aligned this year in terms of it falling during a parliamentary break, it being the 80th anniversary, and with what we’re experiencing particularly in Australia,” Hamer said.
Melbourne Holocaust Museum (MHM) co-president Sue Hampel, who will guide the delegation, highlighted the educational value of the journey.
“With antisemitism rising in Australia, one way of helping to counter that is to understand what antisemitism is,” she said.
The parliamentarians will also participate in an Anzac Day Memorial Service at the tomb of the unknown soldier in Warsaw.
Following the March of the Living, Liberal Party members of the delegation will continue on to Israel.
Rachel Westaway, Liberal Member for Prahran, said, “I’m excited to have this opportunity to understand more about the issues currently present in Israel.
“I have quite a large proportion of Jewish people in my community, the seat of Prahran and I want them to know that I am absolutely supportive of their community.”
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