Coalition rejects Prime Minister’s motion
"The prime minister is trying to speak out of both sides of his mouth, and that is not something that we will support in relation to this debate," Peter Dutton stated.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said on Tuesday the Coalition would not support a motion moved by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese marking the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel because it should have focused on the 1200 Israelis killed that day. “That’s what this motion was to be about. But of course, the prime minister is trying to speak out of both sides of his mouth, and that is not something that we will support in relation to this debate,” Dutton stated.
The motion led by the Prime Minister condemned Hamas’s terrorism and called for “the immediate and unconditional release of all the remaining hostages”, and also condemned “antisemitism in all its forms”.
Regarding Iran, the motion called for the Islamic Republic to “cease its destabilising actions” through its terror proxies – the Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas and condemned Iran’s attacks on Israel recognising “Israel’s right to defend itself”.
The motion urged “the protection of civilian lives and adherence to international law” and mourned “the death of all innocent civilians, recognising the number of Palestinian civilians killed in Gaza and the catastrophic humanitarian situation.” It also supports “international efforts to deescalate for a ceasefire in Gaza and in Lebanon” and “affirms its support for a two-state solution”.
Despite the Coalition not supporting the motion and the Greens abstaining, the motion passed 85 to 54.
Dutton said to the Prime Minister, “There has been a position of bipartisanship on these issues, and your predecessors would have had the decency to respect the Jewish community in a way you have not done today,” adding, “And for that PM, you should stand condemned.”
Liberal MP Paul Fletcher commented, “Unfortunately, the language of this motion reflects the continued equivocation of this prime minister and of this government on what should be an issue where there is clarity, on what should be an issue where it is accepted and understood and recognised that this is a conflict between good and evil.
“The response of the state of Israel to defend itself, to defend its people, to restore order, is a response which is appropriate and proportionate,” Fletcher said.
Independent MP Zoe Daniel said, “I note the opposition leader’s comments arguing that mentioning both sides in this conversation is unhelpful today. Respectfully, I disagree. The pain of more than one group of people can coexist no matter where that pain began.”
Greens Leader Adam Bandt said the Greens abstained because the motion did not condemn Israel alleged “war crimes” or “acknowledge the unfolding genocide in Gaza or put any pressure on Netanyahu’s government to stop the invasions of Palestine and Lebanon.”
Macnamara MP Josh Burns also spoke during the debate, saying, “I mourn for those who lost their lives, and I think about the experience of the Jewish people and the Jewish community, who look back at that day of the largest loss of Jewish life of our people since the 1940s and it breaks my heart.
“And it broke our community’s heart, and still in synagogues around this country, that pain still lives with each and every Jewish Australian.”
Burns condemned antisemitism, noting the attack on his electorate office, where his face was defaced with horns and called for Australians to think about the future they wish to see and to become “peace builders”.
Full story to come in this week’s edition of The AJN
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