Contrasts
wo weeks from the federal election, we have a clearer picture of where both major parties now stand.
Two weeks out from the federal election, we now have a much firmer idea of where the two major parties stand on certain issues.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ)’s pre-election questionnaire has found that while Labor and the Coalition are both committed to combating antisemitism, there are big differences in how they plan to do so.
Crucially, the Coalition has endorsed the ECAJ’s 15-point plan. In doing so, Peter Dutton’s party has recognised that as the community bearing the brunt of the scourge, we are best positioned to suggest what to do about it.
Indeed, Labor did not even answer the ECAJ’s questions on antisemitism, instead referring the roof body to a letter Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sent it last month. That letter, in response to a request by the ECAJ for the government to endorse said plan, contained a brief mention of it in its opening line before not mentioning it again.
On foreign policy, the divide grows even greater.
Labor is against recognising west Jerusalem – which has never been internationally contested – as part of Israel, saying it should only come as the result of negotiations. But completely contradicting that stance, Labor also says recognising a Palestinian state could occur before any such negotiations conclude.
At the United Nations, while the Coalition has pledged to revert to the principled stand Australia took when it was last in power, Labor has indicated it will continue to vote “in support of a just and enduring peace” – presumably code for supporting one-sided resolutions aimed at politically isolating Australia’s once staunch ally, that are drafted by totalitarian regimes with abhorrent human rights records. On funding for UNRWA, the Coalition has categorically stated not a cent will go to the corrupt UN agency, while Labor, who committed $20 million to it in the recent budget, will continue to send taxpayer money which could very well end up in the coffers of Hamas.
Looking towards the election, the Coalition has also ruled out any deal with the antisemitic Greens. Labor did not provide a response to that question.
Of course, our community is politically broad and we are not single-issue voters. But, broader issues aside, Labor’s responses here are certainly lacking.
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