Liberal candidate talks UNRWA
Ro Knox has criticised Allegra Spender for changing her position on government funding for UNRWA.
Liberal candidate for Wentworth Ro Knox has criticised incumbent member Allegra Spender for changing her position on government funding for the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, calling it a “cynical move” ahead of the upcoming federal election.
In an interview with The AJN this week, Knox referred to the letter the “teal” independents signed last March calling on the government to reinstate funding to the agency, despite evidence that some UNRWA members were involved in the October 7 attacks on Israel.
“She’s had almost a year since she signed that letter to publicly retract it, and she’s now taken this moment as we’re heading into an election,” Knox said.
“To me, it appears to be somewhat of a cynical move to get certain votes. I think that flip-flopping is very disappointing for such an important issue.”
Knox, who travelled to Israel last December, added that she met with a number of humanitarian organisations there who told her that the World Food Program, and not UNRWA, is the biggest humanitarian aid organisation on the ground in Gaza.
“So there was a big concern in Israel, not just that they were funding an organisation that one of our closest allies had done an extensive investigation on, but also that it was somewhat misstated, that they were the only available organisation on the ground,” she said.
Knox, who studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, also criticised the Labor government’s handling of rising antisemitism in Australia.
“The leadership has just been so weak,” she said, pointing out that Opposition Leader Peter Dutton had called for a National Cabinet to address antisemitism after the infamous incident outside the Sydney Opera House in 2023.
“We’ve seen since this government has accepted that recommendation, which was also the recommendation of the excellent antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal, that with that different level of policing we already have had a significant slowing in antisemitic attacks and graffiti attacks,” she said.
“That sort of strong action should have been taken straight after October 7.”
Knox warned that a hung parliament, particularly a “Labor-Green-teal” combination, would have “catastrophic impacts for our economy, for our foreign policy, for our defence, for our place in the world”.
She also expressed concern about calls for recognition of a Palestinian state without conditions regarding Israel’s security, which she described as “a complete divergence from previous bipartisan positions”.
According to Knox, cost of living remains the biggest issue for voters, followed by small business concerns, red tape barriers for young entrepreneurs and community safety.
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