Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I note that if President Herzog hadn't been here, I wouldn't have been able to raise the issue of Zomi Frankcom with him—which is precisely what I did this morning, along with a range of other Australian government concerns. That's one of the reasons why you have dialogue in a respectful way: to get outcomes and to advance Australia's national interests. So one of the issues I raised was Zomi Frankcom and her six World Central Kitchen colleagues. These deaths were a tragedy and an outrage. We said that at the time and we've made it clear that that remains the Australian government's position.

We've also made clear our expectation that there be transparency about Israel's ongoing investigation into the incident. We continue to press for full accountability, including any appropriate criminal charges. Last year at the United Nations, Australia and our partners launched the Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel. That was led by our Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong, who engaged with her colleagues right around the world to issue that statement—more than 100 nations signed on—attempting to get a global position.

The member referred to figures. Every one of them is a tragedy, and every one of them is an outrage. Journalists and aid workers lost their lives while going about doing their jobs—reporting on what was occurring in Gaza and in the Middle East or doing critical work providing humanitarian support to Gaza in the middle of a humanitarian catastrophe. Australia has increased our aid and will continue to do so. We have spoken about humanitarian aid with the Israeli government and with the Israeli president. I must say the Israeli president has said that he will engage and come back to the Australian government about the issues that we have raised.

The issue of the protection declaration is about honouring the courage and kindness of Zomi Frankcom and her fellow aid workers. This is someone who provided aid not just in that area of the world but along with other World Central Kitchen colleagues, the head of whom is based in New York and is known to President Herzog, who have done extraordinary work in war zones and under extreme difficulty, taking risks in order to help their fellow humans. We honour Zomi Frankcom. We give her family our sincere condolences for what is a tragic loss, and we'll continue to work each and every day to do our best to ensure there is transparency and there is appropriate action.

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