Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

At the request of Senator McKim, I move:

That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:

That the risk of mass death from starvation in Gaza, with millions of Palestinians facing catastrophic hunger, is a result of Israel's aid blockade, and that it is critical the Australian Government intensify its efforts—including diplomatic and economic measures—to pressure the Israeli Government to open all border crossings and allow the unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid.

I used to say we are sliding into a dystopian future, but it is clear now that we are already living in it. Israel's mass starvation, displacement, demolition, slaughter and devastation are deliberate. It is brutal, it is inhumane, and it is savage. We warned you all, from the very beginning, that this is where we would end up. Israeli ministers themselves made it clear that this is where we would end up, but you flocked to defend Israel, knowing they have been killing, arresting, torturing and permanently injuring Palestinians for decades. Labor MPs, including members of this chamber, flocked to Israel for photo opportunities with genocidal Israeli soldiers and politicians. Our Attorney-General turned up to Israel to shake hands when he should have been issuing arrest warrants. Labor governments across the country are still working overtime to stop antigenocide protests and protesters. It has taken almost two years for Labor to wake up.

With this Greens motion here in front of us today, even with the amendments that Labor is going to propose, the Senate will vote to support a motion that says that Israel's aid blockade is a breach of international law and that it is critical that the Australian government continue intensifying its efforts, including diplomatic and further action, to pressure the Israeli government to open all border crossings and allow the unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid. This motion today is only happening because of the pressure that people out there in the streets have put on this Labor government, week after week after week, for two years. The Greens have been very proud to bring that pressure and their voice right into parliament.

Today, the Senate will agree that the Albanese government needs to take more action—not more words, not more signatures, but more action. We will not stop here. We hold the Labor government to account to actually take that action—concrete action like putting sanctions on Israel and ending the two-way arms trade—so we can actually stop and end the genocide. We know that Israel has sealed off Gaza's borders, choking off life-saving aid. The assistance being distributed comes through Israeli and US backchannels, and it is controlled by mercenaries who decide who lives and who dies in these death traps. This is not aid. This is control. This is occupation. This is murder. This is erasure.

We are facing down another Nakba. Yet there have been no red lines, no sanctions and no accountability. Israel can kill anyone it wants—journalists, doctors, nurses, children and even aid workers like Australian Zomi Frankcom. It can destroy hospitals, universities, homes and schools, with total impunity. This is not just a crisis for the people and nations being bombed by Israel; it is a crisis of humanity and it is a crisis of conscience for us all.

I hope today is the day when this chamber and this parliament wakes up to the inhumanity that has been happening. We are very proud that we, and the people out there in our democracy, have brought this chamber and this parliament and this government to this place, because this was always a moral choice; this was always a moral pathway. And this is the least that we can do.