Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

The coalition will not be supporting this motion. Can I be clear, though: nobody wants to see the suffering of people in Gaza, and we are saddened and shocked, like everybody, at the loss of life in Gaza. Proper quantities of food and other aid must be provided to the people of Gaza. Israel needs to work with international organisations, and international organisations need to work with Israel, to increase the distribution of aid to those who need it. There is suffering across Gaza. An increase in the distribution of aid could alleviate this suffering.

The coalition have made it clear that we believe aid should freely flow into Gaza. Furthermore, it is our wish that the terrorist group Hamas surrenders and the war is ended as soon as possible. But, again, the coalition will not support this motion, because, once again, the Australian Greens are totally ignoring the role of the militant terrorist group Hamas in the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. It would be nice if, just for once, the Australian Greens would just admit that the militant terrorist group Hamas are the reason for the devastating situation in Gaza, but the Greens never seem to want to actually admit that the blame for this war lies squarely at the feet of the militant terrorist organisation Hamas.

The coalition, on the other hand, fundamentally believes that the moral responsibility for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is squarely on the terrorist group Hamas. The war in Gaza began because of Hamas's abhorrent attack on Israeli citizens. This was initiated through their barbaric acts on 7 October 2023. These attacks were some of the worst we have seen in recent history, making the loss of Jewish life the largest in any single day since the Holocaust, with many others then taken hostage. Those barbaric attacks, let us not conveniently forget, involved rape, torture and the murder of innocent civilians, including men, women and children, babies and the elderly. These attacks led to many innocent civilians being murdered. Others remain in captivity, 21 months later.

The barbaric Hamas terrorists who committed the October 7 attacks proudly filmed their crimes and posted their murderous rampages on social media. Quite frankly, there are few groups in this global world that are worse than the militant terrorist organisation of Hamas. Hamas use their own people as human shields. It is a disgrace. They hide in hospitals. It is a disgrace. They hide in schools. What cowards they are! They murder those who try and stand up to them, and they still hold 50 hostages from Israel.

Problems with the flow of aid are largely because of Hamas's deliberate campaign against Israel. They have repeatedly diverted and stockpiled aid in Gaza meant for civilians, but you won't see the Australian Greens talking about that. Hamas have been using this aid for their own military and political advancements. They have been filmed hijacking trucks full of aid. Their stated goal—it is in their charter; they live by it each and every day—is the destruction of the State of Israel.

One of Hamas's disgusting tactics is to use their own civilians as human shields and then blame Israel when people are attacked. They are now disrupting the flow of aid into Gaza and blame Israel when their own people face hunger and starvation. It is important that the moral outrage surrounding aid and supplies is directed at the terrorist organisation Hamas. However, both the Albanese government and the Australian Greens have deliberately been silent on the devastating effects that Hamas is having on the people of Gaza. This includes Hamas blocking aid and supplies. Remember that this war could end tomorrow. Hamas could end the suffering of the people tomorrow by freeing the Israeli hostages and laying down their arms. They choose not to.