David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today this parliament will finally acknowledge just some of the horrors of the situation the people in Gaza have faced now for more than 18 months. I'd take a moment to pause and reflect on this being an occasion where we pass a motion that does not erase the people of Palestine and the struggle for a free Palestine, as this chamber did barely 18 months ago, because now we are acknowledging, as a collective, the appalling breaches of international law by the Israeli government, including the use of mass starvation as a tool of war against children, women, civilians and the people of Gaza.

But this motion should, obviously, be the starting point for genuine action, and it is unfortunate that, on the same day that we pass this motion, the Prime Minister dismissed calls for sanctions and material action to stop the genocide in Gaza as 'slogans', to use his word. That is deeply insulting to the millions of Australians calling for the Prime Minister to move from mere words to clear action, to pressure Israel to end the bombing and the killing of Palestinians, and to let food and aid flow into Gaza. The statement signed by Australia on 21 July of this year said:

We are prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire …

Yet that statement was rejected by Israel in less than 24 hours, and the government has taken no such action. As the Prime Minister himself acknowledged today, empty slogans without action will not feed starving children in Gaza.

I encourage the Prime Minister to reach out to the Australian Sanctions Office to understand how Australia is implementing its comprehensive prohibition on the two-way arms trade with Russia, as the clearest example for Israel, to end that two-way arms trade. That action, together with sanctions, is the action needed to meet this moment.

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What's going on in Gaza right now is a brutal, calculated slaughter of innocent people. It is a mass murder of civilians. It is the deliberate, engineered use of hunger and starvation as a weapon of war, and people are dying in their droves. Babies are starving to death because of this slaughter and these war crimes.

This, of course, is being perpetrated by the government of Israel, but let's not kid ourselves that Australia is not complicit in these actions, because we are. We're not just complicit in those actions; we are complicit in the outcomes of those actions, in many ways. But this week we have had to listen to Senator Wong saying that weapons components that are being manufactured in Australia and exported and that are critical in the conduct of this genocide are non-lethal in nature. Give me a break. Stop trying to gaslight Australians, Prime Minister and Senator Wong. I say this to the Prime Minister: if you truly believe, as you have repeatedly stated this week, that these actions of the government of Israel are unacceptable, but you are not using every tool in your toolkit to bring about an end to these actions, then I say you are not being genuine. I say you are running a political line, because Australia should sanction the Netanyahu war cabinet at least to the same level it is sanctioning the Russian government.

Penny Allman-Payne (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There needs to be a fundamental shift in how the world views and treats Israel. Israel's genocidal intent has been clear for years, well before October 7, and it has only grown stronger and more sickening. Its leaders have called for mass extermination of Palestinians. They have praised the mass gang rape of Palestinian political prisoners, and they are now starving an entire population to the brink of death. Reports indicate that for many of those who have miraculously survived the carpet bombing of Gaza, starvation has reached a point where, even if survival is possible, long-term damage has already been done. Israel is not a credible actor nor any kind of future partner in peace. They are fundamentally disinterested in the humanity of Palestinians and in peace in the region, and they will say and do anything with no fear of consequences. They murder Palestinians, they bomb Lebanon, they bomb Iran, they bomb Yemen, they bomb Syria, and they do these things openly and advertise their genocide to the world.

One day, everyone will have been against this, and that is what we are beginning to see now. But this is bigger than Netanyahu and his war cabinet. Some people will try to paint it as the actions of a few politicians rather than as a systemic symptom of an ideology shared across government and the Knesset. Next time Israel or the US announce a truncated ceasefire or a hostage swap, or that they have allowed some aid into Gaza, don't let that be the end of the pressure, because they will turn around the next minute and they will continue the slaughter. This sudden onset of mild concern by various western governments, including Australia, must be the beginning of a campaign of maximum pressure against Israel. Words were never enough. Recognition is not enough. Israel must feel the full weight of global pressure, or else the killing will continue.

Question agreed to.

Original question, as amended, agreed to.

Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I ask that the opposition's opposition to that motion be recorded in the Hansard.