Steph Hodgins-May (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the last five days we have seen a dangerous escalation in illegal violence driven by the imperial ambitions of the United States and Israel and endorsed by this government. Australia isn't just offering words of support to America's war machine; we are participating in it.

Australian intelligence facilities underpin US military operations. Australia rolled out the welcome mat to refuel spy planes used by the US in their bombing campaign. Australian gas is extracted here, is subsidised through fossil fuel tax credits, is exported with next to no tax, and now fuels global price spikes as energy markets convulse under the weight of war. Australian critical minerals, which should power the renewable transition, are being locked into future defence supply chains that prioritise US military demand.

Meanwhile, we have a foreign minister who seems to believe that countries can mark their own homework when it comes to international law and a prime minister who is behaving less like an independent leader and more like someone auditioning to be Donald Trump's most obedient lapdog. Let me be clear: no-one is defending the brutality of the Iranian regime. But we can hold that truth while grieving the 160 Iranian schoolgirls buried in rubble this week and the thousands more civilians now facing a prolonged and indiscriminate conflict. War profiteers salivate, defence contractors cash in, and our government, the Albanese government, washes its hands of responsibility.

Australia is not America. We should not be dragged into imperial violence that makes the world more dangerous and ordinary people less safe. We must fight for international law, genuine sovereignty and peace.