- UPDATED 3:30PM NOVEMBER 6, 2023, FIRST PUBLISHED AT 2:52PM NOVEMBER 6, 2023
The Greens have walked out of Senate question time in protest of the Albanese government’s “heartless, gutless, powerless” response to the Middle East conflict, with senator Mehreen Faruqi yelling “free Palestine”.
“The Coalition is morally bankrupt when it comes to Palestine and Labor has shown itself to be heartless, gutless, powerless. You are watching the massacre of thousands of Palestinians by Israel and you are not condemning Israel,” the Greens deputy leader said.
“You refuse to call for an immediate ceasefire. We are not going to sit here and watch you pat yourself on the back for doing nothing. Weasel words are not going to stop war crimes. Today, we bring the people’s protest into parliament. Free, free Palestine.”
Senator Faruqi raised her fist in protest and left the chamber, followed by her colleagues.
Trade Minister Don Farrell, who is representing Anthony Albanese in the upper house on Monday with Senate leader Penny Wong in Beijing, said innocent civilians should not pay for the horrors perpetrated by Hamas.
“It also matters for Israel’s own security, which faces grave risk if this conflict spreads, and I think we’ve already seen over the weekend the potential that it’s spreading in the north and in the east,” Senator Farrell said.
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire and human suffering is widespread. And the Australian government has consistently called for the protection of civilian lives.”
The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said at least 9,770 people, mostly civilians, had been killed in more than four weeks of war, sparked by a terrorist attack in Israel on October 7 that left more than 1400 dead.
Mr Albanese has endorsed Israel’s right to defend itself while also expressing concern for Gaza civilians after six of Australia’s former prime ministers co-signed a letter affirming their joint stance on the war.
Last week, every former living prime minister, except Paul Keating, released a statement on the escalating conflict expressing their support for Israel and condemning Hamas for the October 7 massacres. The letter called for an end to anti-Semitic hate speech and endorsed a two-state solution as the basis for “long-term lasting peace between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples”.
“It is important that we recognise that the attacks from Hamas on Israel are worthy of absolute condemnation in an unequivocal way. It’s also important to recognise that Israel has a right to defend itself, but how it does that matters. And we need to make sure as well that every civilian life is valued. Whether it be Israeli or Palestinian, every innocent loss of life is a tragedy,” Mr Albanese said.
Ex-Labor leader Paul Keating, the only living ex-prime minister to not sign the letter, published a statement on Sunday that said he would not put his name to something “drafted by the Zionist Federation of Australia.”
More to come...
