Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Hansard source

Hamas is a terrorist organisation. It's a declared terrorist organisation. There is no place in this world for terrorist organisations, and we've seen again why this is so with the attacks that Hamas made against the state of Israel—acts of barbarism the like of which we hadn't seen since ISIS. We were all prepared to condemn what ISIS did, and every single one of us should be prepared to condemn what Hamas did.

Although there were acts beyond belief—there were acts beyond humanity right across the board—the thing that shocked us to the core was the slitting of the throats of those innocent young children. How, in any way, that could be seen as justified is beyond any comprehension. There is absolutely no excuse—no excuse—for that despicable behaviour. We have to call it out, and we have to support action to ensure that it is dealt with, because if terrorism like that is allowed to exist, if it's allowed to blossom, then the type of world that we will begin to live in is not the type of world I think any of us want to occupy. As hard as it is—and it is hard—to have to deal with terrorism, we have to have the will and we have to make sure that we are there to support Israel in defending itself from this terrorist organisation.

I want to mention the speech which was made by the Prime Minister on this motion and the one made by the Leader of the Opposition. It is fantastic to see bipartisanship on an issue like this, because this is an issue we should all stand together on. This is an issue we should all stand together on and make sure that we condemn what took place. I think it is an absolute credit to our democracy that we are able to come together and condemn the actions that took place on 7 October. We have to make sure that we continue in a bipartisan way to condemn acts of terrorism wherever they occur and in whichever part of the world they occur. This is especially so when it comes to Israel.

Seventy-five years ago, the state of Israel was born, and it was born after the most unimaginable horror that occurred during the Holocaust. Many of us have visited the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem or other memorials to the Holocaust and have been shaken to the bone by what occurred. But the world acted and gave the state of Israel a sanctuary, a home, a place where they could say, 'This is our nation state.' That nation state has every right to exist. There is no place for equivalence on this, because Hamas and others don't want to see Israel exist. I'll say that again: Hamas and others do not want to see Israel exist. So if we are to look at two-state solutions we have to be absolutely clear that it will not be Hamas that provides that two-state solution, because all they want to do is eliminate Israel. Sadly, it seems that Hezbollah is not far behind them. And not far behind Hezbollah and Hamas is Iran. Iran also needs to be called out, because progress was being made towards some long-lasting solution in the Middle East and yet Iran is doing everything it can to make sure that doesn't happen. Anyone who will not say, loudly and clearly, that Israel has the right to exist can never, ever be part of an ultimate two-state solution.

When it comes to terrorism—and we have seen this with those barbaric acts which took place on 7 October—the only way we are going to be able to deal with them is by making these terrorist organisations know that we will hunt them down. We will find them and we will do our very, very best to eliminate them. If we don't do that, the sad reality is that they will strike again—they will come again and rebuild. Sadly, that is part of their business model.

The tragedy is that they're prepared to use their people to seek their ends. This isn't about a long-lasting peace. This isn't about providing the security, the homes, the water, the sewerage, the health and the educational outcomes that all communities want. This is very much about brutal power—power gained by the sword; power gained by any means—which, to us, in a wonderful, modern society, has absolutely no place.

As we know, Israel understands that this poses a threat to its very existence. Israelis understand that they are now going to have to undertake a mission into Gaza that will lead to loss of life on the Israeli side and that of the Palestinians in Gaza. But they have to act, because if they don't act then there will be more innocent blood shed in their state.

I ask this: if that was occurring here in Australia and we were being threatened and attacked like that, what do you think our reaction would be? Do you think the Australian people would say, 'Fine, government. Stand by and let this occur. Let innocent children have their throats slit. Let innocent women be raped. Let soldiers be killed and their bodies danced upon'? Do you think we would sit there and say, 'Let that take place'?

No matter who we are, the one thing that drives us above all else is our own personal safety and the personal safety of our loved ones, our communities and, ultimately, our nation. It's why the nation state and the family are such powerful tools in communities. No, we would not step back and allow this to happen, nor would the Australian people. We have to understand that that is why the Israeli government and its people will not stand back and allow this to happen.

The best thing that could occur is that Hamas understand that their way is never going to succeed. They should immediately release the hostages they are holding and say that the terrorist way is no longer the way that they are going to follow. I understand that that's unlikely to happen, sadly, and that is why Israel is left with no choice. There will be innocent blood spilt on both sides and there will be Israeli soldiers who will give up their lives to defend their nation. But after 75 years, Israel knows that the only way it will continue to exist is by making sure that it fights for its existence. I am absolutely privileged to be part of this bipartisan motion, which agrees to that fact.

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