Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I first of all want to say that the member for Chifley was down to speak, and he's given me his speaking spot. I really appreciate it. I really appreciate his generosity in this moment. I don't think it's worth dismissing that a Muslim member of this place gave his speaking spot to a Jewish member of this place so that I could contribute to this debate. I want to thank my friend for his generosity in this moment.

I dream of peace. I dream of peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. It has been something that has haunted my family for generations. We have seen year after year and war after war completely destroy and damage people and communities, and for what? We still in 2024 are facing an intractable conflict between two peoples, most of whom just want to live in peace and in dignity. And we see that here in Australia. I know that most people here in our wonderful country just want to see more peaceful days ahead. In this country, our hearts break.

I think that's something that we all can hold onto. There is a shared humanity that we must all uphold. It is okay to look at the violence that is facing the Palestinian people and feel a deep sense of loss and sadness at that and to want that to end today. And it is okay to see the absolutely devastating scenes that we saw on October 7, a day that saw the largest loss of Jewish life on any day since the Holocaust. My heart breaks for both, and I say that as a Jewish Australian who desperately wants to see this war come to an end.

There are so many intractable parts of this conflict. I have a degree in this conflict, and I still don't quite know how to fix it. I know that there are players who are desperate to end the peace process and to try and disturb any efforts towards peace. I know that trees take years and years and years to grow and can be cut down in a second, and that is what the Middle East has demonstrated over and over again. We have seen people try to grow a tree, to try and build this sense of togetherness and unity between two peoples, and yet time and time again it has been cut down in an instant of violence, and it has been cut down by politics where you either have players like Hamas or players that have taken over the far right of Israeli politics that are desperate to demonise the other people.

It is sad because it means that in this place we see a conflict continuing in 2024. I desperately want to see an end to the violence. I desperately want to see the people of Gaza being able to rebuild their lives in dignity and in peace, to move freely, to have freedom of speech and to have a future for their children. What human doesn't want that for another human? I desperately want to see my family and friends in Israel live within safe and secure borders, not worried about who might interrupt them in their own home. I don't think that's too high a bar to set. I don't think that we in Australia can dream of anything more than peace between the two peoples.

This motion before the House is the bare minimum. It says that we support the recognition of a Palestinian state as part of a peace process. That peace process is something that I hold onto and that I have held onto my entire life. That peace process says that we are all people, above all, and that there has to be a way through this. There has to be a way through this conflict. I wish that we could pull a lever here in Australia and it would all end today, but we have seen time and time again that that is not the case. What we can also control is how we engage and more moments like what the member for Chifley just did, where he doesn't seek to enforce his views but actually gives the opportunity for someone else to speak. In this moment, it's me, and I really appreciate it.

We need to see people in Australia looking and having conversations, not just sitting on your phone and reinforcing your own views. Reach across and have a discussion with someone who may not agree with you, because this conflict is not a licence to divide our community. This conflict is about people. It is about two peoples who deserve to live in dignity and peace, because that is what we want in the region. That is what we want for the people of Israel, and that is what we want for the Palestinian people.

I'll finish where I started. I dream of peace. I dream of peace between two peoples, and I hope desperately to see it one day.

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