Max Chandler-Mather (Griffith, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Labor is so committed to backing Israel's genocidal invasion of Gaza that every Labor member in this place today voted to suspend one of their own, Senator Payman, and for what? For voting to recognise the state of Palestine, which is technically meant to be Labor's platform. This is at the same time that—since Israel's genocidal invasion of Gaza began, what has Labor done? It has signed weapons contracts with black listed Israeli weapons companies, paused aid funding to Palestine for 48 days, refused to take any actions against Israel as it carries out a genocide in Gaza.

Let's talk about some of the facts. Thirty-seven thousand Palestinians have been murdered, 72 per cent of them women and children. Eighty-five thousand Palestinians have been wounded. One million Palestinians are at risk of death by starvation as a result of Israel's engineered famine. It's genuinely incredible that not a single Labor member in this place apart from Senator Payman was able to stand up, speak on behalf of Senator Payman and say, 'We defend her, and we defend the decision she took, because it was one of principle.'

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Max Chandler-Mather (Griffith, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Here we go again. There's more anger about being called to account than about the tens of thousands of Palestinians being killed as a result of an invasion that this Labor government supports. Where's your—

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I might remind members to be a little bit calmer in your approach to a very important public policy matter.

Max Chandler-Mather (Griffith, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks, Deputy Speaker. It is an important matter, and it is important to get passionate about the tens of thousands of Palestinians being murdered by this Israeli government that the Labor government continues to support.