Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to give voice to my community—to their grief, their horror, their distress, their sorrow and their anger. As I have before, today I speak of Gaza. It has been over a year of deliberate, targeted and unrelenting carnage. Let me be clear: there is no possible justification for what has happened, for the tens of thousands of deaths that have occurred in the past year alone. I condemn the Netanyahu government's senseless murder of innocent civilians, of innocent children. I repeat: there is no justification for the murder of children. I condemn Netanyahu's wanton destruction that has killed aid workers and journalists. I condemn the barbaric campaign that is set on ensuring the utter annihilation of the Palestinian people. The Netanyahu government has blocked humanitarian aid. They've locked down the borders, trapping those trying to flee. They've cut off access to the most basic of human needs—food and water.

Israel cannot be allowed to continue their campaign against the Palestinians or the people of Lebanon. I call on the Netanyahu government to cease all hostilities immediately, withdraw all troops and instate a ceasefire. This is the bare minimum that must be done right now—today. This is what the people in my community are asking for. I've had many conversations with residents. Last week, I spoke with a community representative, Julie Karraki. Overall, their message is that they feel a sense of powerlessness and that they are not being listened to. They see unimaginable suffering occurring and they need it to stop. Suffering is suffering, whether you see it 12 kilometres away or 12,000.

I thank everyone in my community who has contacted me and spoken to me about this. I recognise and admire that, in spite of their feelings of despair, they believe they can make a difference, the world should make a difference and they need their voices to be heard. They still believe they do, indeed, have a say in this country. I'm honoured to represent them and say with their voice that we all—the whole world—must do better and must represent them. The only path forward is for the Netanyahu government to stop now, for justice to be administered and for the implementation of a Palestinian state, with Israel and Palestine equal partners in the area.

Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In accordance with standing order 193, the time for members' constituency statements has concluded.