Bob Carr (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

The draft resolution 'Question of Palestine' is scheduled to be voted on in the UN General Assembly this Thursday, 29 November. If passed, the draft resolution will accord non-member observer state status in the UN to the Palestinians. It does not confer statehood.

The decision by the government to abstain on this question accords with our strong support for legitimate Palestinian aspirations towards statehood but reflects our view that the only way to a two-state solution in the Middle East, with a strong Palestinian state side by side with an Israel with absolute security, is through an outcome negotiated by the two sides, the two sides thus having a commitment to the success of the outcome. You cannot get that through a resolution of the General Assembly, but to have voted no would have sent a message that Australia does not believe in something we do believe in—namely, statehood for Palestinians.

Before I continue, let me just set the last question to rest. That is that there was some discussion of the political impact of this decision here. I say this candidly to the Senate: I do not believe that a decision on this has a political impact, because the vast bulk of Australians want a two-state solution. That is the common-sense, mainstream position adhered to by the Australian people: that there should be a Palestinian state side by side with a secure Israel. That is the view that the majority of Australians hold.