Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to take note of the answers given by the foreign minister in relation to the appalling decision to insult one of our international partners and allies by refusing to recognise its capital. It speaks volumes that, in relation to the decision of the Labor government to refuse to recognise the capital of Israel, their announcement was warmly welcomed by not one but two prescribed terrorist organisations. Palestinian Islamic Jihad called it a courageous step and a victory. Hamas welcomed Labor's announcement, calling it a step in the right direction. To make things worse, the Israeli government was given no advance warning whatsoever that the Labor government would refuse to recognise their capital.

The decision was, effectively, announced via the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's website. Then, the government spent a day denying that anything had actually changed. Now Senator Wong, in her answer today, says that she had made clear that Labor would take this action. But the fact is that less than 24 hours before making this decision her office was telling the Israeli ambassador and Jewish stakeholders that no such decision had been made. Yet the very next day, on an important Jewish holiday, the government revealed that it had indeed decided to refuse to recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The handling of this announcement was nothing short of atrocious, but it is the substance of the decision which is wrong, unhelpful and insulting, and that is why it has been welcomed by two terrorist groups and met with shock by a friend and an ally.

The capital of Israel, according to Israel, is Jerusalem. The idea that Australia should reject Israel's acknowledgement of its own capital is wrong. It does not assist or help the peace process, and it diminishes Australia for our government to refuse to recognise the capital of a friend and ally. The coalition opposes the decision made by the government and supports Australia's continued recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Australia is of course a strong supporter of a peaceful two-state solution. As has been pointed out by many in recent days, there is no prospect whatsoever that a two-state solution would require the state of Israel to abandon West Jerusalem. The Labor government is wrong to suggest that Australia should deny recognition of Israel's capital until there is a two-state solution, because doing so does not in any way advance that peaceful solution. To the contrary, it can only serve to embolden terror organisations like Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

There is a long list of serious questions to be asked and answered about the making and the announcement of this decision. Aside from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, whose interests were served by the making of this decision? Who altered the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's website to remove recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel's capital? On what basis did they do so, given media reports that a cabinet decision on this matter was made after the website had already been altered?

This is a Labor government that is yet to find time to apply sanctions in relation to human rights abuses in Xinjiang, that is yet to find the time to take any diplomatic action in response to the mass murder of women and children in Iran and that has not announced any action to have the Iranian regime removed from the UN Commission on the Status of Women but that does have time to sit around the cabinet table and decide to refuse to recognise the capital city of an ally and our partner.

Like I said at the start of my remarks, it is an incredibly disappointing decision by the Labor government. The process was wrong and the decision was wrong. I know that I and many of my colleagues look forward to holding the government to account for this atrocious decision.