Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Ther are two things I'm going to say about UNWRA. There are two facts we cannot ignore in relation to UNWRA. The first is that they do life-saving work. I would remind you, Senator Faruqi, that we doubled the core funding to UNWRA. I remind you of that. It's something you never say, something you do not acknowledge. You're shaking your head now. See? Here we go again. The second point is that the recent allegations against its staff are grave and need to be investigated. Those facts are both true. That is why we have suspended, along with many of our like-minded partners, pending these matters being carefully considered.

I have to say it is of deep regret that, while the government are seeking to use our voice to advocate for the release of hostages, for the protection of civilian lives, for humanitarian access and for a pathway out of the conflict, we do not have partners in this effort in either the opposition or the Greens. They would rather see a community divided and they would rather try to use this to pick up votes. That is what is happening. That is the similarity between the opposition and the Greens. I remind the Greens that we still have 130 hostages being held by Hamas. I remind those opposite that there are 1.7 million people in Gaza who are internally displaced. The reality is that we are seeking to play a constructive role. There are two parties in this place who are playing politics with this conflict. One of them is just asking a question. (Time expired)