Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

There are two facts we can't ignore in relation to UNRWA. It does life-saving work, but the recent allegations against its staff are grave and need to be fully investigated. This life-saving work is why Australian governments of both stripes have provided funding to UNRWA since 1951. That is why our closest partners, including the United States, the UK and Canada, all make major contributions. Right now more than 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering in UNRWA facilities, and thousands of its staff are involved in the humanitarian response in Gaza. But it's also a fact that serious allegations have been raised about some UNRWA staff. Australia welcomed UNRWA's swift response to those allegations, including terminating staff and launching an investigation, as well as its recent announcement that former French foreign minister Colonna will chair a full independent review of UNRWA. I refer you to the statement by UNRWA on 26 January which made it clear that the allegations were so serious that UNRWA had immediately terminated the contracts of some staff members. This was underlined again last week by an UNRWA spokesperson who said that they fired people on the basis of how serious the allegations are.

Australia is now working with a number of countries that are in the same position as us. We want to provide urgent humanitarian aid to people in Gaza. Collectively, we are making clear to UNRWA that it needs to demonstrate strong, transparent and accountable leadership for the international community to move forward together. We need to re-establish confidence that money is being used properly and that problems will be addressed. While this work is being done, we are temporarily pausing recently announced funding. Australia and 14 other countries temporarily paused funding as it was reasonable in these circumstances. They include Germany, Sweden, Japan and the Netherlands. Are the Greens suggesting that Australia, Germany, Sweden, Japan, the Netherlands and other donor countries should have ignored UNRWA's own actions?

Because the Greens only see this conflict as a political campaigning device, they have ignored that this government has doubled core funding to UNRWA, and their tactics are the same as those opposite. To be clear, Australia's $20 million in core annual funding has already been delivered in full this financial year; delivery of an additional $6.5 million in UNRWA's flash appeal has been paused temporarily. Since the beginning of this crisis, Australia has provided $46.5 million in humanitarian assistance, and the full amount will be delivered.

As I have said, there are two facts that we can't ignore in relation to UNRWA. They do life-saving work, but the recent allegations against their staff are grave and need to be investigated. The UN and other donors have acted on the seriousness of these allegations and are doing so in good faith. If only the Greens also acted in good faith! Instead, we know they are only looking to how they can use this crisis to whip up anger for votes. It is a really despicable way to treat such an important issue.

I move:

That the question be now put.