Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to speak to the opposition's amendment. The State of Israel continues to deny Palestinians of the right to self-determination and continues to dispossess them of their land. This injustice must be rectified in ways that allow both Palestinians and Israelis to live in peace, security and equality and to exercise self-determination as described by the UN Charter. Self-determination is central here. True self-determination must be supported by the Australian government and by this parliament for Palestinian peoples. Self-determination means you do not prescribe the end point and conclusion of the self-determined process.

We must recognise the reality that the actions of the State of Israel, the actions of its many governments, have systematically worked to render a two-state solution unachievable. We must have an Australian government which does recognise Palestinian statehood and we must have a government that supports the self-determination of Palestinian peoples. We must do so in a framework that enables that self-determination to be genuine and authentic. We must have an Australian government and a parliament that is willing to recognise that the actions of the State of Israel, both in the invasion of Gaza and before the invasion of Gaza, have continued to perpetuate a deep and profound violation of the rights of Palestinian peoples. We must have an Australian government willing to condemn and reject all forms of violence, especially against civilians, whether it's perpetrated by states, organisations or individuals, and it must be able to do that while recognising the rights of Palestinian people to resist Israeli occupation in accordance with international law. We must have an Australian government that is able to oppose all forms of racism, religious or cultural intolerance, and discrimination in Australia and internationally while rejecting the suggestion that any criticism of the State of Israel or its policies inherently constitutes antisemitism, when that in itself is an antisemitic idea.

We must have peace and justice for Palestinian peoples. That is what we here in the Greens, with like-minded members on the crossbench, will continue to work in solidarity with Palestinian peoples to achieve.