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

Thank you to Senator Steele-John for the question. As the senator knows—and he has advocated for sanctions on many people and many countries over these last couple of years, and I've given him the same answer every time—as is longstanding practice, we do not speculate on sanctions. What I would say, however, is that I have also made clear, unlike the opposition, our continued support for international law and our support for the international tribunals of the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. We think those are the appropriate tribunals for assuring the observance of relevant international law.

This is, and we have seen it today in our parliament, a conflict which has seen 40,000-plus Palestinians—men, women and children—die. It is a conflict that commenced on 7 October, with the greatest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust. It is a conflict which has touched people deeply across this country. It has touched all of us deeply. It is distressing. What I would say to you, Senator, and to all senators is what I said in the statement at the outset: we have an obligation in this place to try and ensure that we work for peace in the Middle East and that we do not seek to bring the conflict here. That is an obligation upon everybody in this place. We will continue to do all that we can to work for peace in the Middle East, for both Palestinians and Israelis.