Fraser Anning (Queensland, Katter's Australian Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Pursuant to contingent notice, I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent me from moving a motion that general business notice of motion no. 1141 may be moved immediately and determined without amendment or debate.

I moved this motion in response to the indications by the Prime Minister that the Australian government intends to move the Australian Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and thus recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Israel is the land promised to the Jewish people by God. Despite conquests and expulsions of the Jews by tyrants since the age of Abraham, there has never been a time when there were not Jews living in Israel. For over 3,000 years the capital of that land has been Jerusalem. Since it is good enough for God, it seems to me that it should be good enough for the Australian government to recognise this fact and acknowledge it by moving our embassy to West Jerusalem—apparently not so.

It was only two months ago that I moved a motion here in this Senate to move the embassy to Jerusalem, and the government sided with Labor and the Greens to unanimously vote against my motion. But now, only days away from a by-election in Wentworth—an electorate with quite a large Jewish community—the Prime Minister has apparently experienced his own Damascene conversion and claims to be now considering moving the embassy. Senators and the Australian people are entitled to be sceptical about the sincerity of this commitment given the past history of the Turnbull-Morrison government in acknowledging and kowtowing to the Palestinian authority and various other Muslim dictators. This is why I thought it appropriate to test the support for this proposed commitment with this motion. Given the fact that my motion has been opposed, senators can now draw their own conclusion as to the sincerity of the government's position.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In line with the government's longstanding view, motions that cannot be debated or amended should not deal with complex foreign policy matters. Australia is a longstanding strong supporter of a durable and resilient two-state solution in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. The government has announced that it will examine the merits of moving Australia's embassy to West Jerusalem in the context of our support for that two-state solution.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the motion moved by Senator Anning to suspend standing orders be agreed to.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I've had a number of requests that, due to the change in the program, a number of senators missed providing notices at item 10, so, firstly, with the agreement of the Senate, I will ask that the Table Office accept motions lodged up until this point and, secondly, if any senators now wish to rise to deal with these matters, I will deal with them. Does the Senate concur? I take it that it does.