Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I inform the Senate that the President has received the following letter from Senator McKim:

Pursuant to standing order 75, I give notice that today the Australian Greens propose to move "That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:

That the Senate opposes Israel's invasion of Gaza."

Is the proposal supported?

More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

With the concurrence of the Senate, the clerks will set the clock in line with informal arrangements made by the whips. I just remind senators of the standing orders. If there are any interruptions, I will be calling those senators to stop.

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

At the request of Senator McKim, I move:

That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:

That the Senate opposes Israel's invasion of Gaza.

This motion is very simple. It calls upon the Senate to oppose the state of Israel's invasion of Gaza. That is it. We are calling upon this chamber to condemn an invasion which will turn a humanitarian disaster into a humanitarian catastrophe. The reality is, right now, the state of Israel is engaged in the commission of war crimes against the Palestinian population of Gaza. Over a million children are trapped in the Gaza Strip. Forty per cent of the population of the Gaza Strip are below the age of 15. And yet we are seeing the Israeli military engage in a campaign of indiscriminate bombing of civilians, and we have seen devastating loss of civilian life. The very same compassion and commitment to honesty and to justice and to peace which has rightly moved so many to condemn the war crimes of Hamas upon innocent Israeli civilians on 7 October must now move this Senate to condemn the war crimes of the state of Israel against the people of Gaza and to oppose its impending invasion.

We are seeing hospitals bombed. We are seeing ambulances bombed. Journalists are being murdered. Health workers are being murdered. An entire section of the world, a section of the world half the size of the ACT, home to over two million people, is subject to a military siege denying them food, water, electricity and medicine, in a textbook violation of the Geneva Convention. These are war crimes, and an invasion by the state of Israel of Gaza must be opposed. International human rights organisations are uniting in their call for engagement and action by the global community. The Secretary General of Amnesty International has said, 'The cost of unreserved support for the government of Israel in this invasion, particularly the unreserved support of the United States and of the European Union, is more war crimes against civilians.' The more that we allow this to occur without calling it for what it is, the more we become complicit in the commission of these crimes.

This is an opportunity for the Senate to place itself on the right side of history. It's an opportunity, in this moment of challenge for our community, to state clearly that this chamber at least is able to find it in itself to oppose an invasion which will see children and innocent civilians subjected to even more destruction and to do so in the full knowledge that the evidence on the ground speaks clearly to what the state of Israel and its military have already committed against the communities of Gaza. We must take this moment to state clearly that we oppose this invasion. We must take this moment to state clearly that we oppose the destruction of civilian life. The Greens will continue in solidarity with the Australian Palestinian community— (Time expired)

Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm sure that every member of the Senate shares a deep concern for every innocent civilian, both in Gaza and in Israel, whose life has been put at risk by the abhorrent, barbaric acts of evil perpetrated by Hamas. Every single loss of life of an innocent civilian is a tragedy. They are tragedies that one side is determined to avoid and the other side, being Hamas, is determined to maximise in pursuit of its evil goals and ideology. Hamas has murdered 1,300 Israeli citizens as well as citizens of a number of other countries, including Australia. They have raped women, they have killed babies and small children and they have taken 200 innocent Israelis hostage.

It is a real shame that, when Israelis are murdered, the Greens have to find the first opportunity they can to criticise and condemn Israel. It seems that, for a certain segment of the far left, the expectation is that Israel must sit by and be attacked by terrorists day in and day out. When one of those attacks breaks through Israel's defences and murders over a thousand Israelis, the far left can't even allow one day of mourning for the innocent victims before they jump up to say that Israel is to blame and condemn any military response by Israel to save its own people and bring the terrorists to justice. They suggest that Israel should leave its own citizens held hostage in Gaza to the mercy of a terrorist group which has no mercy and which seeks to eradicate Israel and all of its citizens.

This motion put up by the Greens today could have condemned Hamas. It could have called for Hamas to release all of the hostages that have been taken. It could have called for action by the international community to stop the Islamic Republic of Iran funding Hamas and Hezbollah to murder Jews. It could have condemned the IRI regime and all of its proxies, who have threatened all-out war against Israel, a threat which puts every civilian in the region in danger. But, no, the Greens have chosen to oppose one of the very few options Israel has on the table, one which may—hopefully—give it a chance to save the women, the young children and the elderly being held in horrific conditions by Hamas.

Nobody wants to see war—a ground war or any other kind of war—but what exactly do the Greens want Israel to do other than capitulate to Hamas and let them keep doing as they have done? As Australians, we desperately hope never to be in a situation where our government has to come up with a plan to rescue 200 of our citizens being held hostage by the most barbaric terrorist group on the planet. We certainly hope that we will never be in the situation of having several of the worst terrorist groups on earth on our border, repeatedly trying to fire rockets and kill our citizens however they can, but that is exactly the situation that Israel is currently in, while the far left in western countries pass judgement and condemn them, even while Israel mourns the worst attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust. I point out that the action that the Greens are condemning today hasn't actually happened yet.

For many days Israel has been issuing warnings to citizens of Gaza to move away from danger areas, but Hamas has been actively stopping civilians from moving to safer areas. Why doesn't this motion that we are debating here today oppose Hamas deliberately using civilians of Gaza as human shields, as they have done for years? Hamas is the occupier of Gaza. For as long as Hamas is protected and controls Gaza then the citizens of Gaza will never be safe or free. That's what this motion that we are discussing here today could have discussed. That is what the Greens could have found within themselves to discuss in this chamber today.

We in the coalition unequivocally must condemn the motion they have put up. We condemn the Greens shamelessly playing politics with the situation that is currently playing out in the Middle East.

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the outset I want to highlight the inappropriateness in my mind of the Greens bringing this matter of urgency forward when all senators in this place had the opportunity to debate an extensive motion on the issue, including the Greens amendment, and vote on it this morning. Sadly, I'm not surprised. Shame on anyone who politicises this tragedy for their own childish political gains.

As has already been said, any loss of innocent life is a tragedy. This is an extremely alarming time not just for the people in Israel and Gaza but also for Israelis and Palestinians and their loved ones around the world and here in Australia. To date and at the last count 2,778 Palestinians have been killed, 9,700 Palestinians have been wounded, an additional 1,200 have been buried under rubble, more than 1,400 Israelis have been killed and a further 3,000 wounded. The attack on Israel also resulted in some 200 people being taken as hostages into Gaza. These are innocent civilians—the elderly, children, babies and young people enjoying a music festival. This is why this whole situation is simply devastating.

As Senator Wong stated during question time today, we urge the protection of civilian lives. Furthermore, this is not an ordinary political debate. Everyone has their own views on this and for many it is extremely personal. Every life matters. We must all never forget that. I take this opportunity to offer my sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of all civilians, both Israelis and Palestinians, who have lost their lives as a result of this conflict. We have seen a devastating loss of innocent life with the heinous attacks on Israel by the brutal terrorist group Hamas.

Far from representing the Palestinian people, Hamas undermines Palestinian needs and aspirations. We continue to call for the unconditional release of all hostages. We stand with Israel and reiterate its right to defend itself. The Australian government reiterates our call for the protection of civilian lives and the observance of international humanitarian law. The Albanese government's guiding principle has always been the pursuit of peace and progress towards a just and enduring two-state solution where Israelis and Palestinians can live within secure borders. One of the many tragedies of what Hamas has done is it has pushed any prospects for peace further from reach, undermining the legitimate aspirations and the needs of the Palestinian people themselves.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza precipitated by Hamas's actions is of serious concern and it is rapidly deteriorating. To ensure that essential humanitarian relief can reach the civilians affected by the conflict in Gaza, Australia calls for safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza and the rapid establishment of a humanitarian corridor. Australia is providing an initial $10 million in humanitarian assistance for civilians affected by the conflict in Gaza. Australia will provide $3 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross to fund urgent needs, like restoring essential services and providing medical support to the victims of the conflict. Australia will continue to monitor and assess the humanitarian situation and stands ready to provide further support. Many of us here know and have friends and/or family in these affected areas. It's important we stand together as a community during this time.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a gathering in Perth—I would rather have been there under different circumstances—organised by the Perth Hebrew Congregation, where more than 1,000 Western Australians gathered together inside the synagogue, with many more attending outside who could not fit in, to support Israel. The congregation sang the prayer Oseh Shalom, which means prayer for 'one thing above all: that for Israel, for the Jewish people and for the world that there should be peace.' Peace and empathy are what we should be calling for and striving for here, particularly in this building—not turning this horrible situation into a topic for an MPI in this place.

Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Every single day, we are waking up to scenes of utter horror and devastation in Gaza, as Israel continues its deadly and indiscriminate bombing of civilians. At least 500 people have been killed in a hospital bombing, a hospital in which many women, children, elderly and the sick were taking shelter from the deadly bombs raining down on the strip. Gaza is being strangled. Gaza is being bombed to dust. Israel is committing war crimes and collective punishment in plain sight. The hypocrisy of Western governments is also in plain sight. World leaders are silently watching this catastrophe unfold. They should hang their heads in shame forever.

Australia's foreign minister keeps saying 'all civilian lives matter' but then refuses to condemn Israel for its war crimes. You refuse to call for a stop to the war on Gaza. You refuse to call for an end to the illegal occupation of Palestine. The Labor Party changed its policy just a few months ago to call Israel's settlements in the West Bank 'illegal' and to accept that the territories were occupied. One would think that, after that, it would be a bit more than window-dressing. But, no, we keep hearing these weasel words over and over, without any action on justice for Palestinians.

Remove your colonial blinkers for one minute and have a look at what the truth is. The truth is this: Palestinians have been under brutal Israeli oppression for 75 years. Israel is a nuclear colonial state, armed to the teeth with billions upon billions of dollars in foreign aid, and the people in Gaza are a colonised and besieged people, many of whom are refugees—mostly children with no rights, no land and nowhere to go.

Even war has rules, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has said, as Israel is bombing civilians en masse and using white phosphorus. Medecins Sans Frontieres says: 'Gaza is being flattened. "Unprecedented" doesn't even cover the medical humanitarian impact of Israel's assault on Gaza.' Red Cross says, 'Mass casualties out of Gaza are unlike anything seen in recent years'. The Commissioner-General of UNRWA released a heartbreaking statement, as they are no longer able to provide humanitarian assistance in Gaza. 'Gaza is being strangled, and it seems that the world right now has lost its humanity,' he said. The death toll is now over 3,000 people, and thousands more are injured, with more than half of those killed by Israel and 52 per cent of them women and children. This is excluding the hundreds killed by Israel in the hospital bombing.

As the government and those opposite continue to shield the apartheid state of Israel from all accountability, we see through your lies. We see through your hypocrisy. Which landmarks are being lit up now when Gazan civilians are dying in their thousands, including hundreds of children? Let me tell you: there is no flag or landmark large enough to cover the shame of your silence as innocent civilians are killed. There is no landmark large enough to shield those in here supporting the war crimes of Israel. To quote my courageous friend Randa Abdel-Fattah, author and academic:

Still, there will come a day when this moment will be marked in history books as the shameful rallying of imperial, settler colonial states behind a violent, racist, apartheid settler colony regime, one that is founded and sustained on the domination and oppression of the Indigenous Palestinian people of the land.

The people are with Palestine. The world over, tens of thousands are marching, even in the face of police intimidation. They are showing their love, solidarity and care for Palestinians. So, to my Palestinian brothers and sisters, I say: remember, you are not alone. There will come a time when there will be peace, and, when that time comes, history will question not just the silence but the aiding and abetting of war crimes and collective punishment. History will not forget the cheerleaders of war and the cheerleaders of Israel. For violence to end and peace to prevail, there has to be justice, and, for that justice, there must be an end to the siege and blockade of Gaza. There must be an end to Israel's illegal occupation and oppression. So stop the bombs, stop the war on Gaza and free Palestine.

David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today the Greens ask this Senate to adopt a simple motion: that the Senate opposes Israel's invasion of Gaza. We have heard from the foreign affairs minister statements that she and the Labor government want to see an end to civilian deaths. We've heard statements from Labor senators that every civilian death is a tragedy. How could you not, then, support a motion that calls for an end to the war that is causing those deaths? How could you not support a motion that calls for an end to the siege and the war on Gaza? How could you not support that just hours after a bomb fell from the sky and killed hundreds and hundreds of innocent Palestinian civilians, including medics, women and children? How could you not support this motion? How could you step from this chamber and pretend you have any solidarity with the Palestinian diaspora in this country or around the world? You could not.

I want to put on the record, at the request of the Palestinian community here, some of the voices of Palestinians in Australia, around the world and in Gaza. It's just some of the cries for peace and for balance in this place. Baha Hilu, a Palestinian cultural and political events organiser in Beit Sahour says:

We are survivors of Israeli apartheid. It is applied to the best of us and to the worst of us …We are forced into despair to the point where death is more merciful than life.

Abu Aish, a 58-year-old Gazan rescue worker, said:

I'm terrified all the time, of course I am. I'm human … I see the worst things you can imagine.'

In this country, Samah Sabawi has said this: 'I was born in that hospital. It's now a massacre site—500 patients, medics, families, babies, people, humans killed. Tell me this is not a war crime.' Lana Tatour, a Palestinian-Australian academic, said this: 'Israel killed medical teams, patients and civilians seeking shelter in the hospital. Does the West have a red line when it comes to Israel?'

Well, the red line is here. The red line is this motion. The red line is a clear statement that Palestinian lives matter and, if you believe that Palestinian lives matter, you must support an end to the bombing. You must support an end to the collective punishment of Palestinians—the removal of water, food and basic medicine. You must oppose an aggressive military that says to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians that they must flee their homes or they will be killed, when they have nowhere to flee. You must support the statements from the World Health Organization, which says the Israeli military's direction to hospitals to evacuate is a death sentence for the patients. Then we see, within hours of that statement from the WHO, the appalling, brutal bombing of a crowded Gazan hospital, with hundreds of lives lost.

Those who oppose this motion oppose peace. Those who oppose this motion don't believe that Palestinian lives matter. Let's for once step outside the prism that this place has put itself in when it comes to Gaza and Palestine and support the motion and clearly state that Palestinian lives matter, that the occupation is deeply offensive and that we must have peace with justice.

Penny Allman-Payne (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak today with a deep sense of pain for the innocent civilians who have lost their lives in Gaza and Israel. No civilian should ever be the target of the violence of war. The horrific attack on Israel by Hamas has rightly moved all of us to voice our compassion and solidarity with the people of Israel and to decry this senseless and indefensible brutality.

But we must be consistent in our compassion and we must be consistent in calling out war crimes—because, make no mistake, that is exactly what is happening in Gaza, as we speak. Airstrikes on hospitals and refugee camps are abhorrent crimes against humanity that no nation committed to peace and justice can support. The Greens share in the grief and horror of this unfolding tragedy. The Australian government must condemn in the strongest terms this utter disregard for the sanctity of human life and demand an immediate end to this senseless carnage.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the motion moved by Senator McKim be agreed to.