Australia politics live: Dutton attacks Albanese for including calls for ceasefire and de-escalation in motion reflecting on 7 October | Australian politics

It is the references to the death of Palestinian civilians, the calls for a ceasefire and de-escalation and the need for a two-state solution which Peter Dutton and the coalition can not support.

The coalition says the motion should only recognise what Jewish and Israeli people have experienced, given it is a commemoration of the October 7 attacks.

The motion continues:

(11) stresses the need to break the cycle of violence and supports international efforts to deescalate for a ceasefire in Gaza and in Lebanon and for lasting peace and security for Israeli, Palestinian, Lebanese and all people in the region;

(12) affirms its support for a two-state solution, a Palestinian State alongside Israel, so that Israelis and Palestinians can live securely within internationally recognised borders, as the only option to ensuring a just and enduring peace;

(13) recognises the conflict is deeply distressing for many in the Australian community;

(14) condemns all acts of hatred, division or violence, affirming that they have no place in Australia; and

(15) reaffirms:

(a) that symbols of terror and discord are unwelcome in Australia and undermine our nation’s peace and security;

(b) the undermining social cohesion and unity by stoking fear and division risks Australia’s domestic security; and

(c) the responsibility of each Australian to safeguard the harmony and unity that define our diverse society, especially in times of adversity.

This is the motion the Coalition have rejected. We will put it over a couple of posts, as it is a long one.

(1) reiterates its unequivocal condemnation of Hamas’ terror attacks on Israel which took place on 7 October 2023, in which more than 1,200 innocent Israelis were killed, the largest loss of Jewish life on any single day since the Holocaust;

(2) recognises that hundreds more innocent people were subjected to brutality and violence on that day;

(3) calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all the remaining hostages;

(4) condemns the murder of hostages and the inhumane conditions and violence, including sexual violence, that hostages have experienced;

(5) mourns with all impacted by these heinous acts;

(6) condemns antisemitism in all its forms and stands with Jewish Australians who have felt the cold shadows of antisemitism reaching into the present day;

(7) reiterates Australia’s consistent positions to call for the protection of civilian lives and adherence to international law;

(8) mourns the death of all innocent civilians, recognising the number of Palestinian civilians killed in Gaza and the catastrophic humanitarian situation;

(9) supports ongoing international efforts to provide humanitarian assistance in Gaza and Lebanon;

(10) calls for Iran to cease its destabilising actions including through terrorist organisations, the Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas, condemns Iran’s attacks on Israel and recognises Israel’s right to defend itself against these attacks;

Julian Leeser:

We have always stood with Israel, and in this side of the house, we continue to stand with Israel, because Israel is a western liberal democratic nation that believes in the rule of law, that respects human rights, including the human rights of women, of religious minorities, of LGBTI people, people not accepted by any of these terrorist organisations or by Iran for that matter.

And it is right that our foreign policy should be based on those values, and we should not sacrifice those values at any point or at any time.

And that’s why we on this side of the house cannot support the motion in [front of the house]. We wish we could. We wish we could amend the motion.

We wish we could return it to the words that the leader of the opposition had put to the prime minister over the weekend, because they were good words.

Julian Leeser:

We wanted to see a bipartisan resolution. But there’s too much difference in what this motion suggests in relation to the foreign policy of such this house.

We can’t have a ceasefire at the moment that would allow terrorist organisations that we list as terrorist organisations in our own country to regroup and reform and continue to attack innocent civilians.

We can’t have a ceasefire in this country when Iran continues to lob missiles into Israel, and the only reason that there haven’t been more casualties in Israel as a result of this is because of the Israeli defence systems.

We can’t have a ceasefire in this, in Israel, in the Middle East, when the hostages are still not returned. We can’t have a ceasefire when organisations like Hamas and Hezbollah and Iran refuse to recognise the right of the state of Israel to exist.

And we cannot be imposing a timetable in relation to a two state solution without negotiation, without full and proper negotiations on the final status issues.

And particularly at this time, to be going to the United Nations – to be making speeches which [say] we should set a timetable today in the wake of this terrorist activity, this terrorist attack that occurred 12 months ago … I think, fails to read the room.

Leeser: ‘No greater falsehood’ than Labor’s claim to have no difference to Coalition in stance on Israel

Julian Leeser speaks on the 7 October attacks and then moves to the motion and why the Coalition will not support it:

Last night, the leader of the opposition received no fewer than four standing ovations in his speech.

To the Jewish community of this country, the leader of the opposition has been heroic because he has been thoroughly clear on not only the terrible attacks that occurred in Israel, but in standing against the antisemitism in this country and continuing to stand with Israel as a western liberal democratic country in the Middle East.

Before the last election, senior Labor figures told the Jewish community, in the Jewish news that there would be no difference between labor and the coalition on Israel, on the Jewish community.

And as I’ve said, no greater falsehood has ever been told in the history of Australian politics, because even before 7 October, we saw Labor changing votes at the United Nations, Labor returning to the funding of Unrwa, an organisation that has blood on its hands from 7 October, and Labor changing the capital of Israel.

Josh Burns continues:

So I say that this today, in this place, this motion, does recognise the pain of October 7. It recognises the fact that for no excusable reason, 1000s of militants came in and ripped apart communities and traumatised the country and any and there are still over 100 hostages in the tunnels of Gaza right now, and that is causing just the most devastating pain for people right around the world, and of course, in Israel too.

And I also recognise the fact that we are all humans, that Yitzhak Rabin and many other giants of Israeli society didn’t seek war.

They sought to build peace. And those who seek to build peace were remembered kindly by history.

We have to be the peace builders too, and we have to be the people here in Australia who say that for all communities and for all Australians, you belong, you are part of the Australian society, and that we as people want to see a shared future, a shared future of people who share our humanity, our love of life, our celebration of culture and diversity and multiculturalism, and who want to see a better future for all people here in Australia, for the Israelis, the Palestinians, and all people in the region as well.

Josh Burns and Julian Leeser speak on 7 October motion

Labor MP Josh Burns and Liberal MP Julian Leeser have also spoken on the motion.

Burns spoke of what the Jewish community have been through, and says:

We are all one human race. We are all one people, and we all want to we all want to live and hand over the keys to our community and our future, to our kids of one of a world with peace and dignity. I want to see Israelis being able to live and go to work free from the threat of terror and violence. I want to see Palestinian kids grow up knowing that they have a future, too. I want to see Lebanese families being able to live comfortably.

And I know destabilising forces in the region, led by Iran, are causing just devastating impacts right across the region, and the world needs to be alive to that and honest about it, and we must be a part of the international efforts to confront that terror.

But I also know that here in Australia, we can do more to reach out to each other. And I say this as a proud Jewish Australian, the Palestinian people and the Lebanese people are not my enemy. We are all people. We all must think about the future that we need to build together.

Peter Dutton finishes his speech with further condemnation of the government for the motion it put forward. The objection is that the government motion also recognises the civilian deaths in Palestine and Lebanon and calls for a ceasefire and de-escalation in the region.

Dutton:

We have put to this prime minister a more than reasonable position, and the prime minister has rejected that position for his own political domestic advancement, and that has been recognised by millions of Australians.

And for that, the prime minister should be condemned.

It is unbelievable that this prime minister, this prime minister, departed from the precedent of the Labor party, the great right of the Labor party, people who should be speaking up, people who should be out there advocating a position as Bill Shorten is, as many people in the Labor party are able to do, but not this prime minister.

And the prime minister has taken a position today which has further diminished the Australian Labor party and is standing with the Australian public.

Dutton condemns PM for including calls for ceasefire and de-escalation in motion