Tuesday, 17 October 2023

Motions

Middle East conflict

Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:05): I move:

That this house:

(1) unequivocally condemns the attacks on Israel by Hamas, which are the heinous acts of terrorists, and have encompassed the targeting and murder of civilians, including women and children, the taking of hostages, and indiscriminate rocket fire;

(2) stands with Israel and recognises its inherent right to defend itself;

(3) condemns antisemitism and recognises that generations of Jewish people have been subjected to this hateful prejudice;

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

(5) recognises that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people, nor their legitimate needs and aspirations;

(6) acknowledges the devastating loss of Israeli and Palestinian life and that innocent civilians on all sides are suffering as a result of the attacks by Hamas and the subsequent conflict;

(7) supports justice and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians alike;

(8) acknowledges what has unfolded is deeply distressing for many in the Victorian community, close to the heart of many, and it is important that we maintain respect for each other here at home as people express their views;

(9) condemns all forms of hate speech and violent extremist activity, including antisemitism and Islamophobia;

(10) recognises an attack on any religion is an attack on all religions and that we all share a responsibility to unite, condemn and defeat such an attack on our common values and way of life; and

(11) affirms in the strongest possible terms that hateful prejudice has no place in Victoria.

I would just like to make a few remarks on the behalf of the government. I would firstly acknowledge the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister as well as the foreign minister, who have made remarks that appropriately reflect the current situation and Australia’s national response. I personally want to send my heartfelt sympathies to Israel and also the Victorian Jewish community for the horrific events and atrocities that occurred on Saturday 7 October, a day that will live in the nightmares of so many for so long.

It is a beautiful custom of Jewish life that they wish people in mourning long life, and from the bottom of my heart I wish Jewish friends a long life too. Their resilience sets an example to all of us. I think there is no greater illustration of the preciousness of life than our beautiful, now elderly Holocaust survivors, whose blessed presence in our community and gifts they give the state of Victoria are compelling proof that the aims of the Holocaust failed.

The terror attacks on 7 October will undoubtedly impact Israelis and Palestinians and all those who care about them in profound ways in the days and weeks to come. What we saw was a senseless use of terror and violence calculated to do exactly what it did: shock and horrify the people of Israel and all around the world. We use words in this chamber to help craft the laws of the land, to persuade each other and sometimes to leave a historical record about what we did, what we thought and what we said about it and each other, but there are no words that can do justice to the horror of what Hamas did on that day and has done since. We know that Hamas does not represent the legitimate will of the Palestinian people and their desire to live their lives with security, justice and prosperity. Hamas’s own charter makes its extremist and genocidal agenda crystal clear. It is why they are a proscribed terrorist organisation under Australian law.

I do not wish to catalogue individual abominations, but I will say this: no child should ever have to witness their parents being murdered, and no parent should ever have to witness their child being murdered. The taking of what we now believe to be 199 hostages and the indiscriminate and brutal murder of 1400 civilians are beyond barbaric. As a community we must condemn these actions in the strongest possible terms. Tragically, they resulted in the largest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust. That alone is sobering and shocking. For those of us who are not Jewish, it is hard to understand the trauma that this provokes for those in our communities who still live with the shadow of the Holocaust. Simply put, there are no justifications for Hamas’s actions. I hope the children, women and men taken hostage are returned to the loving embrace of their families as quickly as possible.

Today through this motion we are grieving, along with many communities. Our state has a strong relationship with Israel, and many Victorians, particularly from our vibrant Jewish community, have deep, unbreakable ties to Israel. Whether it is families or friends who have been impacted directly or a friend or loved one that has been called up for service, this is impacting so many people in the Victorian community. There will also be grief and fear for Victorians who have relatives and friends living in Gaza, and our hearts go out to them for the grief and uncertainty that they are experiencing. Many Victorians will be mourning the outbreak of further violence in the Middle East, something that many in the region unfortunately know all too well.

It is worth emphasising the distinction made by the Prime Minister yesterday: Hamas is the enemy, not the Palestinian people. Victoria is a friend to the Palestinian people. I can only imagine the pain that families are going through in Israel and Gaza. They simply want to raise and provide for their families, live in peace and have security, without being terrorised by an extremist regime. Living in a democracy, we have an obligation to ensure that we encourage civil dialogue and protect the sanctity of freedom of expression and religion, free from all forms of discrimination. As the US Secretary of State noted:

… democracies distinguish ourselves from terrorists by striving for a different standard – even when it’s difficult – and holding ourselves to account when we fall short. Our humanity – the value that we place on human life and human dignity – that’s what makes us who we are. And we count them among our greatest strengths.

That is why as a government we will continue to oppose hate speech in any form and outlaw it in its various vile forms. There is absolutely no room in our state for antisemitism or Islamophobia of any kind. That is why our government plans to strengthen civil and criminal anti-hate laws to effectively protect more Victorians. These vile actions divide our community, and they tear at the fabric of our unity. These incidents are designed to terrify and intimidate, and there is a straight line between hateful prejudice, hateful expressions in speech and hateful war crimes of the kind we saw on 7 October that so shocked the world. Our government will continue to have zero tolerance for it and call it out.

Victoria’s strength is our diversity and our ability to live peacefully side by side no matter our political or religious beliefs. We must support those who are hurting today because of the actions of Hamas, both in Israel and in Gaza, and all those who care about them here. We must come together, consistently apply our values here and abroad and focus on our unity as a state and as a people. We are so blessed and so lucky to live in peace in Victoria – not without our share of injustices that require action, but with abundant resources and growing determination to address them in unity.

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:13): I want to firstly thank the government for working with my colleague David Southwick on this important motion that is being debated before the house, and the Liberals and Nationals give it their full support. The motion:

That this house:

(1) unequivocally condemns the attacks on Israel by Hamas, which are the heinous acts of terrorists, and have encompassed the targeting and murder of civilians, including women and children, the taking of hostages, and indiscriminate rocket fire;

(2) stands with Israel and recognises its inherent right to defend itself;

(3) condemns antisemitism and recognises that generations of Jewish people have been subjected to this hateful prejudice;

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

(5) recognises that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people, nor their legitimate needs and aspirations;

(6) acknowledges the devastating loss of Israeli and Palestinian life and that innocent civilians on all sides are suffering as a result of the attacks by Hamas and the subsequent conflict;

(7) supports justice and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians alike;

(8) acknowledges what has unfolded is deeply distressing for many in the Victorian community, close to the heart of many, and it is important that we maintain respect for each other here at home as people express their views;

(9) condemns all forms of hate speech and violent extremist activity, including antisemitism and Islamophobia;

(10) recognises an attack on any religion is an attack on all religions and that we all share a responsibility to unite, condemn and defeat such an attack on our common values and way of life; and

(11) affirms in the strongest possible terms that hateful prejudice has no place in Victoria.

Those points in the motion are extremely important. My electorate of Southern Metropolitan Region has the largest Jewish community in Australia, and far too many have family and friends directly impacted by the atrocities of the terrorist organisation Hamas. What many are going through I cannot begin to imagine, and my heart goes out to them all. What I have seen from the Victorian Jewish community has been a tremendous outpouring of support, love, hope and resilience. Last week I joined thousands of Jews and non-Jews alike supporting the Jewish community and Israel.

The horrific terrorist attacks that were committed by Hamas on Israel are beyond comprehension, and so many innocent lives more broadly in the region have now also been caught up in this following these brutal attacks. But the terrorist attacks were beyond brutal; they were barbaric. The terrorist attacks have shocked the world. Hamas terrorists went door to door and committed acts of carnage that showed that nobody was spared from the barbarity, even in the sanctity of their own homes – the massacre of babies, the lining up of children with their hands tied behind their backs and being set on fire, the kidnapping of children. The reports of torture are heartbreaking and too hideous to contemplate. Young people attending a music festival were literally herded up and murdered, raped and kidnapped – women then paraded by the terrorists in the streets of Gaza, all of their dignity stripped away whilst the terrorists and their supporters cheered on the violence. Family members found videos of the murders of their loved ones on the internet, posted and shared by the terrorists and their sympathisers, further demonstrating their shameless disregard for humanity. A 90-year-old woman who had survived the Holocaust, the genocide of millions of Jews in World War II by the Nazis that the world can never forget, had a gun held to her head and was murdered. The list of these atrocities goes on and on.

On that day, 7 October, the Hamas terrorists murdered more than 1300 people, the greatest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust. It is pure evil. These terror attacks must be condemned. Israel has a right to keep their citizens safe and must be supported. That support must be unwavering, and I am pleased to see the outpouring of support from world and community leaders who believe in the right for Israel to defend itself and its citizens.

While thousands of kilometres away Hamas’s attack on Israel is being felt heavily, it is being felt heavily in our local Jewish community too. Our citizens should be able to feel safe, but sadly many within the Jewish community do not. Jewish children have to walk past armed guards just to go to school and play community sport. Families do not feel comfortable walking home from synagogue on the Sabbath and hide their Jewish identity in public out of fear for their safety. Our Jewish community deserves to feel safe in their own homes, in their own communities, just as the people of Israel deserve to.

In Victoria we cherish the rights of individuals, whatever their religion, sexual orientation or gender. These terrorists do not. They have no regard for the dignity and rights of men and women, young and old. These terrorists must be condemned by this Parliament. Their actions cannot be tolerated, nor should they. I want to say again my thoughts are with all those that are caught up with these atrocities, with our Jewish community and the people of Israel. I want them to know that this Parliament stands with them in these dark and difficult times. I commend the motion to the house.

Samantha RATNAM (Northern Metropolitan) (12:19): On behalf of the Victorian Greens in this place I rise to contribute to the motion brought before the house. We are seeing a catastrophic humanitarian crisis unfold as a result of the escalating conflict between Israel and Palestine. The Greens have been unequivocal in our condemnation of acts of brutality and violence against all civilians. They are the ones being made to pay the ultimate price for the aggression, war and politics of division. We strongly condemn the premeditated targeting of Israeli civilians by Hamas. We also condemn the bombing of Palestinian civilians in response by the state of Israel, in breach of humanitarian law – a form of collective vengeance that sees civilians being starved of water, power, medicines and other essential supplies for life. There is equal devastation and tragedy for their families and for us all, whether it is innocent Israeli children or Palestinian children or Jewish lives or Muslim lives that have now ended through acts of violence. To see images of children being injured and held by rescuers after their parents have been killed, to see men devastated, having lost eight family members in one attack, the majority being children, and to see women lined up to leave areas that have been targeted only to be told that they cannot leave should shatter all of our hearts.

In our own nation and state, in response to this tragedy, we must unite at this painful time to call out antisemitism and Islamophobia and all forms of prejudice and hatred. We must mourn all victims. We must also use this grief not to encourage yet more violence and division but to work entirely towards the end of all hostility and killing and to try to bring about a lasting peace. That process starts with an immediate ceasefire between the state of Israel and Hamas, and all sides must comply with international humanitarian law. The context of this escalating conflict cannot be ignored. For there to be peace there must be an end to the state of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories and no longer the denial of universal rights of nationality and citizenship to Palestinian peoples. Following a ceasefire there must be a redoubling of international efforts to negotiate an end of the occupation, to finally end this conflict and to establish a just and long-lasting peace for both Israel and Palestine.

The Greens support many aspects of the motion before the house today. In fact we support most of them. But we cannot support statements that could be used as code for nations to have a green light to break international humanitarian law and attack civilians. Therefore the Greens are seeking to amend part (2) of this motion, and I am happy for my amendment to be circulated now. I move:

Omit all words and expressions in paragraph (2) and replace them with:

‘(2) condemns war crimes perpetrated by the state of Israel, including the bombing of Palestinian civilians and calls for an immediate ceasefire between all parties and an end to the war on Gaza, recognising also that for there to be peace there must be an end to the state of Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories;’.

The looming invasion of Gaza will turn a humanitarian disaster into a humanitarian catastrophe. We grieve with the Israelis and Palestinians who have lost loved ones, and we must all work now to stop further bloodshed. One of the Greens’ foundational pillars is peace and non-violence, because violence must not beget greater violence. Acts of vengeance are not acts of justice and only set back the peace movement further. The Greens did not support the United States’ invasion of Iraq after the tragedy of September 11, however much it was hurting and grieving, so nor will we support Israel’s invasion of Palestine today. Instead of backing the invasion, Australia should be part of an international push for peace and de-escalation, which means an immediate ceasefire, an end to the invasion of Gaza and holding to account those who have committed war crimes. Nothing can justify the violence we have seen over the last week. The grief of communities across the world grows daily because of the actions that Hamas and the Israeli state have taken against each other’s civilian communities. We can never forget that the goal must always be lasting and just peace for both Israelis and Palestinians.

I would just like to speak briefly to the procedural motion too. We have been placed in an almost impossible position by the procedure put before the house today, whereby if we oppose the motion, if it is not amended – if our amendment is not successful and therefore we are not in a position to support the unamended motion – we are denied the ability to observe a minute’s silence in the chamber to commemorate the victims. Therefore, should our amendment fail and the Greens are therefore not in a position to support the motion, the Greens will be observing a minute’s silence for all victims of this war outside the chamber, as we cannot support this motion in its unamended form.

Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:25): I rise to condemn in the strongest possible terms the recent attacks on the state of Israel beginning on 7 October by terrorist organisation Hamas. On behalf of the government in this place I seek to express my deepest condolences to the people of Israel, particularly the families and friends of victims but also the Israeli community at large, of course within Israel but also the diaspora spread across the world, including here at home. I also express my deepest condolences to all innocent people, particularly the families and friends of victims who have been impacted by this most egregious situation right across the region and beyond.

In 2016 I had the privilege of travelling to Israel. From Jerusalem to Tel Aviv-Jaffa, from the Golan Heights to Erez and Sderot, we traversed a country one-seventh the size of Victoria. At that time I was struck by the strength, resilience, grace and generosity – the dignity – of the Israeli people. It was all the more remarkable when I considered that they live on a small patch of land where almost all of their neighbours want to push them, the only real democracy in the Middle East, into the Mediterranean Sea. Even in Sderot, a place where you could hear militants – terrorists – practising their drills over the other side of the walls, a place where most homes and every public children’s playground have a bomb shelter built into them, a place where we were told ‘When the siren goes off you have 15 seconds to take cover from a rocket’ and a place where the collection of shrapnel reveals the numerous and varied threats from foreign borders because the pieces found on the ground are decorated with the enemy’s branding, the people were calm and defiant. Perhaps their calmness, their defiance, was influenced by the knowledge of the state’s investment in their security. Our visit to the area’s checkpoint really emphasised this investment – not simply monetary investment but investment in systems, in technology, in armoury, in the Israel Defense Forces, in people.

So when I woke on Sunday 8 October to the news that the area’s checkpoint had been breached, I was shocked. When I learned that beautiful young people exercising their freedoms and celebrating their youth at a music festival in Sderot had been brutally murdered and kidnapped by terrorists, I was horrified. The images of young people literally running for their lives across the desert were chilling. When I learned that across Israel, from land, sea and air, terrorists were brutally, barbarically attacking, raping, kidnapping, murdering Israelis, often targeting the most vulnerable – children and their mothers, the elderly, the sick – I was truly horrified. Indeed the pure acts of evil that have been inflicted on Israelis this week remind us of the atrocities of the Holocaust – atrocities that Western democracies have consistently denounced, atrocities that Western democracies have agreed should never be replayed. Indeed it was this commitment which led to the creation of the state of Israel in the first place ‍– a state where democratic freedoms and human rights, including freedom of religion, would be upheld.

Key to living a fulfilling, healthy and happy life is the fundamental freedom to practise what you believe in, and for many people in Israel, both of Jewish faith but also of other faiths, this means freedom of religion. Whilst Israel is a Jewish state, civilians of every faith live side by side. They practise their faith and traditions in some of the world’s most religiously significant sites alongside each other. In Jerusalem in particular I was struck by the way in which Jewish, Islamic and Christian quarters exist side by side. They do so not necessarily without incident, but certainly they coexist. Indeed some of the greatest challenges are within the religions themselves.

Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are multicultural, multifaith cities protected by democracy. This is not the vision of Hamas. Hamas is undeniably a terrorist organisation. It is considered as such by the United Nations. It is considered as such by the Australian government. We should not naively buy into the argument that Hamas has been frustrated by the conservative Israeli government and that the attack of 7 October was a show of strength in an attempt to precipitate negotiation between Palestine and Israel. We should not naively buy into the argument that Hamas supports the negotiation of a two-state solution. Hamas hates people of Jewish faith, of any faith other than Islam, in Israel, in Palestine and throughout the world, and it is committed to their annihilation. Hamas as evidenced by its own charter does not seek a negotiated peace settlement with Israel. Hamas seeks the obliteration of Israel. With sheer unadulterated terror Hamas, in the name of Palestine, using Palestinian civilians as human shields, seeks to overrun the democratic state of Israel. From within the Palestinian territories Hamas has hidden behind innocent civilians and risen in opposition to a peaceful settlement of a two-state solution. Hamas is supported by other terrorist organisations, like Hezbollah, and in turn is supported by other brutal regimes, like that of Iran, and to sympathise with Hamas is to sympathise with terrorists.

When democracy is overrun, fundamental human rights are denied, from the right to life, liberty and the security of person to the right to freedom of religion. Democratic countries around the world, including Australia, have an obligation to promote and to protect democracies and their associated freedoms.

Sadly, tragically, this means that Israel finds itself on the precipice of a disastrous war with untold humanitarian disaster. This war of course must be conducted in accordance with international law, and it must include a humanitarian response. The United Nations declaration of human rights provides that everyone is entitled to all of the rights and freedoms set out in the declaration without distinction of any kind, including race, religion or political opinion, and that no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs.

All life is precious. In this moment, as Minister for Children and as a mother, I am concerned for all the children and families caught in conflict. I am concerned for all children and families across the region, particularly the innocent children and families of Gaza being used by the terrorists Hamas as human shields, and I am of course concerned for those children and families of the state of Israel, who ordinarily live a day-to-day existence not so very different from the children and families of Melbourne.

Indeed it should be said that as leaders in our own multicultural, multifaith community, we have an obligation to recognise that global events can impact on our local community in a profound way. The terrorist attack on Israel and the subsequent events over the past 10 days have been devastating for our Israeli and Jewish communities here at home. Many in our community have family and friends in Israel who have been brutally attacked, raped, kidnapped or murdered. Many are reeling in the unknown. The whole of our Israeli and Jewish community feels under siege. They are grieving in solidarity. Further, in acknowledging that Hamas does not reflect the whole of the Palestinian population in Gaza, nor does it here in Australia. So many Palestinian Australians are also alarmed and anxious as they view events unfolding from the other side of the world, wondering what the future holds for them and their family and friends.

Importantly, it must also be recognised that much of the Middle Eastern community in Australia, including the Kurdish community, the Iranian community and the Syrian community, have come here in pursuit of democratic freedoms, particularly religious and political freedoms. Many Middle Eastern Australians have fled brutal regimes and terrorists. Many can never go back. The events unfolding in Israel and Gaza and which threaten the entire Middle East are deeply disturbing for these communities also.

As Victorians we value that our democracy provides for a multicultural, multifaith community. We must embrace our neighbours, and we must support our communities in a spirit of brotherhood, because as the opening words of the United Nations declaration of human rights says:

… recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world …

David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:34): I rise, as many others in this chamber have, to strongly support this motion and do so with a heavy heart, as so many of us have, as we have seen some of the most shocking images come across our television screens in recent days. The invasion of Israel by Hamas, a terrorist organisation, I think shocked so many people around the world.

The images of Israeli women, children, families, grandparents, the terrible images of the music festival ‍– all of those point to the clear terrorist intent of Hamas as it attacked Israeli citizens for no particular reason on this occasion, just a particular choice of a religious holiday and a decision to launch what can only be called a terrorist attack in the terms of the definition of ‘terrorism’, which is to create that fear, that loathing, that terrible concern in the audience which it is intended to intimidate. The failure of many in our community and more worldwide to unreservedly point to the terrible nature of this and unreservedly condemn what has occurred is I think a concern.

The motion calls for the unequivocal condemnation of the attacks on Israel by Hamas – and I support that – which are the heinous acts of terrorists, and I think that word ‘terrorist’ is very, very important. It does encompass the targeting and murder of civilians, including women and children, and the taking of hostages. I do stand with Israel, and I do recognise its inherent right to defend itself. I was proud to attend Caulfield Park the other night with more than 7000 people and stand with Jewish community members to ensure that a very strong demonstration was made of the solidarity of people indeed on both sides of this chamber – and I make that point most assuredly; I was pleased to see so many Labor people there as well as Liberals – strongly supporting, as Ms Crozier said, those many Jewish community members that are such a significant part of the community in Southern Metro and so much a part of the community in Melbourne.

I do call for the unconditional release of the hostages, but I do think it is important to recognise the strong distinction between the Palestinian people on the one hand and Hamas on the other. Hamas is a group of overlords in effect in the Gaza Strip area. They have enormous power, and they intimidate many of the local Palestinian community, so the Palestinian community cannot be seen as being reflected in Hamas and its views and decisions. I know so many in the broader world community want to see a resolution of the longstanding conflicts in this region, and I too want to see that. We do support justice and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians alike, and we do acknowledge the devastating loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives and the innocent civilians on all sides who are suffering.

We do acknowledge – and I think it is important to put these points on the record – the deep distress that many have felt around the world and in the Victorian community. But there is an unfortunate tone of speech that is alive through this process, and I think it is incumbent on us all to push back and to call it out where the opportunity occurs. I do, as paragraph (10) in this motion points out, recognise an attack on any religion is an attack on all religions, and I do affirm in the strongest possible terms that hateful prejudice has no place in Victoria. Hamas is, in Australia and worldwide, a recognised terrorist organisation, and what it has done is an act of terrorism.

I think the Victorian Jewish community deserves the support of everyone in this Parliament in the strongest and clearest possible terms. We have to work hard in a multicultural community to make sure that matters of this nature do not disrupt our multicultural community, but we do have to recognise very clearly that it is Hamas that has initiated this. It is Hamas that has taken these extraordinary steps on a Jewish holiday just a few days ago. Israel does have a right to step up and protect itself and its people, and if we were in that situation, make no mistake, Victoria, Australia, would be stepping forward to protect our people. In that sense I am strongly with the Israeli community.

I do want to say something about the amendment moved by the Greens. I think it is unfortunate in this circumstance. I am not going to read it, but I think it is misplaced and I think we should clearly oppose it. I think the motion that has been moved, with the opposition’s support, by the government is the right motion, and I think that this amendment is deeply unfortunate. I think it is a divisive amendment, and I think that it is not focused on ensuring the fairest outcome given the need to recognise that Hamas is a terrorist organisation. I do not think any of us would have any truck with this organisation, and I do not think we should have any truck with this organisation.

I do want to say that Israel in its immediate vicinity is the only true democracy. It is surrounded by very difficult neighbours in many circumstances, many of them with terrorist groups within their midst, and I think the Victorian community will have enormous sympathy for and focus on supporting the Israeli people at this point of difficulty and challenge. I know many in my electorate and Ms Crozier’s electorate have family and friends who are in Israel now and have great fear for them, and I do not think that we can discount these points. I think that we need to step up and support them at this difficult time.

David LIMBRICK (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:43): I also rise to speak on this motion. I will be supporting it, although I do have some problems with the motion as put, which I will get to in a minute. But firstly I would like to express my sincere condolences to, on the Israel side, the civilians who have been effectively caught up in a terror attack and have lost their lives. My heart goes out to them. The images, as others have said, that have gone out in the past week have been absolutely horrific. Also, I would like to express my condolences for the innocent civilians who live in Gaza, who suffer under a brutal regime. They also are suffering badly at the moment, and my heart goes out to them – my condolences to the innocents that are undoubtedly being hurt there.

With regard to the motion, I will start with something about it that I like. Point (5) talks about the difference between Hamas and the Palestinian people. Something that libertarians recognise is that the government and the people are two different entities. The government rules over the people. The people are not the government, even though sometimes we mistake them in our language. We say ‘We should do this’ when what we are really talking about is ‘The government should do this’.

In Western countries we are fortunate in that we have many protections against the worst excesses of the state. In the United States they have the Bill of Rights, which does not really set out things for the government to do; it sets out things that the government should not do. It restricts their power, to protect rights. In Australia we do not have protections that are as hard, but we do have the Victorian charter of human rights, and we have some restrictions so that lawmakers must at least consider these rights when performing their duties and their actions and making laws. But not everyone throughout the world is fortunate enough to live in a state where those protections exist. Unfortunately for the Palestinians who live in Gaza, they live under Hamas. If we look at Hamas, if we look at their charter, which states their objectives, their objectives are genocidal. Their tactics are murderous, and they are brutal rulers. So I agree with others in the chamber that Hamas is an awful organisation, and those that suffer under their rule we should have sympathy with.

Now to some of the things that I am concerned with in this motion. I would like to point out that item (9) talks about hate speech. Hate speech is a nebulous concept. Indeed many discussions that I consider are well within the realms of civilised debate would be considered by others to be hate speech, so I am a bit concerned about putting something so ill defined in there. Item (10) says: ‘recognises an attack on any religion is an attack on all religions’. I also take issue with this, firstly, because it is plainly untrue – an attack on one religion is an attack on one religion. I am unsure of the meaning of ‘attack’ here. If the meaning of ‘attack’ is to criticise, then criticising religious extremism is exactly what we should be doing. In fact in the Western world we must remember history. Liberal democracies were born from attacking the overarching religion of the day, which brought us out of the Dark Ages and into the Enlightenment. That was due to an attack on our overarching religion, where we had the separation of church and state and those sorts of things – because people had the courage to stand up against religious extremism.

One thing that really concerns me, though, is how we respond in Western countries. As has been said, we are meant to value peace and liberty and these sorts of things. The thing that made me become a libertarian in the first place was our response to the September 11 attacks and the subsequent Iraq War. In my view if Western societies are going to stand strong, we must defend our liberty, not crush it. Because what happened after those terror attacks was we ramped up the controls on our own population; we restricted our liberties within Western democracies. That is doing exactly what the terrorists want. The terrorists want to provoke a reaction within the Western world so that we will restrict liberties. I note that in New South Wales they have already started doing this: they are talking about banning protests. We must always be vigilant to not let the government of the day in any state or jurisdiction overreact to what is happening. We must be mindful of that and stand in defence of freedom, because this is what those who hate freedom – terrorists – hate the most: people who regardless of the awful, heinous crimes that are committed stand firm in defence of liberal democracy and in defence of freedom in our own country. On that, I would like to finish.

Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12:49): Over the last week we have seen some of the most distressing scenes of violence in a part of the world that is tragically no stranger to violence. The taking of hostages by Hamas has deeply shocked the world, and I join in calling for the immediate release of these innocent civilians. I condemn the horrific acts by Hamas on Israeli civilians, where thousands were killed and injured. The acts of violence perpetrated by Hamas are abhorrent, and the world has rightly condemned these acts and called them out for what they are: acts of terror. The impact of these attacks has been felt so deeply by the Jewish community in Victoria and indeed Jewish communities right around the globe.

I also want to acknowledge the ongoing impact this conflict has and will continue to have on not just innocent civilians in Israel and Gaza but so many people in the Victorian community. Whether they are Palestinian or Israeli, Jewish or Muslim, many Victorians have family and friends impacted by these violent and distressing events. My heart goes out to the many, many people in our community deeply distressed for the safety and wellbeing of loved ones in Israel, in Gaza and even in the West Bank. Victoria’s Jewish and Palestinian communities are mourning. It is estimated that more than 3000 Israeli and Palestinian civilians have already been killed and over 15,000 injured in Gaza, Israel and the West Bank since those horrible Hamas attacks just a week or so ago.

It must be said that a humanitarian disaster is unfolding in Gaza before our eyes. It is estimated that 1 million Palestinians have been displaced in the first seven days of the conflict, according to the United Nations. This is not just felt by people in Israel, Gaza and the region, this is felt by Victorians. It is for these reasons that over the coming weeks, or maybe even months, it is so important that we stand in solidarity with every member of our community who is impacted by this conflict as Victorians. The impact and trauma of conflict like this is real. We know the adverse impact overseas conflicts and crises can have on Victoria’s multicultural communities, and we know that it can influence the social cohesion of our own proudly multicultural society. We have already seen some horrendous events unfold in the wake of this conflict. Jewish and Palestinian Victorians are experiencing an increase in fear and anxiety. There is no place in Victoria for hateful behaviour, and neo-Nazis and racists have no place in our state. It is why we are making sure people who use these symbols and gestures to harass, intimidate and incite hate are held accountable. Our government will always stand against hatred and racism, whether it is antisemitism, Islamophobia or any other form of hate and vilification, because as Victorians we know that our state’s multiculturalism is our greatest strength.

As Minister for Multicultural Affairs I have met and had difficult conversations with leaders of the Jewish, Islamic and Palestinian communities over the past week. I attended a vigil for the Israeli victims last Monday night along with the Deputy Premier Ben Carroll and a number of members of the Victorian and Australian parliaments, and I was proud to do so. At the heart of every one of the conversations that I have had is a desire for peace and a desire for harmony between our communities in Victoria. I want to reiterate my commitment to this value. Even in these challenging times we must continue to promote peace and empathy between our diverse communities here in Victoria. The events we have seen over the last week are horrific and deeply distressing. I stand with the innocent victims of this conflict, both Israeli and Palestinian, because every human being deserves to live in safety, free from the threat of violence. I urge all Victorians to come together at this difficult time. We must be unwavering in the face of division, and we must denounce all forms of violence and hate. I send my thoughts and my solidarity to every single member of the Victorian Jewish and Palestinian communities. We are a proudly diverse, multicultural, multifaith community. Our social cohesion is a precious thing. We cannot take that cohesion for granted. We need to cherish it. We need to celebrate it and above all defend it against hatred and extremism.

Nicholas McGOWAN (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:55): It is an honour to speak on this motion. I did not write the motion, nor did I choose the words, and I think that is important, because language matters. It particularly matters in this place because it is our deeds, and as one who tries to use my language on occasion in an educated and intelligent way, I find myself needing to do that all the more on this matter. I have also found myself, as an elected representative, on a number of occasions in the last few days entering into the public forum and into public life to make comment, and I do so today again because I think it is important to make a couple of salient points.

The first is that I would hope that anyone, particularly a member of Parliament, when they make comment about the scenario and the events that have unfolded since 7 October, do so in an informed way. These are highly sensitive, highly emotional issues. It would be a disservice to be anything less than both understanding and educated when we speak, because that would unnecessarily inflame, miseducate and cause further division, and that is precisely what I would suggest none of us want. Two, oversimplification, and many speakers have spoken about this today: no one people is homogenous – no one family is homogenous for that matter – and so it ought to go without saying but I think now more than ever we need to make the point that no one people can be treated the same, nor ought they to be.

The other thing that I think is salient is that at this point, like perhaps a few others have said, we have to have, all of us, for those involved, both compassion and empathy. We live in a very privileged society in Australia. It is my great honour to very often speak to new citizens, as I know many of you do here as well, and in my citizenship ceremonies often I have said to those present who are about to become new Australians, ‘It’s we that should be thanking you.’ Many people like to think Australia is the best country on earth. I think we have got a long way to go. I think we are a lucky country. I think in many respects we are spoilt. I love my country, but I also appreciate the fact that the people standing in front of me when they are acquiring their new citizenship have very much to offer us too, no matter where they have come from, and that they may feel too that their countries are the best countries on earth, despite perhaps an absence of luck or an absence of being born in a particular place or to a particular family or in a particular religion. What we can take from them ought to empower us and is sure to strengthen us as a country, so I welcome them and I welcome their contribution to our country.

From my experience overseas it is also important to share, I think, that as the days coming ahead unfold – and I have grappled in terms of what I have to say about this – I fear the days ahead. I think they will be worse, and that is an awful thing to say, because the days that have passed already are pretty bad – and that is a serious understatement. In my experience overseas, no peace is perfect; in fact it is the reverse. That is what we ought to be striving for. Every peace is flawed, every peace is imperfect, and no-one ought to point any fingers. There are conflicts right around this globe. When I lived in Africa – as I have lived in Afghanistan and in Amman in Jordan and have spent time in Syria and Israel and the territories – I used to remind people who were critical of the Africans at that stage, when they had conversations with me, that I would look no further than Northern Ireland, a country where to this day they still are building walls taller, and every night those walls and the gates are shut and the communities are divided. To this day the education system in Northern Ireland is 95 per cent or thereabouts segregated, Protestant and Catholic. So no-one ought to point fingers. We ought to come together. This is an occasion to grieve what has occurred and to show solidarity with every civilian, as I think has been shared across the chamber here today.

While I am saying that, I think it is important to remind people that a part of the world I have come to love too, Asia, is not unscathed. Many countries have not been unscathed by this event. Twenty-four Thais were killed on 7 October; they were working there. Ten Nepalese were killed. Six British nationals were killed and 30 Americans and 1400 Israelis. We now know at least one Australian – a 66-year-old Sydneysider – was also killed. And very many – the number differs, but there were very many – civilians in Palestine were also killed.

So where does this get us? As I said at the beginning, the words are not mine but I think it is important that this place illustrates to all Australians that we have come together, that we will share our sympathies and that we will mourn the losses. But moving forward what I also think is critical and important, both for the state of Israel and for the future of a two-state solution for Palestine and the Palestinians and the Arabs, is that we actually redouble our efforts, all of us, towards what the future might look like, because that is critical. A redoubling of our efforts is the best possible solution in the long term to the conflict we now see. The truth is we spend much of our time not looking at that part of the world at all until a conflict has occurred, and we suddenly realise that there are those living a very different life than ourselves. You cannot legislate hate away. No piece of law will do that. It takes individuals to come together. I hope that in the days ahead that is precisely what we see.

Moira DEEMING (Western Metropolitan) (13:01): I also rise to support the motion and commend the government for it. I would like to express my sympathies to all the innocent civilian victims and their families. What we have seen in the past few days has been terribly shocking, and there is no possible framework under which the cruel and malicious violence that we have seen is justifiable. I am not going to repeat the things that have already been said, but I would just like to note before I sit down that I utterly reject the implication made just now by the Leader of the Greens that this motion can in any way be interpreted as code for justifying any kind of further violence on any innocents.

Ryan BATCHELOR (Southern Metropolitan) (13:02): I am proud to rise and speak in support of the motion. Like millions across the world and many in this chamber, I was absolutely horrified at the terrorist attacks committed by Hamas a little more than a week ago – attacks that have resulted in the worst loss of life for Jewish people on a single day since the Holocaust.

Melbourne is home to the largest population of Holocaust survivors per capita outside of Israel. I mention this because it demonstrates what a personal connection so many in the community have to the horrors of the past and how these fresh attacks and the loss of Jewish life have weighed so very heavily on so many in the community because they bring back those terrible memories of what it is like to be targeted for destruction because of who you are, and that is unimaginable to think of.

Southern metropolitan Melbourne, as many have said, is home to much of our state’s Jewish community. So many in the community have friends and family in Israel, and they have been grieving heavily this week. With many of my colleagues, I have stood with them, and I will continue to do so as they grieve. Too many have lost their lives as a result of this attack by Hamas – Israelis and Palestinian civilians too. In the maelstrom of conflict we cannot lose our shared humanity and we can grieve for all who have suffered as a consequence of Hamas’s actions.

I want to briefly talk about some of the Israeli communities that were attacked by Hamas last weekend. Just as Judaism contains many strands of belief and observance, Israel itself is a diverse nation, and often we do not get to see or understand that diversity or know about some of these communities – communities like Kfar Aza kibbutz, which was established in the early 1950s by Maghrebi Jewish refugees from Northern Africa, principally from Morocco and Egypt. The foundation of this kibbutz, like so many others, was grounded in a communitarian ideal that owes as much to socialism as it does to religious observances. Kfar Aza is less than 3 kilometres from Gaza, and last Saturday terrorists paraglided into the community and began killing residents as they slept.

Nearby was Be’eri, a kibbutz established in 1946 just before the modern state of Israel itself was founded. It was founded from a movement, again, of democratic socialism. Unlike many other kibbutzim, it today retains its cooperative industrial model. These are unique communities. According to the BBC, shortly after sunrise messages started pinging the phones of the ‘Be’eri mothers’ WhatsApp group, and I know we are all part of those types of groups. On that morning one of those messages read: ‘We have a terrorist on the stairs. Call someone.’ Later that day the name of the WhatsApp group was changed to ‘Be’eri Mothers Emergency’. More than 100 civilian residents of that kibbutz were killed that day. One of the residents spoke to the New York Times about what life was like before the attack, and he spoke about how one of the grandmothers in the community would travel every week to the border crossing with Gaza to pick up Palestinian children that she knew and take them to get dialysis at an Israeli hospital. These Israelis coexisted with their Palestinian neighbours for generations, and the threats to them came not from everyday Palestinians but from their Hamas rulers.

Hamas is a terrorist organisation that does not believe in the right of the state of Israel to exist. Terrorists are not partners in peace, they are harbingers of hatred. Hamas’s bloody actions have undoubtedly set back the cause of peace for the Palestinian people and beyond, and they are contributing to a humanitarian crisis for the residents of Gaza – yet another tragedy arising from these events. Israel has more than a right to exist; it has an obligation to protect its citizens as every nation does. Sadly, further conflict does appear inevitable, and as they always do, international law and the rules of war must apply. Hostages that have been taken must be released. Israeli citizens cannot be used as human shields. Palestinian civilians need to get to safety, but nothing and nowhere should be safe for Hamas.

Australia’s foreign minister has announced $10 million in humanitarian assistance for civilians affected by the conflict. We have seen repatriation flights underway for Australians in Israel and the Palestinian territories, and I know to many the photos of those safe landings in London will bring a ray of light in a week that has been all too dark. Just today we have seen the global community rallying to ensure that humanitarian support is available to the civilians affected by terror and war – an announcement just before we came into the chamber that the US and Israel have agreed to a plan to get aid to civilians – and perhaps those trucks full of aid sitting at the Rafah crossing in Egypt will be able to get across the border shortly.

The Victorian government, as many have said, stands firm as a friend of Israel and the Jewish community here in Melbourne. We stand firmly against hatred and bigotry and extremism, and we condemn those unequivocally who chant despicable things. I was one of the thousands at Caulfield Park last Friday to unite with Israel. There were very moving words spoken. Songs of love reverberated, and many tears were shed. I want to acknowledge the leadership of the co-conveners of Parliamentary Friends of Israel, the members for Caulfield and Box Hill, and the role that they have played in bringing all of us together to support Israel, especially this last week. It has clearly been a very difficult time personally for both David and Paul. The Premier, the Deputy Premier and the Minister for Multicultural Affairs have all been representing the state with the Jewish community and beyond this week and made clear our commitment to standing with Israel and standing against bigotry and hatred and antisemitism.

I just want to make special mention of my friend and federal colleague the member for Macnamara Josh Burns. I saw him on Friday, and you could see in his ashen face the toll the week has taken. His expression of humanity was wrapping his big arms around his community and holding them close. Other federal colleagues – the Prime Minister, the Attorney-General – have been steadfast in their support, as we all must be, supporting our community in a time of grief, condemning acts of terror and the slaughter of innocents and calling out extremism and hate whenever they manifest. If the situation deteriorates in days and weeks, our cohesion may well be tested, but our community must remain strong. We must remember our humanity, and that is how we find the path back to peace. I want to end stealing from Josh. The contribution that he made in Canberra yesterday ended on a Jewish prayer:

… one thing above all: that, for Israel, for the Jewish people and for the entire world, there should be peace.

Melina BATH (Eastern Victoria) (13:10): I thank the Leader of the Government for bringing this before us today. I think we see in this house today the very best of each other in the respect that we have for those who are dealing with such atrocities and so much pain and so much loss. So on behalf of my colleague Gaelle Broad, I would just like to put the Nationals support for this motion, in addition to the wonderful sentiments of Ms Crozier. We unequivocally condemn the attacks on the Israeli people by Hamas. Our hearts are heavy with the pain, the terror and the anguish experienced not only in Gaza but in that broader region by Israelis and Palestinians. We understand that there are people in homes in Victoria and Australia, and in regional Victoria, that are so concerned about loved ones. To be feeling the very visceral pain of the acknowledged trauma – people have experienced loss of life at the end of a gun. It is something that no sane, sensible, caring human would ever want to wish on anybody, but those people have had to experience it, and we understand that that pain ripples through the world through peace-loving nations, and it is our responsibility to call out atrocities, as we have been doing on this motion.

It is vital that houses of democracy – the Legislative Council, the Assembly – the Commonwealth of Nations and those right across our free world stand in solidarity with those against antisemitism and recognise that the Jewish peoples for millennia have experienced violence, which needs to end. It is important to differentiate the beautiful people, the Palestinians, who are separate to the atrocious Hamas and who are separate to that evil that is the force of Hamas. We call out and say that extremism has no place in this house, in our state and in Australia – but noting that extremism by its very nature is made up of outliers, and they have two ends of a graph. We call out all extremism and those outliers.

We acknowledge very much, with great understanding and gratitude, the role of humanitarian aid and those people who run towards these very desperate situations, knowing that their own lives and wellbeing are in peril. We thank them for assisting women, children and civilians of every race, creed and colour. We pray with whatever faith we have, in whatever religion we feel comfortable, or we pray a universal prayer to the greater universe, that the efforts of world leaders, of our leaders, can restore respect for human life. I believe that hope is eternal. I believe the strongest thing that any human has is to wake up every morning and hope for a better day. So I am sending hope for a calmer tomorrow. I am sending hope for safety for all peoples in that region – an end to the shelling, an end to the hostage taking and the release of the hostages, who are living in huge fear and deprivation, and the cessation of those that want to incite violence through speech.

I want to see the removal of the evil Hamas, and I pray for those people who are working for that. To all people who call Australia home I say that we need to hold onto our freedom, but it is a responsible freedom. It is a freedom without absolutes. We need to respect each other and to do unto others as they would have us do to them. I wholeheartedly support and commend this motion, and I thank the government for bringing it forward.

Jeff BOURMAN (Eastern Victoria) (13:15): This is going to be a difficult one for me. I am not Jewish, but my wife is and therefore my daughter, and we do know people in Israel. Thankfully they are in Tel Aviv. I am going to do the reverse to what a lot of people are doing and say how much I feel for the Palestinian civilians caught up in this. By and large most of the people in the Gaza Strip just want to get on with their lives. Unfortunately for them their government, legitimate or not, is not that interested in them. They are certainly not interested in Israel.

When I first heard of this happening – I have got a strong stomach; I have seen and done some things that I would prefer not to have – I started finding images online. Some of them I will get into, but most of them I will not. This is not militantism. This is not an extension of politics of a state. The things that they did to people, even to soldiers, is not part of war in any way, shape or form. Innocent civilians do sometimes get killed in war, and that is gross but it is how it has been. Since we crawled out of the primordial ooze or, if you are religious, you believe since we were created, sadly, we have been fighting. But this is not terrorism. This is not militantism. This is not a country at war. Everything that was done to the Jewish people, and no doubt to some non-Jewish people, in October was barbarism and it was an offence against humanity.

Sadly, Hamas – and if I get out of control I mean Hamas no matter what I say – decided that what they were going to do they were going to put online. They were raping and killing women, videoing it and sending it to their families. They were doing unspeakable things that not even soldiers in war that have lost control do. It has been well publicised over the years what soldiers have done during war when they get immune to the reality of it, but this was not that. This was burning children alive. This was trying to hack off the head of someone who was dying with a blunt hoe. I have seen it. These are their videos, not mine. And the part that I find the hardest: they decapitated children. They beheaded fucking children – babies.

Talk about tone deaf. Hamas throws homosexuals off buildings. Hamas kills women for adultery or allegations of it. Hamas are not worth anything. Unfortunately, I was listening to – I am not going to say the person, but I know who it is – a contribution. I think the word ‘Hamas’ came up once, and I am not even sure I heard that. Hamas need to be exterminated – absolutely they do.

But what is Israel to do at the moment? What is a proportionate response? Do they go into Gaza, line up all the children, set them alight and behead them? No. Sadly for the Palestinians, Hamas put their storage areas – where they keep their weapons; where they keep their so-called soldiers, who are really just barbarians – under places of public import. So unless Israel were going to stand out the side of Gaza Strip and wring their hands, what were they to do?

I truly wish to God – a God I do not believe in – that there was a way to fix this. I was quite a supporter of the two-state solution for a while. This has shaken my faith in that. The Palestinians need to get rid of Hamas, and I know that is not easy. But in the end they were elected – I cannot remember what year they were elected – with Fatah and eventually took over in 2006, and the world stood by and watched because they did not want to get involved.

Well, now here we go. This is as close to the actual Holocaust as I have seen and I ever want to see. Thirteen of my wife’s family went into World War II – all civilians. Five of them came out alive. They were murdered for being Jews. And now in Israel we have the same thing.

I am going to finish off with: I have seen more thought and consideration given to native ducks than the people of Israel.

David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan) (13:20): I rise to make a brief contribution on the motion before the house. Like other members in this place, I was appalled by the horrific and criminal attacks on Israeli communities that occurred last week. The news of Hamas taking over 100 civilians as hostages was especially chilling. The use of civilians as bargaining chips and human shields is reprehensible, cruel in the extreme and a flagrant violation of international law. I share my deepest condolences with all of those affected by this terrible conflict, be they in Israel, in the state of Palestine, elsewhere abroad or here in Australia. We continue to watch in horror as the renewed conflict reignites the tragic cycle of violence and fear and loss for millions of innocent civilians in Israel and Gaza. With the death toll already reaching into the thousands, it is especially heartbreaking that so many of those who have lost their lives, be they Israeli or Palestinian, were children or young people whose lives had only just commenced.

It is not hard to imagine from where we sit what purpose Hamas had in launching the attacks, given that they would inevitably lead to the death or injury of tens if not hundreds of thousands of people, mainly innocents and non-combatants. These are classic insurgency tactics designed to trigger horror, overreaction and missteps. We saw it after 9/11, and it appears to be happening again now. However, while we are rightly outraged by these egregious acts of terrorism and by these crimes, there is another perspective to this conflict that we must not ignore. The collective punishment of Gaza by Israel that we are now witnessing is deeply distressing and illegal, a response seemingly condoned under the banner of Israel’s right to defend itself.

I want to quote the UN’s permanent observer mission to the state of Palestine. In reference to the Hamas attack they observed that:

These developments did not occur in a vacuum. They are preceded by the killing this year of hundreds of Palestinians … and preceded by decades of Israel’s unrelenting:

Military raids on Palestinian villages, towns, cities and refugee camps …

By way of context, the UN observer mission continued by noting:

Arrest, detention, imprisonment and abuse of thousands of Palestinian civilians, including children and women;

A suffocating 16-year air, land and sea blockade of more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza …

Amnesty International, reporting on the human rights abuses suffered by Palestinian people over the last seven decades, stated:

Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip continued to face Israel’s oppression, domination, fragmentation and segregation under its brutal occupation and apartheid …

Gaza itself is frequently described as an open-air prison. According to UNICEF, before the current escalation over 1 million Palestinian children were already in need of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, accounting for approximately half of the total child population.

So this has not happened in a vacuum. This ongoing and apparently escalating conflict will result in more displacement, suffering and death. The injustices and violations that are among the root causes of this violence must be addressed as a matter of urgency. Civilians will continue to pay a heavy price until Israel dismantles the system of apartheid against Palestinians, including its illegal blockade and now siege of Gaza. The international community must respond with aid to reduce the suffering and support all parties to pursue a rational path to peace and a genuine and sustainable two-state solution.

Here in Australia we must embrace and support all affected communities and demand respect and restraint. We must also respect the right of those communities to demonstrate publicly, recognising that whatever the situation there is no place for vilification, antisemitism or violence. Likewise, there is no place for politicians who would seek to capitalise on this tragedy and undermine our democracy for short-term political gain. Once again, I join with others in this house in offering my sincere condolences to both Israelis and Palestinians affected by this terrible war.

Rikkie-Lee TYRRELL (Northern Victoria) (13:26): I rise today to speak in support of the condolence motion raised by the government. I am deeply saddened and disturbed by the events that have transpired in Israel and Gaza over the past weeks. I feel for the hundreds of thousands of innocent lives that have been destroyed by the actions of terrorists, those displaced from their homes by the repeated conflict and the thousands of women and children brutally murdered, assaulted and paraded in the streets by terrorists. This world has no place for terrorism. It has no place for division based on race, religion or geographical birth. I call for compassion and kindness towards Israeli and Palestinian people who have sadly been caught up in the war inflicted upon them by terrorist organisations.

I condemn Hamas for the taking of innocent lives, for the taking of hostages, for putting innocent people directly in the line of fire to achieve their own ends, for instilling fear amongst not only Israelis but their own people living in Gaza. I condemn any action that further permeates and divides what should be a peaceful place, a holy place, not one to be perpetually fought over in scenes of bloodshed and despair.

As we here, safe in Australia, watch the atrocities in the Middle East unfold, we must remind ourselves of how lucky we are to live so far removed from these conflicts that plague other parts of the world. Australia is not immune to the threat of globally recognised terrorist groups like Hamas and other radical organisations. We must remain vigilant in our own efforts to deter this behaviour on our own shores. Here in this wonderful country we call home we care for each other, we live in harmony and we accept everyone for who they are, regardless of race, religion or where they are born. We are Australian, all of us. In this time of great grief and trauma for both the Israeli and the Palestinian peoples alike, we must remember to care for one another as we are all in shock and despair over the unfolding events. Our institutions have a responsibility to promote unity and solidarity through understanding and compassion.

Nicholas McGowan: On a point of order, President, on a point of clarity, the piece of paper I have got here refers to numbers, whereas I know that numerous speakers referenced (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) and (j), for example. Just in terms of clarity over what we are actually debating and what has been moved, the piece of paper down here refers to, as I say, (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5), and the other ones were the (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e). I am trying to clarify which it is.

The PRESIDENT: I noticed that too. I think the one with numbers was a previous version with the same words. When we debated it, Minister Symes had her motion lettered.

Council divided on amendment:

Ayes (7): Katherine Copsey, David Ettershank, Sarah Mansfield, Rachel Payne, Aiv Puglielli, Georgie Purcell, Samantha Ratnam

Noes (32): Matthew Bach, Ryan Batchelor, Melina Bath, John Berger, Lizzie Blandthorn, Jeff Bourman, Gaelle Broad, Georgie Crozier, David Davis, Moira Deeming, Enver Erdogan, Jacinta Ermacora, Michael Galea, Renee Heath, Ann-Marie Hermans, Shaun Leane, David Limbrick, Wendy Lovell, Trung Luu, Bev McArthur, Joe McCracken, Nicholas McGowan, Tom McIntosh, Evan Mulholland, Harriet Shing, Ingrid Stitt, Jaclyn Symes, Lee Tarlamis, Sonja Terpstra, Gayle Tierney, Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell, Sheena Watt

Amendment negatived.

Motion agreed to in silence, members showing agreement by standing in their places.

Sitting suspended 1:38 pm until 2:42 pm.