Wednesday, 1 November 2023

Middle East conflict

Aiv PUGLIELLI (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (17:56): (558) My adjournment matter this evening is for the Premier, and the action that I seek is for the Victorian Labor government to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. This morning I woke to the news that Israel had bombed a refugee camp in Gaza. On Sunday Israel ordered the thousands of people inside al-Quds Hospital to evacuate – an impossible request, impossible for the people sheltering there and for the ICU patients and premature babies in incubators. These innocent civilians have nowhere to go. Do you understand that? They have nowhere to go. Meanwhile Israel continues to bomb the surrounding areas, including bombing a mere 20 metres from the hospital. Israel has cut off food, water, electricity, fuel and medical supplies from Gaza in a form of uniquely cruel collective punishment. That is a war crime. In fact there have been so many breaches of international law reported that I cannot list them all, and there is never a justification for causing suffering on this scale. Over the weekend the Israeli army cut off all communication and bombed areas containing hospitals, schools, refugee camps, mosques and civilian homes, according to reports.

We in this safe room cannot comprehend the terror that the Palestinian people are facing. There have been over 8500 people killed by Israel, including over 3500 children, and tens of thousands injured, and we will not know the full scale of the loss of life until many years from now. I mourn all the loss of innocent life. The Greens thoroughly condemn the actions of Hamas against Israeli civilians and the invasion of Gaza by Israel. I condemn Islamophobia; I condemn antisemitism. 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 those to account who have committed war crimes. But unfortunately the position right now of this Labor government is not to call for a ceasefire. How can anyone sleep at night knowing the stance that you have taken is fundamentally opposed to basic human decency. If you are not calling for a ceasefire, for an end to this occupation and for lasting peace, you are complicit, and history will remember.

The PRESIDENT: Mr Puglielli, I just would request that maybe you should change your action for the Premier to advocate to the federal government to call for an action, because it is not within the Premier’s remit. Are you happy for that action to be changed?

Aiv PUGLIELLI: Yes. Do I have to restate it?

The PRESIDENT: You can if you like.

Aiv PUGLIELLI: Just to clarify, the action that I seek is for the Victorian Labor government via the Premier to issue a public statement calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The PRESIDENT: No, instead of calling for a ceasefire can you advocate to the federal government to do that action.

Aiv PUGLIELLI: The action that I seek is for the Premier to advocate to the federal Labor government to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.