Thursday, 30 May 2024

Motions

Middle East conflict

Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (09:40): I move, by leave:

That this house:

(1) notes that since the Legislative Council’s resolution on 17 October 2023 concerning Israel and Gaza, which stated this house ‘stands with Israel’, the following has occurred:

(a) over 450 attacks on health infrastructure by the Israeli defence force, which have killed hundreds of health workers;

(b) due to these attacks, of the original 36 hospitals in Gaza, only 12 remain operational while 20 out of 80 primary care centres are functioning;

(c) Israel has restricted the entry of fuel and medical supplies, further limiting healthcare availability;

(d) the remaining healthcare facilities have been overwhelmed and unable to provide care for tens of thousands of people injured or sick as a result of the conflict;

(e) routine medical care, including antenatal care for the over 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza, is unable to be provided;

(2) further notes projections from a study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine which demonstrates that without an immediate ceasefire the excess mortality from health-related causes, including due to disease or starvation, will be in the tens of thousands and exceed those caused directly by armed conflict;

(3) does not support the state of Israel’s continued invasion of Gaza;

(4) supports calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire;

and calls on the Victorian government to advocate to the federal government that it ends its support for the state of Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

Leave refused.