Wednesday, 14 May 2025

Motions

Middle East conflict

Anasina GRAY-BARBERIO (Northern Metropolitan) (09:44): I move, by leave:

That this house:

(1) notes that:

the humanitarian disaster in Gaza is deepening in catastrophe, with children dying from starvation, bombing and preventable causes at alarming rates;

since January 2025 more than 9000 children have been admitted for treatment of acute malnutrition, with thousands more unable to access life-saving care due to ongoing insecurity and mass displacement;

(c) the State of Israel continues to block the entry of essential humanitarian aid and supplies into the Gaza Strip since 2 March 2025, depriving more than a million children of life-saving aid;

(d) since 7 October 2023 direct attacks have hit over 400 schools in Gaza, and the UN satellite service reports that 95.4 per cent of schools have suffered damage;

(e) children in Palestine are suffering with the trauma of war and ongoing psychological distress;

(2) acknowledges that over half of Gaza’s population are children and that the deliberate denial of food, water and medical aid constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law;

(3) reiterates that as a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Australia has obligations to actively uphold the protection of children in conflict;

(4) affirms that the safety, dignity and rights of all children, including Palestinian children, must be upheld and protected without exception;

(5) recognises that Palestinians are at an extreme and imminent risk of mass ethnic cleansing;

(6) does not support the State of Israel’s continued invasion of Gaza; and

(7) supports calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

Leave refused.