Middle East conflict
Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (15:16): I, like countless others around the world, am beyond horrified by the incomprehensible violence being used in the genocide occurring in Gaza. Worst of all, it is being accepted and even actively aided by many countries. This is part of a disturbing increase in global militarism. In Australia federal Labor has committed an obscene $386 billion to AUKUS and is enthusiastically supporting arms manufacturing, including in my home patch of Geelong. We are told it is for our safety, but the endgame is destruction of life and everything that supports it. At a time of growing instability fuelled by the climate crisis and growing wealth inequality, there is an urgent need to pursue peace through non-violence. This does not mean being passive. It means actively creating the conditions for peace: diplomacy, negotiation, global compacts and ending arms trade and nuclear proliferation, as well as ensuring all people live in safety with necessities like housing and food. Violence does not create, it only destroys. You cannot bomb your way to peace. Non-violent resistance and diplomacy are far more effective at building lasting political and social change, because they require something to be created: cooperation and trust. Non-violence is hard but is the only path to peace. If ever there was a time for all of us to commit to doing this work, it is now.