Our govt made a choice to be anti-Israel. And it's basically sunk a two-state solution
The expression a mozza comes to mind.
You could sell more tickets than you might initially imagine.
One of the problems we face right across the policy spectrum is the overly optimistic, indeed almost childish belief that there is "a solution".
It's as though we actually believe it is a perfect world and the only problem is we have somehow simply got the pieces of the jigsaw in the wrong place. Oh, if it were that simple.
The brutal reality is that the world, delightful as it may be in so many respects, is in fact Mother Nature writ large.
That means it's ugly. Bambi gets eaten by the lion. The weaker birds are kicked out of the nest. The stronger groups of whatever, plants, animals and people takeover the weaker.
Floods, famine, volcanic eruptions and wars kill people. Including children. There is no silver bullet. There is no magic wand.
We hate to see suffering, so we keep altruistically fiddling with the jigsaw pieces. This is particularly so where the welfare of children is concerned. None of us want to see human suffering, especially that of children.
Under the cover of that vein of unrealistic optimism, Labor says it sees Arab and Muslim states (including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt) calling in July for Hamas to disarm and give up power in Gaza as an historic catalyst for peace.
In reality, it looks like Labor is just seizing an opportunity to push ahead with a pre-existing agenda. (Someone should write a book about Qatar's role with Hamas generally and with Israel.)
If you think there's a snowflake's chance in hell that Hamas will actually do that, as opposed to possibly making appearances of doing it, good luck to you.
Buy-now, pay-later schemes rarely work out to be fair. Similarly, saying recognition now, but you bad guys will have to play nice later just seems, well, stupid.
Is this a comedy or a tragedy? Who knows.
As a piece of theatre, the former but in real life, the latter.
Plenty of Australians like me may not vote Labor but presumably we can all recognise that rather than Labor members being completely stupid (OK there are always some exceptions to most things) they just have a different philosophical approach.
But the rubric of a different philosophical approach can't explain away what looks to be a knee-jerk, jingoistic, me-too, pipe dream.
Labor hasn't handled the whole issue since 2023 well at all.
They were way too slow to recognise the flourishing anti-Semitism and consequently to do something effective about it.
Our government should have stood up strongly against anti-Semitism very early on. It failed to do so.
They have failed over the nearly two years since October 7, 2023 to effectively stand with Israel against Hamas and Palestinians for those horrendous atrocities.
Like it or not, Labor is seen as anti-Israel.
It doesn't have to be one or the other. Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert does not support Benjamin Netanyahu at all.
He does, however, support and, more than most, has put in the hard yards on finding a two-state solution.
He nonetheless says our move to recognise first, get the delivery of essentials later is "a populist, symbolic act that will not advance a two-state solution."
He's a voice of experience in the Middle East, unlike the cavalcade of outsiders rushing in to appear relevant. For my part, he's made the right assessment.
Labor will not get the same response internationally as the UK and France have for making this call. That's quite simply because, rightly or wrongly, any words of support for Israel since October 2023 from our government have seemed as muted as they could possibly be and in direct contrast to that for Palestinians.
Rightly or wrongly, it appears our government made a clear choice to be anti-Israel. In contrast, the UK and France have been more conciliatory. Hence, their "distancing" from what Israel would like is much more significant.
READ MORE AMANDA VANSTONE:
Have you heard our government condemning Hamas and indeed Palestinians at all, let alone with any commitment, for having weapons storage and firing facilities under and next to schools and hospitals? It's a war crime to use innocent people as protection for your military stashes. By doing it, you choose to put innocent people at risk.
Have you heard, have we been told, how much we've given to UNWRA after the role so many of their employees were playing both in the October 2023 massacre and elsewhere was established?
In any event, there'll be another wasteful Talk Fest at the UN.
Politicians from all over the world will fly there and back feeling as if they've contributed something.
But nothing positive will have happened. The down side is a message goes to Hamas that brutal terrorism over decades will be rewarded.
It tells Palestinians in Gaza that Hamas is an effective advocate on their behalf. If that's not a big mistake, what is?
Put all that aside and agree to disagree on what I think is a stupid decision. Can we make it work? In my view, no.
To recognise a state, you need a defined area of land. Good luck with that. Sure, there are ideas about what might work.
In the past, at the last minute, these ideas have fallen apart.
Does anyone think Israel will just walk away and say OK to what a bunch of other people suggest? Will the Palestinians accept what the international community proposes? Start dreaming.
Then we need a category of people. Who will we regard as Palestinian?
That, when it gets down to the nitty gritty will not be easy. However, if you want an elected government, either to start with or to move towards, you need to face that question. You can't have a state without a government, so you are absolutely stuck with working out who will and will not be entitled to vote.
Oh, and we need a way to ensure that terrorist groups like Hamas are kept out. They might agree publicly to go. Might. Sounds great. But you can call for terrorist groups to disarm and leave. You can beat your chest until it's black and blue.
My guess is a quick reality check will tell you it's not going to happen.
Whatever the public declaration, whatever show is put on for the media, terrorists do not generally just pack up their tents and move away. Or if they do, it is only to return with different tents. You would have to be completely stupid to imagine that Hamas don't already have people groomed up to look like disconnected outsiders but who are in fact trained operatives ready to infiltrate any new state. No amount of luck will help you there.
Adding to all of this is the people themselves.
A number of Palestinians in Gaza remain supportive of Hamas. Some behaviour in the streets following the events of October was not that of a people looking for peace with Israel.
It is extraordinarily difficult to imagine that Hamas could operate in Gaza as it has without the support of the people. Recognition of a state will only boost support for Hamas. Make them stronger. Children who may have been taught all their lives that Jews are infidels who need to be killed are not going to unthink that atrocious thought overnight.
Imagine telling them at school that the adults have had a chat with some people in other countries and now all bets on driving Israelis off the planet are off? Let's see how that goes.
How much would you pay to see a video of the final discussions Labor had about recognising a Palestinian state?
The expression a mozza comes to mind.
You could sell more tickets than you might initially imagine.
One of the problems we face right across the policy spectrum is the overly optimistic, indeed almost childish belief that there is "a solution".
It's as though we actually believe it is a perfect world and the only problem is we have somehow simply got the pieces of the jigsaw in the wrong place. Oh, if it were that simple.
The brutal reality is that the world, delightful as it may be in so many respects, is in fact Mother Nature writ large.
That means it's ugly. Bambi gets eaten by the lion. The weaker birds are kicked out of the nest. The stronger groups of whatever, plants, animals and people takeover the weaker.
Floods, famine, volcanic eruptions and wars kill people. Including children. There is no silver bullet. There is no magic wand.
We hate to see suffering, so we keep altruistically fiddling with the jigsaw pieces. This is particularly so where the welfare of children is concerned. None of us want to see human suffering, especially that of children.
Under the cover of that vein of unrealistic optimism, Labor says it sees Arab and Muslim states (including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt) calling in July for Hamas to disarm and give up power in Gaza as an historic catalyst for peace.
In reality, it looks like Labor is just seizing an opportunity to push ahead with a pre-existing agenda. (Someone should write a book about Qatar's role with Hamas generally and with Israel.)
If you think there's a snowflake's chance in hell that Hamas will actually do that, as opposed to possibly making appearances of doing it, good luck to you.
Buy-now, pay-later schemes rarely work out to be fair. Similarly, saying recognition now, but you bad guys will have to play nice later just seems, well, stupid.
Is this a comedy or a tragedy? Who knows.
As a piece of theatre, the former but in real life, the latter.
Plenty of Australians like me may not vote Labor but presumably we can all recognise that rather than Labor members being completely stupid (OK there are always some exceptions to most things) they just have a different philosophical approach.
But the rubric of a different philosophical approach can't explain away what looks to be a knee-jerk, jingoistic, me-too, pipe dream.
Labor hasn't handled the whole issue since 2023 well at all.
They were way too slow to recognise the flourishing anti-Semitism and consequently to do something effective about it.
Our government should have stood up strongly against anti-Semitism very early on. It failed to do so.
They have failed over the nearly two years since October 7, 2023 to effectively stand with Israel against Hamas and Palestinians for those horrendous atrocities.
Like it or not, Labor is seen as anti-Israel.
It doesn't have to be one or the other. Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert does not support Benjamin Netanyahu at all.
He does, however, support and, more than most, has put in the hard yards on finding a two-state solution.
He nonetheless says our move to recognise first, get the delivery of essentials later is "a populist, symbolic act that will not advance a two-state solution."
He's a voice of experience in the Middle East, unlike the cavalcade of outsiders rushing in to appear relevant. For my part, he's made the right assessment.
Labor will not get the same response internationally as the UK and France have for making this call. That's quite simply because, rightly or wrongly, any words of support for Israel since October 2023 from our government have seemed as muted as they could possibly be and in direct contrast to that for Palestinians.
Rightly or wrongly, it appears our government made a clear choice to be anti-Israel. In contrast, the UK and France have been more conciliatory. Hence, their "distancing" from what Israel would like is much more significant.
READ MORE AMANDA VANSTONE:
Have you heard our government condemning Hamas and indeed Palestinians at all, let alone with any commitment, for having weapons storage and firing facilities under and next to schools and hospitals? It's a war crime to use innocent people as protection for your military stashes. By doing it, you choose to put innocent people at risk.
Have you heard, have we been told, how much we've given to UNWRA after the role so many of their employees were playing both in the October 2023 massacre and elsewhere was established?
In any event, there'll be another wasteful Talk Fest at the UN.
Politicians from all over the world will fly there and back feeling as if they've contributed something.
But nothing positive will have happened. The down side is a message goes to Hamas that brutal terrorism over decades will be rewarded.
It tells Palestinians in Gaza that Hamas is an effective advocate on their behalf. If that's not a big mistake, what is?
Put all that aside and agree to disagree on what I think is a stupid decision. Can we make it work? In my view, no.
To recognise a state, you need a defined area of land. Good luck with that. Sure, there are ideas about what might work.
In the past, at the last minute, these ideas have fallen apart.
Does anyone think Israel will just walk away and say OK to what a bunch of other people suggest? Will the Palestinians accept what the international community proposes? Start dreaming.
Then we need a category of people. Who will we regard as Palestinian?
That, when it gets down to the nitty gritty will not be easy. However, if you want an elected government, either to start with or to move towards, you need to face that question. You can't have a state without a government, so you are absolutely stuck with working out who will and will not be entitled to vote.
Oh, and we need a way to ensure that terrorist groups like Hamas are kept out. They might agree publicly to go. Might. Sounds great. But you can call for terrorist groups to disarm and leave. You can beat your chest until it's black and blue.
My guess is a quick reality check will tell you it's not going to happen.
Whatever the public declaration, whatever show is put on for the media, terrorists do not generally just pack up their tents and move away. Or if they do, it is only to return with different tents. You would have to be completely stupid to imagine that Hamas don't already have people groomed up to look like disconnected outsiders but who are in fact trained operatives ready to infiltrate any new state. No amount of luck will help you there.
Adding to all of this is the people themselves.
A number of Palestinians in Gaza remain supportive of Hamas. Some behaviour in the streets following the events of October was not that of a people looking for peace with Israel.
It is extraordinarily difficult to imagine that Hamas could operate in Gaza as it has without the support of the people. Recognition of a state will only boost support for Hamas. Make them stronger. Children who may have been taught all their lives that Jews are infidels who need to be killed are not going to unthink that atrocious thought overnight.
Imagine telling them at school that the adults have had a chat with some people in other countries and now all bets on driving Israelis off the planet are off? Let's see how that goes.
How much would you pay to see a video of the final discussions Labor had about recognising a Palestinian state?
The expression a mozza comes to mind.
You could sell more tickets than you might initially imagine.
One of the problems we face right across the policy spectrum is the overly optimistic, indeed almost childish belief that there is "a solution".
It's as though we actually believe it is a perfect world and the only problem is we have somehow simply got the pieces of the jigsaw in the wrong place. Oh, if it were that simple.
The brutal reality is that the world, delightful as it may be in so many respects, is in fact Mother Nature writ large.
That means it's ugly. Bambi gets eaten by the lion. The weaker birds are kicked out of the nest. The stronger groups of whatever, plants, animals and people takeover the weaker.
Floods, famine, volcanic eruptions and wars kill people. Including children. There is no silver bullet. There is no magic wand.
We hate to see suffering, so we keep altruistically fiddling with the jigsaw pieces. This is particularly so where the welfare of children is concerned. None of us want to see human suffering, especially that of children.
Under the cover of that vein of unrealistic optimism, Labor says it sees Arab and Muslim states (including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt) calling in July for Hamas to disarm and give up power in Gaza as an historic catalyst for peace.
In reality, it looks like Labor is just seizing an opportunity to push ahead with a pre-existing agenda. (Someone should write a book about Qatar's role with Hamas generally and with Israel.)
If you think there's a snowflake's chance in hell that Hamas will actually do that, as opposed to possibly making appearances of doing it, good luck to you.
Buy-now, pay-later schemes rarely work out to be fair. Similarly, saying recognition now, but you bad guys will have to play nice later just seems, well, stupid.
Is this a comedy or a tragedy? Who knows.
As a piece of theatre, the former but in real life, the latter.
Plenty of Australians like me may not vote Labor but presumably we can all recognise that rather than Labor members being completely stupid (OK there are always some exceptions to most things) they just have a different philosophical approach.
But the rubric of a different philosophical approach can't explain away what looks to be a knee-jerk, jingoistic, me-too, pipe dream.
Labor hasn't handled the whole issue since 2023 well at all.
They were way too slow to recognise the flourishing anti-Semitism and consequently to do something effective about it.
Our government should have stood up strongly against anti-Semitism very early on. It failed to do so.
They have failed over the nearly two years since October 7, 2023 to effectively stand with Israel against Hamas and Palestinians for those horrendous atrocities.
Like it or not, Labor is seen as anti-Israel.
It doesn't have to be one or the other. Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert does not support Benjamin Netanyahu at all.
He does, however, support and, more than most, has put in the hard yards on finding a two-state solution.
He nonetheless says our move to recognise first, get the delivery of essentials later is "a populist, symbolic act that will not advance a two-state solution."
He's a voice of experience in the Middle East, unlike the cavalcade of outsiders rushing in to appear relevant. For my part, he's made the right assessment.
Labor will not get the same response internationally as the UK and France have for making this call. That's quite simply because, rightly or wrongly, any words of support for Israel since October 2023 from our government have seemed as muted as they could possibly be and in direct contrast to that for Palestinians.
Rightly or wrongly, it appears our government made a clear choice to be anti-Israel. In contrast, the UK and France have been more conciliatory. Hence, their "distancing" from what Israel would like is much more significant.
READ MORE AMANDA VANSTONE:
Have you heard our government condemning Hamas and indeed Palestinians at all, let alone with any commitment, for having weapons storage and firing facilities under and next to schools and hospitals? It's a war crime to use innocent people as protection for your military stashes. By doing it, you choose to put innocent people at risk.
Have you heard, have we been told, how much we've given to UNWRA after the role so many of their employees were playing both in the October 2023 massacre and elsewhere was established?
In any event, there'll be another wasteful Talk Fest at the UN.
Politicians from all over the world will fly there and back feeling as if they've contributed something.
But nothing positive will have happened. The down side is a message goes to Hamas that brutal terrorism over decades will be rewarded.
It tells Palestinians in Gaza that Hamas is an effective advocate on their behalf. If that's not a big mistake, what is?
Put all that aside and agree to disagree on what I think is a stupid decision. Can we make it work? In my view, no.
To recognise a state, you need a defined area of land. Good luck with that. Sure, there are ideas about what might work.
In the past, at the last minute, these ideas have fallen apart.
Does anyone think Israel will just walk away and say OK to what a bunch of other people suggest? Will the Palestinians accept what the international community proposes? Start dreaming.
Then we need a category of people. Who will we regard as Palestinian?
That, when it gets down to the nitty gritty will not be easy. However, if you want an elected government, either to start with or to move towards, you need to face that question. You can't have a state without a government, so you are absolutely stuck with working out who will and will not be entitled to vote.
Oh, and we need a way to ensure that terrorist groups like Hamas are kept out. They might agree publicly to go. Might. Sounds great. But you can call for terrorist groups to disarm and leave. You can beat your chest until it's black and blue.
My guess is a quick reality check will tell you it's not going to happen.
Whatever the public declaration, whatever show is put on for the media, terrorists do not generally just pack up their tents and move away. Or if they do, it is only to return with different tents. You would have to be completely stupid to imagine that Hamas don't already have people groomed up to look like disconnected outsiders but who are in fact trained operatives ready to infiltrate any new state. No amount of luck will help you there.
Adding to all of this is the people themselves.
A number of Palestinians in Gaza remain supportive of Hamas. Some behaviour in the streets following the events of October was not that of a people looking for peace with Israel.
It is extraordinarily difficult to imagine that Hamas could operate in Gaza as it has without the support of the people. Recognition of a state will only boost support for Hamas. Make them stronger. Children who may have been taught all their lives that Jews are infidels who need to be killed are not going to unthink that atrocious thought overnight.
Imagine telling them at school that the adults have had a chat with some people in other countries and now all bets on driving Israelis off the planet are off? Let's see how that goes.
How much would you pay to see a video of the final discussions Labor had about recognising a Palestinian state?
The expression a mozza comes to mind.
You could sell more tickets than you might initially imagine.
One of the problems we face right across the policy spectrum is the overly optimistic, indeed almost childish belief that there is "a solution".
It's as though we actually believe it is a perfect world and the only problem is we have somehow simply got the pieces of the jigsaw in the wrong place. Oh, if it were that simple.
The brutal reality is that the world, delightful as it may be in so many respects, is in fact Mother Nature writ large.
That means it's ugly. Bambi gets eaten by the lion. The weaker birds are kicked out of the nest. The stronger groups of whatever, plants, animals and people takeover the weaker.
Floods, famine, volcanic eruptions and wars kill people. Including children. There is no silver bullet. There is no magic wand.
We hate to see suffering, so we keep altruistically fiddling with the jigsaw pieces. This is particularly so where the welfare of children is concerned. None of us want to see human suffering, especially that of children.
Under the cover of that vein of unrealistic optimism, Labor says it sees Arab and Muslim states (including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt) calling in July for Hamas to disarm and give up power in Gaza as an historic catalyst for peace.
In reality, it looks like Labor is just seizing an opportunity to push ahead with a pre-existing agenda. (Someone should write a book about Qatar's role with Hamas generally and with Israel.)
If you think there's a snowflake's chance in hell that Hamas will actually do that, as opposed to possibly making appearances of doing it, good luck to you.
Buy-now, pay-later schemes rarely work out to be fair. Similarly, saying recognition now, but you bad guys will have to play nice later just seems, well, stupid.
Is this a comedy or a tragedy? Who knows.
As a piece of theatre, the former but in real life, the latter.
Plenty of Australians like me may not vote Labor but presumably we can all recognise that rather than Labor members being completely stupid (OK there are always some exceptions to most things) they just have a different philosophical approach.
But the rubric of a different philosophical approach can't explain away what looks to be a knee-jerk, jingoistic, me-too, pipe dream.
Labor hasn't handled the whole issue since 2023 well at all.
They were way too slow to recognise the flourishing anti-Semitism and consequently to do something effective about it.
Our government should have stood up strongly against anti-Semitism very early on. It failed to do so.
They have failed over the nearly two years since October 7, 2023 to effectively stand with Israel against Hamas and Palestinians for those horrendous atrocities.
Like it or not, Labor is seen as anti-Israel.
It doesn't have to be one or the other. Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert does not support Benjamin Netanyahu at all.
He does, however, support and, more than most, has put in the hard yards on finding a two-state solution.
He nonetheless says our move to recognise first, get the delivery of essentials later is "a populist, symbolic act that will not advance a two-state solution."
He's a voice of experience in the Middle East, unlike the cavalcade of outsiders rushing in to appear relevant. For my part, he's made the right assessment.
Labor will not get the same response internationally as the UK and France have for making this call. That's quite simply because, rightly or wrongly, any words of support for Israel since October 2023 from our government have seemed as muted as they could possibly be and in direct contrast to that for Palestinians.
Rightly or wrongly, it appears our government made a clear choice to be anti-Israel. In contrast, the UK and France have been more conciliatory. Hence, their "distancing" from what Israel would like is much more significant.
READ MORE AMANDA VANSTONE:
Have you heard our government condemning Hamas and indeed Palestinians at all, let alone with any commitment, for having weapons storage and firing facilities under and next to schools and hospitals? It's a war crime to use innocent people as protection for your military stashes. By doing it, you choose to put innocent people at risk.
Have you heard, have we been told, how much we've given to UNWRA after the role so many of their employees were playing both in the October 2023 massacre and elsewhere was established?
In any event, there'll be another wasteful Talk Fest at the UN.
Politicians from all over the world will fly there and back feeling as if they've contributed something.
But nothing positive will have happened. The down side is a message goes to Hamas that brutal terrorism over decades will be rewarded.
It tells Palestinians in Gaza that Hamas is an effective advocate on their behalf. If that's not a big mistake, what is?
Put all that aside and agree to disagree on what I think is a stupid decision. Can we make it work? In my view, no.
To recognise a state, you need a defined area of land. Good luck with that. Sure, there are ideas about what might work.
In the past, at the last minute, these ideas have fallen apart.
Does anyone think Israel will just walk away and say OK to what a bunch of other people suggest? Will the Palestinians accept what the international community proposes? Start dreaming.
Then we need a category of people. Who will we regard as Palestinian?
That, when it gets down to the nitty gritty will not be easy. However, if you want an elected government, either to start with or to move towards, you need to face that question. You can't have a state without a government, so you are absolutely stuck with working out who will and will not be entitled to vote.
Oh, and we need a way to ensure that terrorist groups like Hamas are kept out. They might agree publicly to go. Might. Sounds great. But you can call for terrorist groups to disarm and leave. You can beat your chest until it's black and blue.
My guess is a quick reality check will tell you it's not going to happen.
Whatever the public declaration, whatever show is put on for the media, terrorists do not generally just pack up their tents and move away. Or if they do, it is only to return with different tents. You would have to be completely stupid to imagine that Hamas don't already have people groomed up to look like disconnected outsiders but who are in fact trained operatives ready to infiltrate any new state. No amount of luck will help you there.
Adding to all of this is the people themselves.
A number of Palestinians in Gaza remain supportive of Hamas. Some behaviour in the streets following the events of October was not that of a people looking for peace with Israel.
It is extraordinarily difficult to imagine that Hamas could operate in Gaza as it has without the support of the people. Recognition of a state will only boost support for Hamas. Make them stronger. Children who may have been taught all their lives that Jews are infidels who need to be killed are not going to unthink that atrocious thought overnight.
Imagine telling them at school that the adults have had a chat with some people in other countries and now all bets on driving Israelis off the planet are off? Let's see how that goes.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
MP's big issue with Albo's Palestine pledge
Anthony Albanese should have consulted the opposition before pledging to recognise Palestinian statehood next month, a Liberal frontbencher says. The Prime Minister unleashed a firestorm when he declared his intention on Monday. He has been both accused of 'rewarding terrorists' and praised for joining the global push to realise the rights of Palestinians. Sussan Ley has criticised him for, in her view, bungling one of the biggest foreign policy challenges facing governments and vowed to reverse Palestinian recognition. In the same breath, she has also lashed him for being 'fixated' on events abroad. Though, with more than 100,000 marching across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in protest of the war in Gaza, it is a hot-button issue for Australians – especially the many with family ties in the region. Senior opposition MP Tim Wilson on Sunday said it would have been 'sensible' to reach out to the Coalition and form a bipartisan position that could go beyond the government of the day. Opposition frontbencher Tim Wilson says Labor should have consulted the Coalition on Palestinian recognition. Martin Ollman / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia 'We've taken a long-term bipartisan position around a two-state solution based on a series of preconditions that we would expect in that - like the lasting security and respect for the state of Israel, like making sure Israeli hostages are returned, like making sure there isn't going to be Hamas running any government,' Mr Wilson told the ABC. 'Up until last Monday, that was also the position of the government.' He said the Albanese government has 'thrown that into turmoil by making a commitment to recognise a Palestinian state but not being able to then say if those preconditions are going to be met'. 'There wasn't the engagement with the opposition up until this point,' Mr Wilson said. 'I would have thought that actually having an engagement with the opposition for a lasting policy position from the Australian government would be a sensible way forward. 'They've chosen not to take that path.' When announcing his Palestine pledge, Mr Albanese outlined four 'commitments' he secured from Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority (PA). The first two were Hamas having 'no role' in a future Palestinian state and the PA recognising 'Israel's right to exist in peace and security'. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged to recognise Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly. Martin Ollman / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia While Mr Albanese said Mr Abbas 'reaffirmed' his support for the second point, the PA administers the West Bank and has no presence in Gaza or over Hamas. The PA itself is often criticised for its corruption, ineffectiveness and lack of elections. The last presidential vote was in 2005. It also faces accusations of supporting terrorism by paying families of 'martyrs' – Palestinians wounded or killed in flare-ups with Israel. Mr Albanese said Mr Abbas also committed to scrapping the 'Martyrs Fund' as part of broader transparency reforms, demilitarising, and holding elections. Both independent experts and the opposition have said it is impossible for these commitments to be fulfilled before the UN General Assembly, where Mr Albanese and several other Western leaders have vowed to recognise Palestine.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Productivity to dominate agenda as symposium begins
One of the leading events on the economic calendar is set to consume federal parliament as the nation's top minds scry for a solution to Australia's slumped productivity. Treasurer Jim Chalmers will finally convene his economic reform roundtable on Tuesday after weeks of anticipation. Heavyweights in the field, like former treasury secretary Ken Henry, consumer watchdog chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb, Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus, Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black and others will gather in Canberra over three days to discuss ways to lift Australians' living standards. Productivity will be a primary focus but the forum will also discuss ways to build resilience and strengthen the budget. The federal government has been teasing the event for weeks as stakeholders submitted ideas to reinvigorate the economy. Everything from cuts to property investor tax breaks to AI to environmental law reform have been floated but Dr Chalmers has reined in expectations this will result in an immediate shake-up of the economy. "The best way to think about this reform roundtable is three days which will help inform the next three budgets," he told AAP. "It's not an opportunity to make decisions. It's an opportunity to inform the decisions of the cabinet." Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his government is "unashamedly open", though major changes in some areas like tax policy have already been ruled out. The gathering is expected to dwarf every other economic event in Australia but another on the other side of the globe will still likely make news. Dozens of central bankers, policymakers, academics and economists from around the world are also expected to gather in the US for the Federal Reserve's own roundtable. The three-day Jackson Hole Economic Symposium kicks off on Thursday as the curtains close on Australia's forum and its experts are expected to discuss productivity and labour markets. Across the ditch, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand is set to make an interest rate decision a week after Australia's central bank chose to cut by 25 basis points. Australia's corporate reporting season will also continue as companies with companies like Ampol. Woodside, Santos, Bega Cheese, Whitehaven Coal and Inghams all set to reveal their earnings throughout the week. Wall Street investors, meanwhile, appeared to have a mild case of the jitters on Friday with mixed data clouding the Fed's next monetary policy. The blue-chip Dow Jones ended higher but other indexes slipped. There were also hopes President Donald Trump's meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin would not only pave the way for a resolution to the Ukraine conflict but determine the outlook for crude prices. The Dow rose 34.86 points, or 0.08 per cent to 44,946.12, the S&P 500 lost 18.74 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 6,449.80 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 87.69 points, or 0.40 per cent, to 21,622.98. Australian share futures took a 53-point, or 0.59 per cent, dip to 7,713. The S&P/ASX200 shrugged off a midday wobble to charge higher by 64.8 points, or 0.73 per cent, to a best-ever close of 8,938.6, a 1.4 per cent gain for the week. The broader all Ordinaries surged 63 points higher, up 0.69 per cent, to 9,212.1, the best close for Australia's top 500 stocks, now with a combined value of more than $2.9 trillion.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Coalition frontbencher accuses government of failing to consult on Palestinian recognition
Coalition frontbencher Tim Wilson has chided the government for failing to consult with the opposition before breaking with a long-held bipartisan position to recognise Palestinian statehood next month, suggesting instead to align with the United States. After much anticipation the prime minister earlier this week announced that Australia would join with France, the United Kingdom and Canada to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations meeting in September. The move was immediately rejected by the Coalition which argued it would embolden Hamas, the listed terror organisation in control of the Gaza Strip, and vowed to reverse recognition if elected in three years' time. Mr Wilson — who was re-elected at this year's election and immediately elevated to the frontbench as the shadow minister for industrial relations, employment and small business — told ABC's Insiders on Sunday that "there wasn't engagement" with the opposition before the government's announcement. "I would have thought that actually having an engagement with the opposition for a lasting policy position from the Australian government would be a sensible way forward," he said. "They've chosen not to take that path." Both sides of Australian politics support a two-state solution in the Middle East, meaning an Israeli state and a Palestinian state existing side-by-side. But the Coalition believes that Palestinian recognition, which would ultimately be required for that outcome, should only occur at the end of a negotiated peace process. That process would have to include the return of Israeli hostages and the removal of Hamas, Mr Wilson said, wearing a yellow ribbon pin that signifies support for the hostages. "We've set pre-conditions and we've been very public about that. Up until last Monday that was also the position of the government," he said. "Now, what the government has done is essentially throw that into turmoil by making a commitment to recognise a Palestinian state, but not being able to then say if those preconditions are going to be met, that they're going to back down." The government has said its decision to recognise Palestinian statehood now after more than seven decades was part of a "coordinated global effort" to build momentum towards a two-state solution and put an end to the conflict. Announcing the plan, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was predicated on commitments given by the Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank, that it would reform governance, demilitarise and hold general elections. He also pointed to the authority's recognition of Israel's right to exist and stressed that Hamas could have no role in a future state. Mr Wilson did not say what the Coalition believed the government should do instead to encourage an end to the war in Gaza, stating only that "Australia is very limited in what it can do apart from exercise its voice internationally". He also stressed that the United States and Israel needed to be part of any resolution, suggesting the decision to move on recognition now had limited Australia's influence over allies' actions. "What we've [the opposition] sought to do is to take a position that works with countries like the United States because they need to be part of the resolution to a long-lasting solution," he said. "What they [the government] have done is written a blank cheque, very clearly, to those who are sponsoring terror." Earlier this week, the US ambassador to Israel Mark Huckabee said Australia's decision was met with disgust by senior members of the Trump administration and that the timing of it hurt chances of negotiating a deal with Hamas. "This is a gift to them [Hamas] and it's unfortunate," he told ABC's 7.30. Mr Albanese rejected accusations by Israel that Palestinian recognition was a reward for Hamas, even after the group released a statement to ABC applauding Australia's action. "Such a move reflects a growing global awareness of the necessity to end the injustice suffered by our people for decades," Hamas media director Ismail Al-Thawabta said this week. "We call on the Australian government to translate this recognition into concrete actions — by exerting diplomatic pressure to end the Israeli occupation." The Australian prime minister has repeatedly said that Hamas will be excluded from the process of Palestinian recognition, as the international community works with the Palestinian Authority to bring democratic elections back to the territory. He has also repeatedly pointed to a statement from the Arab League, which is made up of countries neighbouring Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, that said Hamas can have no role in a future state.
