Israel's Netanyahu has 'lost the plot', NZ PM says
Chris Luxon said the lack of humanitarian assistance, the forceful displacement of people and the annexation of Gaza were utterly appalling and that Netanyahu had gone way too far.
"I think he has lost the plot," Luxon, who heads the centre-right coalition government, told reporters on Wednesday.
"What we are seeing overnight, the attack on Gaza City, is utterly, utterly unacceptable."
Luxon said earlier this week New Zealand was considering whether to recognise a Palestinian state.
Close ally Australia on Monday joined Canada, the UK and France in announcing it would do so at a UN conference in September.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza had reached "unimaginable levels", Britain, Canada, Australia and several of their European allies said on Tuesday, calling on Israel to allow unrestricted aid into the war-torn Palestinian enclave.
Israel has denied responsibility for hunger spreading in Gaza, accusing Hamas militants of stealing aid shipments, which Hamas denies.
Before Wednesday's parliamentary session, a small number of protesters gathered outside the country's parliament buildings, beating pots and pans.
Local media organisation Stuff reported protesters chanted "MPs grow a spine, recognise Palestine".
On Tuesday, Greens parliamentarian Chloe Swarbrick was removed from parliament's debating chamber after she refused to apologise for a comment insinuating government politicians were spineless for not supporting a bill to "sanction Israel for its war crimes".
Swarbrick was ordered to leave the debating chamber for a second day on Wednesday after she again refused to apologise.
When she refused to leave, the government voted to suspend her.
"Sixty-eight members of this House were accused of being spineless," House speaker Gerry Brownlee said.
"There has never been a time where personal insults like that delivered inside a speech were accepted by this House and I'm not going to start accepting it."
As Swarbrick left, she called out "Free Palestine".
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Sydney Morning Herald
18 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Has state recognition changed the game in Gaza? Only for the deluded
When Australia joined France, the UK and Canada in planning to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly next month, Anthony Albanese argued that Hamas didn't support a two-state solution. Its aim, he said, was instead to control all the land between the river and the sea. The prime minister was right about that. Reaching a compromise with Israel, dividing the territory so that two countries could live side by side in peace was the path chosen by Fatah, which controlled the West Bank, not Hamas, which controlled Gaza. But Hamas is prepared to make political capital out of a plan to recognise the state of Palestine, even if it's one it opposes. Hamas is looking to claim a victory, any victory, after 22 months of conflict in Gaza. More than 60,000 Palestinian lives have been lost, according to Hamas Health Ministry figures, including most of the senior Hamas leadership there. Huge swathes of the strip have been destroyed. Images of Gaza from the air conjure up the destruction of Grozny in Chechnya by the Russian military at the start of this century – or Dresden after Allied bombing during World War II. Hamas began this round of its conflict with Israel on October 7, 2023, murdering and raping some 1200 people, mostly Israelis, and taking some 250 into the Gaza Strip as hostages, uploading images to social media live as they went. It was the deadliest raid since the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, leading to the longest conflict in Israel's history, and the costliest one for the people of Gaza. Last month, there was unprecedented criticism from Arab sources, with calls from the Arab League for Hamas to lay down its weapons, to release the remaining Israeli hostages and leave Gaza. Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad came out fighting. One of the group's 'external leadership' members based in Qatar, Hamad did a long interview on Al Jazeera, asserting that Hamas would never lay down its weapons, while spinning the Gaza war as a victory. 'Why are all these countries recognising Palestine now? Had any country dared to recognise the state of Palestine prior to October 7? … October 7 forced the world to open its eyes to the Palestinian cause, and to act forcefully in this respect,' he said. 'The powerful blow that was delivered to Israel on October 7 has yielded important historic achievements… People who thought that defeating Israel is difficult, [realised] today that it is very easy. Today, through October 7, we proved that defeating Israel is not as difficult as people had thought.' However, most Palestinians don't regard this Gaza war as a victory for themselves, or for Hamas, according to polls conducted across Gaza and the West Bank over the past 22 months by Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki. They show that the October 7 attacks are viewed with increasing disfavour by Palestinians – as is Hamas itself. 'The resistance', as the Islamist group styles itself, is less popular now than it was before the war, with support for a negotiated settlement with Israel climbing. In Israel, polls show that more than 75 per cent of Israelis want the war in Gaza to end, so that as many Israeli hostages as possible can be returned. It's estimated that Gaza militants hold about 50 hostages, of whom 19 are believed to still be alive. Or half alive. On August 1, 664 days after taking him captive from the Nova Music Festival, Hamas released a video showing an emaciated Evyatar David given a shovel with which to dig his own grave. Tal Shoham, who had been held hostage with him, but was released during the second ceasefire back in April, said their thirst was so severe they drank from the toilet. PM Benjamin Netanyahu's latest plan to expand Israel's military operation and to occupy Gaza City 'temporarily' – forcibly relocating a further 800,000 Palestinians – is not popular in Israel. It was not supported by Israel's military, with Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir arguing it could expand Gaza's humanitarian crisis as well as endangering the hostages. Still, the widening of the war was pushed through by the most hard-line government in Israeli history, including parties led by Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, who say openly they wish to move the Palestinian population out of Gaza and return Jewish settlers there in their stead.
The Age
18 minutes ago
- The Age
Has state recognition changed the game in Gaza? Only for the deluded
When Australia joined France, the UK and Canada in planning to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly next month, Anthony Albanese argued that Hamas didn't support a two-state solution. Its aim, he said, was instead to control all the land between the river and the sea. The prime minister was right about that. Reaching a compromise with Israel, dividing the territory so that two countries could live side by side in peace was the path chosen by Fatah, which controlled the West Bank, not Hamas, which controlled Gaza. But Hamas is prepared to make political capital out of a plan to recognise the state of Palestine, even if it's one it opposes. Hamas is looking to claim a victory, any victory, after 22 months of conflict in Gaza. More than 60,000 Palestinian lives have been lost, according to Hamas Health Ministry figures, including most of the senior Hamas leadership there. Huge swathes of the strip have been destroyed. Images of Gaza from the air conjure up the destruction of Grozny in Chechnya by the Russian military at the start of this century – or Dresden after Allied bombing during World War II. Hamas began this round of its conflict with Israel on October 7, 2023, murdering and raping some 1200 people, mostly Israelis, and taking some 250 into the Gaza Strip as hostages, uploading images to social media live as they went. It was the deadliest raid since the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, leading to the longest conflict in Israel's history, and the costliest one for the people of Gaza. Last month, there was unprecedented criticism from Arab sources, with calls from the Arab League for Hamas to lay down its weapons, to release the remaining Israeli hostages and leave Gaza. Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad came out fighting. One of the group's 'external leadership' members based in Qatar, Hamad did a long interview on Al Jazeera, asserting that Hamas would never lay down its weapons, while spinning the Gaza war as a victory. 'Why are all these countries recognising Palestine now? Had any country dared to recognise the state of Palestine prior to October 7? … October 7 forced the world to open its eyes to the Palestinian cause, and to act forcefully in this respect,' he said. 'The powerful blow that was delivered to Israel on October 7 has yielded important historic achievements… People who thought that defeating Israel is difficult, [realised] today that it is very easy. Today, through October 7, we proved that defeating Israel is not as difficult as people had thought.' However, most Palestinians don't regard this Gaza war as a victory for themselves, or for Hamas, according to polls conducted across Gaza and the West Bank over the past 22 months by Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki. They show that the October 7 attacks are viewed with increasing disfavour by Palestinians – as is Hamas itself. 'The resistance', as the Islamist group styles itself, is less popular now than it was before the war, with support for a negotiated settlement with Israel climbing. In Israel, polls show that more than 75 per cent of Israelis want the war in Gaza to end, so that as many Israeli hostages as possible can be returned. It's estimated that Gaza militants hold about 50 hostages, of whom 19 are believed to still be alive. Or half alive. On August 1, 664 days after taking him captive from the Nova Music Festival, Hamas released a video showing an emaciated Evyatar David given a shovel with which to dig his own grave. Tal Shoham, who had been held hostage with him, but was released during the second ceasefire back in April, said their thirst was so severe they drank from the toilet. PM Benjamin Netanyahu's latest plan to expand Israel's military operation and to occupy Gaza City 'temporarily' – forcibly relocating a further 800,000 Palestinians – is not popular in Israel. It was not supported by Israel's military, with Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir arguing it could expand Gaza's humanitarian crisis as well as endangering the hostages. Still, the widening of the war was pushed through by the most hard-line government in Israeli history, including parties led by Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, who say openly they wish to move the Palestinian population out of Gaza and return Jewish settlers there in their stead.
Sky News AU
18 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Cultural gatekeepers write off 'Take Back Australia' marchers worried about the cost of living as racist xenophobes
Australians are not racist - we are simply fed up. Do you want lower immigration and to protect our culture, heritage and way of life? Congratulations. You have committed a thought crime. The reality is mainstream Australians deserve the right to be heard without being branded as bigots. And now on August 31, those same people are being urged to take to the streets of Sydney, Melbourne and other city locations 'to be confirmed' to Take Our Country Back. The goal is for this rally, we're told, is to represent the ordinary citizen - the single mum skipping meals so her children can eat, the young tradie still living in his parents' spare room because rent chews up his pay and the cafe owner poleaxed by power bills and supplier costs. Marching for jobs, affordable homes and fair immigration, not for hate. To be clear, no one wants these marches hijacked by the National Socialist Network, their flags or their warped ideology. If the NSN turns up, they don't speak for the ordinary Australian. They speak only for themselves as a tiny, toxic fringe. The marches were announced this week amid Australia's recognition of a Palestinian state. It took less than 48 hours for Hamas to celebrate this conditional support, after PM Anthony Albanese swore it was the last thing they would welcome. Anyone with a basic grasp of Middle East politics saw this coming a mile off, especially when Hamas co-founder Hassan Yousef then rejected calls for the terror group to put down its arms. What a tangled mess we find ourselves in, one that bolsters the perception that Canberra's priorities are anywhere but at home. For some, "culture" is a code word for exclusion. Many others see it as the stuff that matters such as the rule of law, free speech, women's equality, mateship and the right to live here without fear of sectarian violence. Essentially, what binds us together rather than what divides us. The August 31 events are billed as grassroots, peaceful protests not intended to 'incite hate or violence'. We've had that type of protest quite recently you'll recall - on Sydney's Harbour Bridge and along Melbourne's King Street in support of Palestine. No allegations of racism then. There were over 90,000 people expressing disgust at civilian slaughter in Gaza, starvation and Israel, arguing that none of it was mutually exclusive. But before anyone has marched for Australia, the verdict is already in from the cultural gatekeepers. Take Our Country Back, if it proceeds, will be xenophobic and dangerous. This snap judgement says a lot about where this country's conversation on immigration has gone and how little room there is for nuance. Also, what a truly awful way to denigrate Australians who simply want to express their concerns about a nation they adore but no longer recognise, especially when it comes to the priorities of our federal government. The feelings have been bubbling for a while, however. A 2025 Lowy Institute poll found less than half of those surveyed (45 per cent) believe immigration is either "about right" (38 per cent) or "too low" (seven per cent). Earlier, a 2023 Resolve Strategic survey said 59 per cent of Australians believed the current level of migrant intake is 'too high'. Deakin University's Samantha Schneider also made a poignant observation earlier this year in a piece she wrote for 'Many ordinary Australians are able simultaneously to feel positive about multiculturalism and migrant communities while expressing fears around the perceived impact of population growth resources, for example, in relation to housing, health care and urban amenity,' she wrote. Critics like Abbie Chatfield, who posted a furious expletive-laden attack on the marches, dismiss everyone who disagrees as a 'loser' or 'freak' instead of engaging with their legitimate concerns. Housing, cost of living and public services are reduced to a blame immigrants versus blame corporations-style fight. And in eye-watering echo-chamber thinking, Ms Chatfield and her cheerleaders assume anyone attending the rally is ignorant, privileged or a neo-Nazi. This, I would argue, is an ignorant way to view a complex national debate on where Australia is heading. In the inner suburbs, the immigration discussion is often abstract such as a dinner-party chat about 'enriching diversity'. Then there's the progressive enclave that is state-sponsored media, with a SBS article on Thursday citing experts who warn the protests "stem from misinformation and fear". But in regional towns, the issue is immediate and it is not that regional Australians are less tolerant. They simply see the impacts first-hand without the safety net of big-city infrastructure. None of this excuses genuine racism, violence or threats. That is the line and it must be policed. But it is just as wrong to treat every concern about immigration levels as a dog whistle. If people are told their legitimate worries are forbidden topics, they do not become more tolerant. They become more resentful. People will not be turning up on August 31 because they hate diversity. It will be because they feel invisible. Louise Roberts is a journalist and editor who has worked as a TV and radio commentator in Australia, the UK and the US. Louise is a winner of the Peter Ruehl Award for Outstanding Columnist in the NRMA Kennedy Awards for Excellence in Journalism and has been shortlisted in other awards for her opinion work
