Coalition frontbencher accuses government of failing to consult on Palestinian recognition

Australia Broadcast Center

2 days ago

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.