International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (15:27): Today, we observe the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Today also marks the 71^st anniversary of the 1947 vote in the UN General Assembly to petition Palestine and sentence the Palestinian people to decades of dispossession, suffering and struggle for justice and freedom.

Members may know that Australia played a pivotal role in the partition of Palestine, first as a member of the UN Special Committee on Palestine, represented by Dr Herbert Vere Evatt, who had the casting vote that recommended partition, and later in voting for partition on the floor of the UN. Australia later recognised the new state of Israel but is yet to recognise the state of Palestine. Why should we recognise the state of Palestine? Everybody appears to agree that a two-state solution is the key to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For a two-state solution you need two states—namely, the state of Israel, which we recognise, and the state of Palestine, which we should recognise. Quite frankly, it is as simple as that.

The peace process has failed to deliver any tangible results. Direct negotiations between Palestine and Israel, based on the Oslo Accords, have ultimately failed and settlements continue to grow in the occupied territories. Continued settlement expansion is bringing about the demise of the two-state solution and imposing a one-state reality, which has it own difficulties and complexities and which is unlikely to be accepted by the parties involved.

In fact, earlier this year the Israeli parliament passed the Nationality Act, which effectively makes the Palestinians, who are Israeli citizens living in Israel, second-class citizens, dispossessing them of their language and culture and giving further settlements in the occupied territories the green light. In the same way that the Australian High Court in the Mabo decision put an end to the legal fiction that Australia was terra nullius when settled by the British, we cannot deny that the Palestinian people exist and that the land they occupy is the state of Palestine.

In the current absence of a viable peace process, and in order to save the two-state solution, the international community has an obligation to recognise the state of Palestine. The United Nations General Assembly and 138 other countries, including Sweden and the Vatican, have already done so. They recognise the state of Palestine. Additionally, 12 European parliaments have asked their governments to recognise the state of Palestine. We are not breaking new ground here, but we will hopefully be on the right side of history.

Since I last spoke on this matter in this place on 23 June 2017, the peace process has taken further backward steps. President Trump has decided to further increase the power imbalance in the peace negotiations by strengthening the negotiating position of the stronger party, namely, the Israeli government. I deliberately distinguish the Israeli government from the Israeli people because I am convinced that the people of Israel seek peace and justice for themselves and the Palestinian people. However, the Israeli government, like our current federal government, continues to be influenced by extreme right wing views.

Closer to home, in a ham-fisted attempt to salvage a by-election win for the federal electorate of Wentworth, our Prime Minister decided to unilaterally change our foreign policy position in relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Last night, with the member for King, the Hon. Connie Bonaros and the Hon. Tammy Franks from the other place, I co-hosted a reception in this place to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. A number of people spoke about the hardships that the people of Palestine, irrespective of their age, are experiencing under Israeli occupation. I thank those members for co-hosting the event with me.

In summary, I make the following observation: if we ignore international law, we make the world a less safe place. International law, particularly in the Western world, is what underpins our democracies around the world, so we need to apply international law to this dispute. International law in this dispute is quite clear. It has been adjudicated a number times in the UN and in a number of other tribunals. If we turn a blind eye to the plight of the Palestinian people in their suffering, we diminish ourselves as well. We are a country which values fair play and justice. In denying the Palestinian people their state, we deny that they exist.