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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-11-26 Daily Xml
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Motions

Israel-Palestine Conflict

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (16:32): I move:

That this council—

1. Notes that the United Nations independent commission of inquiry, Amnesty International and multiple Israeli human rights organisations have found that the Israeli government is committing the crime of genocide against the Palestinian people;

2. Notes that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has deemed Israel's ethnic cleansing and occupation of Palestinian land illegal under international law and has ordered that states employ all means reasonably available to prevent genocide in Gaza;

3. Notes that under international law, South Australia can be held liable for complicity by aiding or assisting genocide or human rights abuses;

4. Notes that the Commonwealth of Australia formally recognised the independent and sovereign State of Palestine on 21 September 2025;

5. Calls on the South Australian government to review any exports of weapons and weapons components from South Australia which may be used by the Israeli government to commit genocide and/or human rights abuses against the Palestinian people;

6. Calls on the South Australian government to divest all public entities (including Funds SA) from any corporation which may be complicit in genocide and/or human rights abuses against the Palestinian people, as was done for Russian entities following the illegal invasion of Ukraine; and

7. Urges the South Australian government to end all current and future public investment and subsidies for weapons or weapons components which may be used by the Israeli government to commit genocide and/or human rights abuses against the Palestinian people.

I think it is almost self-evident why this motion would be brought before this place today, but I have a few more words to add. I start with words that are not my own: 'Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.' They are not my words. They are the words of the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. Other words:

…Israel has committed and is continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip…

They are the words of Amnesty International. Then:

Israeli authorities have deliberately inflicted conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the population in Gaza by intentionally depriving Palestinian civilians there of adequate access to water, most likely resulting in thousands of deaths.

Those are the words of Human Rights Watch.

…An examination of Israel's policy in the Gaza Strip and its horrific outcomes, together with statements by senior Israeli politicians and military commanders about the goals of the attack, leads us to the unequivocal conclusion that Israel is taking coordinated action to intentionally destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip.

Those words are from B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights group. I think this is not up for debate: Israel has been committing a genocide against the Palestinian people. The United Nations, Amnesty International, B'Tselem and numerous other groups have found that a genocide is occurring. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has found against Israel in multiple cases since South Africa first pursued their case with them in December of 2023, ordering Israel to take all steps possible to prevent the further killing of Palestinian civilians and to allow aid to enter Gaza as the occupying power.

If we know that Israel is committing a genocide, then we must ask ourselves, 'What have we here as Australians, and in fact here are South Australians, done and how have we allowed or supported this genocide, not only on a moral level but also because of the potential international human rights law implications?' Looking to Article III of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, that reads:

The following acts shall be punishable:

(a) Genocide;

(b) Conspiracy to commit genocide;

(c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide;

(d) Attempt to commit genocide;

(e) Complicity in genocide.

Subsection (e) should be of particular concern to us in South Australia and to this parliament. In October this year, the UN Special Rapporteur, Francesca Albanese, accused Australia of:

…indirect transfers by supplying components for arms used by Israel. The F-35 stealth striker fighter programme, key to the Israeli military assault in Gaza, involves 19 States...

Francesca Albanese notes that Australia is one of those 19. She goes on to say:

Despite litigation in the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Denmark and the United Kingdom—all of which defended their roles, and some cancellation of direct exports—States continue to transfer F-35 parts, heavily used in the genocidal destruction of Gaza.

And:

States have continued to grant export licences for weapons to Israel, to review and partially retain licences despite acknowledging concerns (e.g., the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia)…

The Prime Minister here has told us time and time again that apparently Australia does not export weapons to Israel. He dances around that subject. He plays word games and semantics, all to avoid the ugly truth. No matter how the Prime Minister tries to slice it and no matter what middleman exports are going through, Australian parts are getting to Israel and they are helping to facilitate a genocide.

There are few people in the world who would know more about this genocide and how states are facilitating or supporting it than Francesca Albanese. If she can see that Australia is providing indirect support for this genocide, surely our government should too. I think the South Australian people certainly do. It is well past time that South Australians showed some leadership here and began to actively pursue divestment of funds away from any corporation that may be complicit in genocide or human rights abuses against Palestinians.

How can we sit here, after more than two years of this latest escalation of the occupation, and not divest? We have done it before when the world was rightly horrified by the illegal actions of Russia in their invasion of Ukraine. The South Australian people demanded action from our government, and, to their credit, the government acted and the parliament backed it in. The Malinauskas government made moves to divest around $60 million away from Russian assets, with the Premier being quoted in a press release saying, and I quote him now:

We cannot continue to invest South Australians' money in Russia given their disgraceful conduct in Ukraine, which we have all watched in horror.

Well, Premier, South Australians continue to watch in horror as we learn the full extent of Israel's genocide against Palestinians. We continue to watch in horror as innocent civilians, so many of them children, try to rebuild their lives, and after two years of relentless bombings, we continue to watch in horror as Israel's illegal occupation continues, not only in Gaza but in the West Bank and across Palestinian territories. Yet, as we watch this horror, we are yet to see the same response from our Premier.

This Saturday is 29 November. It is also International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. I can think of no better way to mark that occasion and to show our solidarity than for this state and our Premier to show leadership and finally divest and take a stand against genocide. I commend the motion.

There being a disturbance in the gallery:

The PRESIDENT: No. Please sit in silence. You have made your point, but do not do that again or I will clear the gallery.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (16:41): I rise to support the motion. As this motion correctly indicates, the UN has found Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. Navi Pillay, the chair of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, has said that, and I quote:

The Commission finds that Israel is responsible for the Commission of genocide in Gaza.

It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention.

The responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons who have orchestrated a genocidal campaign for almost two years now with the specific intent to destroy the Palestinian group in Gaza.

The Commission also finds that Israel has failed to prevent and punish the commission of genocide, through failure to investigate genocidal acts and to prosecute alleged perpetrators.

In establishing the genocidal acts, the commission examined the Israeli military operations in Gaza, including:

killing and seriously harming unprecedented numbers of Palestinians;

imposing a total siege, including blocking humanitarian aid leading to starvation, systematically destroying the healthcare and education systems in Gaza;

committing systemic acts of sexual and gender-based violence;

directly targeting children;

carrying out systemic and widespread attacks on religious and cultural sites; and

disregarding the orders of the International Court of Justice.

South Australia is home to BAE Systems, which is a key partner in the F-35 fighter jet program. The Israeli Air Force operates F-35s, which have been deployed in air strikes over Gaza. BAE Systems have also supplied Israel with other military technologies, including electronic missile launching kits and gun sight technology, and components for artillery shells, which have been used by the Israeli military in Gaza operations.

In 2022, the government passed laws which gave the government the power to divest $60 million worth of South Australian workers' super held in Russian assets by Funds SA. This ended state government funds and the superannuation of the state's public sector workers being invested in Russian assets. That was the right thing to do. As the Hon. Tammy Franks alluded to, why is it that the Premier was willing to show leadership on that issue but not on human rights abuse and genocide in Gaza? What will it take for the Malinauskas government to step up and show some leadership, and, indeed, for us to see leadership over in Canberra?

South Australia must be consistent in its approach to protecting human rights. The government has a responsibility to ensure that its investments are not profiteering from or supporting breaches of international law. The state government must urgently undertake a review to determine any exports of weapons and weapons which may be used by the Israeli government to commit genocide and other human rights abuses against the Palestinian people and end all current and future public investment and support if this is found to be the case. This would send a very clear message that SA should not be connected to or financially benefit from companies identified by the United Nations as complicit in human rights violations. South Australia must not be a place that funds or supports the economy of genocide, and there is no excuse for us failing to meet our legal obligations. As leaders in our own communities in this parliament, it is vital that we do what we can to ensure that we encourage peace in the Middle East.

I recognise this is towards the end now of the parliamentary session. I certainly make a commitment that I will revisit this issue in the new parliament and ensure that this is on the agenda for the next government, whomever that might be. Certainly, from the Greens perspective, we will continue to push to highlight this issue during the upcoming state election. I recognise, of course, the work of my colleagues in Canberra as well. This is an important issue, and it is vital for the state government to show some leadership. I think South Australians have been watching what has been occurring in the Middle East with horror, sadness and grief, and we need to see all levels of government taking action.

The Hon. J.S. LEE (16:45): I rise today, first, to thank the Hon. Tammy Franks for moving this important motion. It is with a very heavy heart as well that I join her in addressing one of the gravest issues facing our global community and its impact on our community in South Australia—the crime of genocide against the Palestinian people.

Recently, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel concluded that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. In its report published on 16 September 2025, the commission concluded that the Israeli authorities and security forces had committed four of the five genocidal acts defined in the 1948 Genocide Convention against the Palestinian people. These findings have been corroborated by Amnesty International, the UN Special Rapporteur and numerous other human rights organisations and experts.

These findings are not mere allegations. They are based on extensive evidence of systematic killings, deliberate infliction of conditions of life calculated to destroy, and other acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention. The International Court of Justice has reinforced this by ruling that Israel's occupation and ethnic cleansing of Palestinian land are illegal under international law and has called for all states to take all measures reasonably available to prevent genocide in Gaza.

This is not just a distant tragedy. It is an ongoing conflict, a constant violation of human rights, and intentional and systematic destruction of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. These are felt deeply by members of our own community in South Australia. I recently met with executive members of the Australian Friends of Palestine Association (AFOPA) and Amnesty International Australia SA/NT, and I wish to thank them for their relentless work to promote peace, respect for human rights and justice for Palestinians, based on international law and United Nations resolutions.

AFOPA and Amnesty provided a heartbreaking and detailed account of the horrific conditions currently faced by Palestinian people in Gaza, many of whom are elderly, women and children, and particularly vulnerable due to displacement and constant bombardment. They highlighted the grief, the anger, the trauma that continues to deeply affect the Palestinian community in South Australia.

I want also to refer to a very important article which features insights from Associate Professor Melanie O'Brien from the University of Western Australia Law School, because I feel that referring to her article in parliament will actually inform our debate even further. There were three important questions that were asked to determine if genocide is happening. The professor walked through the different parts of the definition for this article. The first question:

Do Palestinians fall within one of the listed groups?

Yes, Palestinians could fall within any or all of these groups; for example, they are nationally Palestinian.

The second question that was asked was:

Is there an 'intent to destroy' the Palestinians?

This is known as the 'special intent'…It's the most difficult part of genocide to prove.

This special intent may be shown through statements made by military or civilian leaders. Since October 2023, Israeli leaders, as well as prominent community members, journalists and soldiers, have made statements about the intention to deny Palestinians necessities of life, forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza, and 'destroy' and 'erase' the Gaza Strip.

Dehumanising statements have also been made, such as referring to Palestinians as 'human animals' or 'monsters'.

Intent may also be inferred from a pattern of conduct. For this, we must look at the actions on the ground against the target group.

In Gaza, this includes direct killings through indiscriminate bombings of civilian areas, the denial of health care, and imposing conditions that have clearly led to starvation, famine, dehydration and death due to malnutrition and disease.

All these actions indicate an intent to destroy the Palestinians of Gaza.

The third question was:

Are the specific genocide crimes being committed?

The first genocide crime is killing members of the group.

The death toll in Gaza has now surpassed 60,000 people, more than half of whom are women and children.

Palestinians have been killed in attacks on medical facilities, open firings on those trying to access food, and the bombings of civilian areas, including refugee camps and schools.

The second genocide crime is causing serious bodily or mental harm.

More than 146,000 people have been wounded in Gaza. There are also credible reports from UN experts, human rights groups and media outlets of the detention and torture of Palestinians, including sexual violence.

Causing mental harm is the constant fear of injury or death, the loss of loved ones, a general denial of human rights, and living in conditions of deprivation and dehumanisation, with no ability to escape.

The third genocide crime is deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group's physical destruction.

International courts and tribunals have previously said this includes:

the systematic expulsions of people from their homes

the denial of medical services

deprivation of food

forced displacement

creating circumstances that would lead to a slow death (such as a lack of proper housing, clothing or hygiene).

All of these acts are occurring in Gaza.

The fourth genocide crime is imposing measures intended to prevent births.

There has been significant harm to the reproductive capacity of girls and women due to starvation and a lack of access to water and sanitation.

Human rights groups say girls and women have suffered miscarriages and other childbirth complications, due to a lack of healthcare professionals and facilities.

Direct attacks have also taken place on sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities, including maternity wards and a fertility clinic holding 4,000 embryos, which UN experts alleged was intended to prevent births.

Genocide is a process, not a single event. Taken together, all of these actions serve as evidence that the crime of genocide is being committed by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza.

As honourable members would be well aware, the South Australian Parliament has taken a strong stand on a number of international conflicts and crises, including Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. As a chamber and as a parliament we have previously recognised the genocide in Armenia by the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century and the more recent genocide and ethnic cleansing committed against Armenians in the Republic of Azerbaijan.

I have spoken several times in this place about the devastating conflict and humanitarian disaster occurring in Gaza, but today I wish to place on the record that I believe we must take a stand and officially recognise the genocide being committed against the Palestinian people. We can no longer talk around the issue: the findings are unambiguous. We must make our opposition and condemnation of such actions abundantly clear.

Australia formally recognised the independent and sovereign State of Palestine on 21 September 2025, joining with the international community in a coordinated effort to build momentum for a two-state solution, which is the only viable path to peace. The South Australian Parliament has previously and rightfully condemned the atrocities committed by Hamas on 7 October the 2023, and reiterated that it is our fundamental belief that all people have the right to live in peace with secure borders.

I believe we must now recognise and condemn the acts of genocide committed by Israel against innocent Palestinians. I urge the government to review its policies and partnerships to ensure South Australia does not risk complicity in these atrocities. I take this opportunity to express my wholehearted support for the South Australian Palestinian community and acknowledge the pain, the anger and the grief that they feel as a result of the horror that has been inflicted on the region.

The Palestinian community has been an important part of our rich cultural and religious tapestry for more than 70 years, and they have contributed enormously to our state in all aspects of our society and economy. I wish to acknowledge and thank all community members and organisations who persistently advocate for peace, respect and dignity for the Palestinian people. On the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People that is coming up, I hope that this chamber, this parliament, joins the Hon. Tammy Franks, the Hon. Robert Simms, the Hon. Connie Bonaros and all other members in recognising this motion. I commend the motion.

The Hon. C. BONAROS (16:57): I rise to speak in wholehearted support of this motion. Almost two years ago today, I said in this place that I had one wish for Christmas and that is an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, equal rights for Palestinian people and a free Palestine. Two years later, despite the so-called ceasefire brokered by Trump, we still have none of these things.

In the more than six weeks since the Israel-Palestine ceasefire was announced, Palestinian authorities said Israeli strikes have killed more than 300 Palestinians and wounded hundreds more, many of them of course women and children. It said that three IDF soldiers had been killed since the ceasefire came into force. Al Jazeera reported that Israel had violated the Gaza ceasefire at least 497 times in the 44 days since the 10 October ceasefire supposedly came into effect, citing the Gaza government media office.

Last year, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants, citing alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former defence minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, whose death was confirmed by Hamas in January. The shocking, unimaginable scenes we have witnessed daily across media platforms: tens of thousands of Palestinians arbitrarily massacred, most of them reportedly women and children—it is always the women and children—have completely, I think, rattled our faith in humanity and in what we thought we knew about world order. By that I mean governments so slow to react and condemn, albeit with tempered words, one of the worst atrocities seen since World War II.

Last Friday, UNICEF warned that two Gazan children had been killed every day since the so-called Trump truce began last month. 'Since 11 October, while the ceasefire has been in effect, at least 67 children have been killed in conflict-related incidents in the Gaza Strip, dozens more have been injured.' That is from UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires, who said that at a press briefing in Geneva. He said many children are sleeping in the open and trembling in fear while living in flooded makeshift shelters. 'The reality imposed on Gaza's children remains brutally simple: there is no safe place for them and the world cannot continue to normalise their suffering,' he said, urging more assistance to be allowed in the territory.

Al Jazeera reports that Palestinian children have borne the brunt of Israel's bombardment of Gaza—I do not know how we can keep reading these figures, and not be moved or touched by the number of deaths that we hear reported of innocent kids—estimating last month that 64,000 children have been killed and injured in Israeli attacks since the war began in 2023. Save the Children reported this week that, in 2024, an average of 475 Palestinian children suffered lifelong disabilities each month as a result of the war, including traumatic brain injuries and burns. Gaza has also become home to the largest cohort of children amputees in modern history.

Meanwhile, Israel has been accused of using starvation as a weapon of war, plunging the territory into a humanitarian crisis that led to several hunger-related deaths among, again, children. Explosive weapons are killing children on a scale never seen before, according to a new Save the Children report. As wars increasingly move into cities, bombs and drones are striking schools. They are striking homes and hospitals, places that should be safe under international humanitarian law.

For decades, children in war zones were more likely to die from malnutrition, disease or collapsing health systems than from bombs or bullets, it says. The new report 'Children and Blast Injuries: The Devastating Impact of Explosive Weapons on Children' reveals that more than 60 per cent of child casualties in war zones now result from explosive weapons. Between 2020 and 2024, nearly 50,000 children became casualties of war—the equivalent of two full passenger planes—two children every single day since that ceasefire.

The senior conflict and humanitarian advocacy adviser at Save the Children UK, and leading author of the report, said:

The world is witnessing the deliberate destruction of childhood—and the evidence is undeniable.

Children are paying the highest price in today's wars—not only at the hands of armed groups, but through the actions of governments that should be protecting them.

Missiles are falling where children sleep, play and learn—turning the very places that should be the safest, like their homes and schools, into death traps. Actions once condemned by the international community and met with global outrage are now brushed aside as the 'cost of war'. That moral surrender is one of the most dangerous shifts of our time.

We are watching the rules of war unravel. If we accept this as normal, we are accepting a world where childhood itself is under attack.

We urgently need the knowledge, tools, and the will to protect children—and to provide care for those who survive.

The mass slaughter of children is unconscionable beyond belief, and again I thank, wholeheartedly, the Hon. Tammy Franks for moving this motion, noting that in 2022 we talked in this chamber about it being unconscionable for us to still have state government funds and public sector workers' superannuation invested in Russian assets following that country's invasion of Ukraine. Make no mistake: we were swift, absolutely swift, to jump on that issue. This government acted immediately on the issue of Russia and Ukraine.

Australia formally recognised Palestine as a sovereign state in September, becoming one of more than 150 nations to do so including Canada, the UK, Belgium, France and Portugal. That is a good development, whichever way you spin it, from where we were when this started. This is the world saying that the cycle of violence has to stop. Prime Minister Albanese said at the time, 'Now is the time. You can't just watch what is unfolding there and not have a response.' They are the prime minister's words.

I do believe it is incumbent on all of us to do what we can, what is within our power, to ensure that any exports—not just from this state but from this country—are not used by Israel to commit genocide and human rights abuses. Like we did with Russia and Ukraine, regardless of whether you supported or did not support the principle of that. We were quick to act to divest all public entities from corporations complicit in such war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Even if it is just a message to the people of Palestine and to the Palestinian community in South Australia, we owe it to them to act just as swiftly as this government did when it came to Russia and Ukraine—even if it is just a symbolic message to the people of Palestinian background in this country. It is incomprehensible to me how any person with a conscience can look at what is happening to Palestinian people and Palestinian children and not be heartbroken, be outraged, all at the same time. I do not understand this state government's stance on Palestine.

I do not understand the silence and the constant deferral to the federal government, especially in light of the swift action that has been taken here on other occasions. I do not understand the resistance to lighting up a building in the colour of the Palestinian flag, like we have done on so many other occasions, including the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. It makes absolutely no sense to me that we can be so defiant when it comes to some issues and tread so carefully and delicately when it comes to this one.

I want to end by saying that there are times when we speak to these issues, and I think it is a perfect opportunity right now, before the end of this term of government, to have this conversation in this place again. But know that there are many of us who stand with you and who will always stand with you, regardless of whether we are here or not. I will continue to stand with you regardless of whether I am here or not.

I sincerely thank the very good people at AFOPA and Amnesty International, amongst others, for your relentless and tireless advocacy for peace and solidarity. Of course, once again I thank the mover for bringing this motion to the attention of this chamber.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.

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