Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has slammed Anthony Albanese for ‘trying to speak out of both sides of his mouth’ in the wording of an October 7 massacre condolence motion.
The Prime Minister opened Parliament on Tuesday by introducing a motion to condemn Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, paying tribute to ‘every single innocent life’ in the violence.
‘Our government has consistently and repeatedly called for a ceasefire for the release of all hostages and for the protection of all civilians,’ he said.
‘We remain committed to a two state solution as a path to an enduring peace, two states, Israel and Palestine, living peacefully side by side with prosperity and security for their people.’
However, in a scathing speech – and a noticeable break from the bipartisanship around these issues – Mr Dutton refused to back the motion.
Mr Dutton accused Mr Albanese of putting forward a motion which also recognised Palestinians, rather than solely focusing on the anniversary of 1200 Israeli deaths at the hands of terrorists.
He told the House of Representatives that it was clear he could not support the motion on Tuesday morning, after he met with Mr Albanese.
Anthony Albanese is pictured, centre, at an October 7 event in Melbourne on Monday
‘Regrettably, we’ve not been able to arrive at a position of bipartisanship in relation to this matter,’ he said.
‘I think when you go to the detail of what the Prime Minister’s proposed, it becomes clearer why the coalition cannot support this motion before the house at the moment.
‘This government has sought to walk both sides of the street … The Prime Minister should be condemned.’
Mr Dutton said the motion goes beyond what should have a tribute to the 1,200 Israelis who died on October 7.
He continued: ‘That’s what this motion was to be about, but of course the Prime Minister is trying to speak out of both sides of his mouth, and that is not something that we will support in relation to this debate.’
Mr Dutton and Mr Albanese were invited to October 7 memorial events on Monday, but they had very different receptions.
The PM walked through the crowds in Melbourne alongside rabbi Gabi Kaltmann – some greeted him, while others shouted ‘shame’ and accused him of attending the event for a photo opportunity. He didn’t speak at the event.
Peter Dutton is pictured in the House of Representatives on Tuesday
Meanwhile, in Sydney, Mr Dutton addressed a 12,000 crowd at a commemoration organised by the Zionist Council of NSW and the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies in Sydney’s east.
He was loudly cheered as he denounced anti-Semitism directed toward Jewish people since the ‘horrors and heartbreak’ of the attack.
‘That day of depravity, the greatest loss of Jewish life on a single day since the Holocaust, awoke and exposed an anti-Semitic rot afflicting western democracies,’ he said.
Mr Dutton said the past year had been the ‘most shocking period of our country in my lifetime’.
The events were to commemorate the 1,200 Israelis murdered by terrorists and the 251 hostages who were taken – 97 of whom are still unaccounted for.
More to come
