1
Chief Minister talking points – Israel-Hamas conflict
I thank Mr Braddock for this motion, and move the
amendments in my name.
Our hearts go out to those innocents suffering through the
bloody conflict.
We are torn as we see the pain and suffering on our screens
and online every night, particularly children and young people
harmed or in shock.
I understand and respect Mr Braddock’s motivation for bringing
forward this motion. Whenever we see pain and destruction in
the world, we think about what we can do as individuals, and
what forces we can marshal, to help. That’s a natural human
instinct.
But we must also consider what we, as representatives of our
wonderful multicultural community, can do within our own
jurisdiction to best help the many people living here negatively
affected by the conflict.
We may be powerless to affect the course of the conflict there;
but we are in the privileged position to support and care for our
fellow Canberrans, through our words and acts.
Many in our city have loved ones living in the conflict zone, or
who were subject to the indiscriminate missile attacks and
violence of the Hamas incursion.
Labor’s main aim in bringing these amendments is to better
reflect what we, as Assembly representatives, can actually do
to best support our local communities, and what we should be
doing as local leaders to promote harmony and mutual respect.
This is actually within Members’ jurisdiction and capacity to
drive practical, noticeable and positive change, right here.
I think it’s also important that this place reflects on, and
reiterates the important, bipartisan motion agreed by the
2
Commonwealth Parliament shortly after the horrific attacks of 7
October.
Of course the conflict has moved on since then, and we have
seen the impact of Israel’s response against Hamas’ attacks on
the Palestinian civilian population.
As the Prime Minister said in that debate, “The Palestinian
people are suffering greatly, and this suffering has impacted on
generations of Palestinians. The humanitarian situation in the
Gaza Strip, which is home to two million people, is
deteriorating rapidly.”
That is why, in Labor’s proposed amendments, our reference to
the Commonwealth motion focuses in particular on recognition
and support for the human rights of civilians caught in the
conflict and fleeing human rights abuses.
Labor also considers it important to not use inaccurate or
damaging terms in debating this extremely difficult situation. It
is unhelpful and distressing to many Australians and
Canberrans.
My amendments also more accurately describe the named
companies held as ACT investments, by directly quoting the UN
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights database of
companies involved in defined activities; and set out the steps
the Government should take to review our holdings in a
structured, considered way.
I commend my amendments to the Assembly, and sincerely
hope that through our good faith discussions across parties, we
have reached a position where we can have tripartisan support
for this amended motion.
That is one important way we can demonstrate to the Canberra
community that despite our differences, we are united in our
support for ACT residents affected by this horrible conflict.
3
Chief Minister talking points – Israel-Hamas conflict
I thank Mr Braddock for this motion, and move the
amendments in my name.
Our hearts go out to those innocents suffering through the
bloody conflict.
We are torn as we see the pain and suffering on our screens
and online every night, particularly children and young people
harmed or in shock.
I understand and respect Mr Braddock’s motivation for bringing
forward this motion. Whenever we see pain and destruction in
the world, we think about what we can do as individuals, and
what forces we can marshal, to help. That’s a natural human
instinct.
But we must also consider what we, as representatives of our
wonderful multicultural community, can do within our own
jurisdiction to best help the many people living here negatively
affected by the conflict.
We may be powerless to affect the course of the conflict there;
but we are in the privileged position to support and care for our
fellow Canberrans, through our words and acts.
1
4
Many in our city have loved ones living in the conflict zone, or
who were subject to the indiscriminate missile attacks and
violence of the Hamas incursion.
Labor’s main aim in bringing these amendments is to better
reflect what we, as Assembly representatives, can actually do
to best support our local communities, and what we should be
doing as local leaders to promote harmony and mutual respect.
This is actually within Members’ jurisdiction and capacity to
drive practical, noticeable and positive change, right here.
I think it’s also important that this place reflects on, and
reiterates the important, bipartisan motion agreed by the
Commonwealth Parliament shortly after the horrific attacks of 7
October.
Of course the conflict has moved on since then, and we have
seen the impact of Israel’s response against Hamas’ attacks on
the Palestinian civilian population.
As the Prime Minister said in that debate, “The Palestinian
people are suffering greatly, and this suffering has impacted on
generations of Palestinians. The humanitarian situation in the
Gaza Strip, which is home to two million people, is
deteriorating rapidly.”
2
5
That is why, in Labor’s proposed amendments, our reference to
the Commonwealth motion focuses in particular on recognition
and support for the human rights of civilians caught in the
conflict and fleeing human rights abuses.
Labor also considers it important to not use inaccurate or
damaging terms in debating this extremely difficult situation. It
is unhelpful and distressing to many Australians and
Canberrans.
My amendments also more accurately describe the named
companies held as ACT investments, by directly quoting the UN
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights database of
companies involved in defined activities; and set out the steps
the Government should take to review our holdings in a
structured, considered way.
I commend my amendments to the Assembly, and sincerely
hope that through our good faith discussions across parties, we
have reached a position where we can have tripartisan support
for this amended motion.
That is one important way we can demonstrate to the Canberra
community that despite our differences, we are united in our
support for ACT residents affected by this horrible conflict.
3
6
Chief Minister talking points – Israel-Hamas conflict
I thank Mr Braddock for this motion, and move the
amendments in my name.
Our hearts go out to those innocents suffering through the
bloody conflict.
We see the pain and suffering on our screens and online every
night, particularly children and young people harmed or in
shock.
Whenever we see pain and destruction in the world, we think
about what we can do as individuals, and what forces we can
marshal, to help. That’s a natural human instinct.
We must also consider what we, as representatives of our
wonderful community, can do within our own jurisdiction to
best help the many people living here negatively affected by
the conflict.
We may be powerless to affect the course of the conflict; but
we are in the position to support and care for our fellow
Canberrans.
Many in our city have loved ones living in the conflict zone, or
who were subject to the indiscriminate missile attacks and
violence of the Hamas incursion.
Labor’s aim in bringing these amendments is to try and find
agreement in this place to support our local communities, and
promote harmony and mutual respect.
I think it’s also important that this place reiterates key
elements of the bipartisan motion agreed by the
Commonwealth Parliament shortly after the horrific attacks of 7
October.
Of course much has happened since then, and we have seen
the impact of Israel’s response against Hamas’ attacks on the
Palestinian civilian population.
7
As the Prime Minister said in that debate, “The Palestinian
people are suffering greatly, and this suffering has impacted on
generations of Palestinians. The humanitarian situation in the
Gaza Strip, which is home to two million people, is
deteriorating rapidly.”
That is why our focus should be on recognition and support for
the human rights of civilians caught in the conflict and fleeing
human rights abuses.
Finally, my amendments accurately describe the named
companies held as ACT investments, by directly quoting the UN
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights database of
companies involved in defined activities; and set out the steps
the Government should take to review our holdings in a
structured, considered way.
I commend these amendments to the Assembly, and sincerely
hope that through our good faith discussions across parties, we
have reached a position where we might have tripartisan
support for this amended motion.
That is one important way we can demonstrate to the Canberra
community that despite our differences, we are united in our
support for ACT residents affected by this horrible conflict.
8
Chief Minister talking points – Israel-Hamas conflict
I thank Mr Braddock for this motion, and move the
amendments in my name.
Our hearts go out to those innocents suffering through the
bloody conflict.
We see the pain and suffering on our screens and online every
night, particularly children and young people harmed or in
shock.
Whenever we see pain and destruction in the world, we think
about what we can do as individuals, and what forces we can
marshal, to help. That’s a natural human instinct.
We must also consider what we, as representatives of our
wonderful community, can do within our own jurisdiction to
best help the many people living here negatively affected by
the conflict.
We may be powerless to affect the course of the conflict; but
we are in the position to support and care for our fellow
Canberrans.
1
9
Many in our city have loved ones living in the conflict zone, or
who were subject to the indiscriminate missile attacks and
violence of the Hamas incursion.
Labor’s aim in bringing these amendments is to try and find
agreement in this place to support our local communities, and
promote harmony and mutual respect.
I think it’s also important that this place reiterates key
elements of the bipartisan motion agreed by the
Commonwealth Parliament shortly after the horrific attacks of 7
October.
Of course much has happened since then, and we have seen
the impact of Israel’s response against Hamas’ attacks on the
Palestinian civilian population.
As the Prime Minister said in that debate, “The Palestinian
people are suffering greatly, and this suffering has impacted on
generations of Palestinians. The humanitarian situation in the
Gaza Strip, which is home to two million people, is
deteriorating rapidly.”
That is why our focus should be on recognition and support for
the human rights of civilians caught in the conflict and fleeing
human rights abuses.
2
10
Finally, my amendments accurately describe the named
companies held as ACT investments, by directly quoting the UN
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights database of
companies involved in defined activities; and set out the steps
the Government should take to review our holdings in a
structured, considered way.
I commend these amendments to the Assembly, and sincerely
hope that through our good faith discussions across parties, we
have reached a position where we might have tripartisan
support for this amended motion.
That is one important way we can demonstrate to the Canberra
community that despite our differences, we are united in our
support for ACT residents affected by this horrible conflict.
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