Andrew Charlton has mentioned “Gaza” 8 times in Parliament since October 2023.
While Andrew Charlton may have expressed a number of the positions below in the media and private communications, we assess their public statements in Parliament.
In Parliament, Andrew Charlton HAS NOT called for an immediate and sustained ceasefire.
In Parliament, Andrew Charlton HAS NOT called for the immediate restoration of Australia’s funding to UNRWA, a United Nations agency and the largest humanitarian organisation in Gaza.
In Parliament, Andrew Charlton HAS called on Israel to allow unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid into the occupied Gaza Strip.
In Parliament, Andrew Charlton HAS NOT condemned war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza by name, as documented by Amnesty International and other reputable human rights organisations.
In Parliament, Andrew Charlton HAS NOT called on Israel to comply with the provisional orders of the International Court of Justice, the top court of the United Nations, acknowledging there is a plausible risk of genocide being committed by Israel.
In Parliament, Andrew Charlton HAS NOT called for a comprehensive arms embargo on all parties involved in the conflict, including an immediate halt on Australian defence goods being exported to Israel and Australian defence contacts with Israeli companies.
In Parliament, Andrew Charlton HAS NOT called for a lift to the 16-year illegal blockade on Gaza.
In Parliament, Andrew Charlton HAS acknowledged the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, including the need to recognise a sovereign and independent State of Palestine.
In Parliament, Andrew Charlton HAS acknowledged the need to address the root causes of the conflict, including dismantling Israel’s system of apartheid against all Palestinians.
👇🏾 Read Andrew Charlton’s relevant speeches below in full.
✉️ Email Andrew Charlton at andrew.charlton.mp@aph.gov.au.
“Australia’s Jewish and Muslim communities are made up of good people, good people who desperately want to see their brothers and sisters in the Middle East find a peaceful resolution to this conflict. They are good people who want to live in harmony here in Australia alongside their friends and neighbours from many other faiths. The recent horrific violence in the Middle East has unleashed a torrent of pain and grief for these good people; grief for those innocent Israelis and Palestinians who have lost their lives and pain for the families who wait anxiously to hear the fate of hostages, or who watch the mounting toll of civilian casualties.
While the roots of this conflict stretch back into history, the immediate catalyst for violence was the unjustifiable Hamas attacks which targeted and killed innocent civilians. I join with all members in this parliament in the condemnation of terrorism. We must have moral clarity on the condemnation of all acts of indiscriminate killing, all targeting of civilians and all taking of hostages. These Hamas attacks have set back the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people—the aspirations of the Palestinian people that I met this year as I travelled to Israel and the occupied territories were to live freely, to live in peace, to travel without checkpoints, to work without permits and to live without fear. And these are aspirations that many Israelis also want to see. Hamas’s actions have made those actions harder to achieve.
Australia has rightly condemned the killing of civilians by Hamas. But condemning these actions in no way diminishes support for Palestinian statehood or support for human rights in the West Bank and Gaza. In the last 24 hours we have witnessed the destruction of a hospital in Gaza, which took another tragic toll. There is an urgent need to protect human life and ensure that Australia’s response equally values the lives of innocent people, no matter what their nationality, no matter where they live and no matter what faith they hold. We repeat our calls for protection of civilian lives and the upholding of international law, including international laws against the taking of hostages and international laws against collective punishment. The international community is right to expect that humanitarian aid be allowed to enter Gaza and that innocent civilians will be protected. The Albanese government has allocated $10 million of additional and immediate humanitarian aid funding for the people of Gaza. Our diplomats are working incredibly hard to support all people, especially Australian citizens in this crisis, and I thank them for their efforts, led by the foreign minister, Penny Wong.
The Muslim community and the Jewish community in Australia are peace-loving people. They love our multicultural nation, in which Jews, Muslims and many other faiths live as neighbours and friends. All Australians have a responsibility to protect our multicultural harmony. We have to protect it from antisemitism, which has no place in Australia. And we have to protect it from Islamophobia, which also has no place in Australia. And I condemn all acts of Islamophobia and antisemitism with equal force. We must stand with our Jewish friends to ensure they are not subject to hate speech and we must stand with our Muslim friends to ensure their overwhelmingly peace-loving community is not tainted by association with the actions of a small minority.
In recent days I have met with and spoken with many leaders from the Jewish and Muslim communities. I commend them for their steadfast leadership amid their grief. I thank them for their actions to provide comfort and urge tolerance. I will continue to speak up for peace and justice—peace free from terrorism and peace without occupation and subjugation. We are all guided by a desire to see Israeli and Palestinian people coexist in peace and security.”
“by leave—I rise to express my heartfelt appreciation for the Refugee Women Walk for Fair Go. On Tuesday around 15 female asylum seekers completed a march from Sydney to Canberra. Driven by their passion and personal experiences, these courageous women, many of them from Tamil backgrounds, walked 340 kilometres over 15 days to advocate for the thousands of refugees who have been stuck in migration limbo.
Many of these 15 women arrived in Australia over a decade ago, fleeing abject poverty and persecution. They came to Australia to search for the same opportunities we enjoy today, safety and peace, but in the past decade these women and their families have been barred from much of what makes life in Australia so great, much of what many Australians take for granted—the opportunity to work in any area they choose, the opportunity to send their children to university in HECS places and to access TAFE and the opportunity to get full access to Medicare and superannuation.
As well as being refugees, these women are mothers, friends, sisters and colleagues. They’re active members of our community. Every day they make a positive contribution to our society. I’m confident that they will continue to contribute to our local communities. My message to them is simple: you are valued; your contribution to Australia is appreciated. I had the honour of delivering this message in person earlier this week, when I met with these inspiring women at Parliament House. I note that this amazing feat of activism and advocacy was made possible through the efforts of many local Tamil organisations and supporters.
The second issue I want to address is the situation in Gaza. The world is watching a complete tragedy for the innocent Israelis and innocent Palestinians who are victims in this situation. Many Australians are understandably shocked by the horrific violence and loss of life. The feedback I have from my community, every day, concerns the need to protect and value all human life. My community calls for recognition of Palestinian suffering and loss to the same degree as Israeli suffering and loss. All human life is sacred, and all innocent civilians should be protected. I’ve had hundreds of messages from my community, from people who have friends, families and loved ones who’ve been killed or subjected to terrible suffering. Of course I want to see a cessation of hostilities. Everybody wants to see the killing stop, and the cry for a ceasefire is an entirely and deeply human response to the humanitarian disaster the world is witnessing. Everybody wants to see innocent people live in peace. A ceasefire requires both parties to agree; by its nature, a ceasefire cannot be one-sided. Hamas still holds over 200 hostages as human shields and has a stated intent to kill Israelis and destroy the State of Israel.
Australia has led international calls for humanitarian assistance and calls for the fighting to stop so that food, medicine and other assistance can be brought into Gaza. Clearly, much more is needed. Here at home, we have an urgent responsibility to ensure that the most precious elements of being Australian are maintained. Harmonious multiculturalism is something we have built in this country, and we should fight to protect it. As leaders, we have a responsibility to calm tensions here at home, not to inflame them. We must ensure that all Australian Jews feel safe and secure and that all Australian Muslims feel safe and secure. Australian Muslims and Jews are good people who deserve to live in this country in peace and security.”
“Australia is a respected voice on the conflict in the Middle East, even if we are not a central player in the Middle East. The government is using Australia’s voice to advocate for the release of hostages, the protection of civilians, humanitarian access and a pathway out of this conflict towards a future of peace and security for all.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has expressed concerns about the Israeli military operation in Rafah:
”Many of Israel’s friends, including Australia, have expressed deep concerns about reports of an Israeli military operation in Rafah. There is growing international consensus: Israel must listen to its friends and it must listen to the international community.
There are more than a million civilians sheltering in and around Rafah. Many civilians who were displaced in Israeli operations in the north have moved south to this area, often under Israeli direction.
Israel now must exercise special care in relation to these civilians. Not doing so would have devastating consequences for those civilians and cause serious harm to Israel’s own interests.”
Those are the words of our foreign minister, who is doing an outstanding job managing this conflict in the best way possible and ensuring that Australia is a strong voice at the table, promoting peace, stability and sovereignty for all.
It is of deep regret that the government does not have partners in this effort in the opposition and the Greens, who are only looking for how they can use this crisis to whip up anger for votes. If they were sincere in their concern about the crisis in the Middle East, they would be engaged on a pathway to peace and keeping our community unified. But they would rather see the community divided, to pick off votes. The Greens should understand that, right now, there are more than 130 hostages still being held by Hamas. And I remind the opposition that we are faced with reports from the UN that 400,000 Palestinians in Gaza are starving, and a million more are at risk of starvation. An estimated 1.7 million people in Gaza are internally displaced, and there are increasingly few safe places for Palestinians to go.
Moreover, there is a real risk of regional escalation. The Albanese government is working with partners to manage the risk of regional escalation. But we don’t have partners in that effort in this parliament. The opposition and the Greens are not interested in a unified community and a pathway to peace; they’re just looking at what’s in it for them. Israelis deserve better, Palestinians deserve better and Australians deserve better.”
📑 Source: Hansard 1, Hansard 2, Hansard 3Last Updated: 11 March 2024Muslim Votes Matter, and so does the reliability and accuracy of the information WE SHARE. While we uphold strict data standards and have rigorous information checks, the community’s input & support is vital. If you identify any DATA discrepancies, PLEASE reach out at contact@muslimvotesmatter.com.au.