Green senators have organized a mass walkout from parliament to show solidarity with Palestine. They describe the two major parties as ‘morally bankrupt’ and as ‘heartless cowards’ in this area.
The left-wing small party has 11 seats in the Senate and has been demanding a ceasefire since Israel retaliated against Hamas’ brutal attacks on the Jewish state on October 7.
About 1,400 Israelis and 9,770 Palestinians are believed to have died in the catastrophic violence.
On Monday, Senator Mehreen Faruqi criticized Labour’s response to the crisis, saying: “Weasel words will not stop war crimes.”
‘The Coalition is morally bankrupt when it comes to Palestine, and Labor has shown itself to be heartless, gutless cowards.
On Monday, Senator Mehreen Faruqi slammed Labour’s response to the crisis, saying: ‘Weasel words will not stop war crimes’
“You look at the massacre of thousands of Palestinians by Israel, you do not condemn Israel, you refuse to call for an immediate ceasefire.
“We’re not going to stand by and watch you pat yourselves on the back for not doing anything. Today we bring the popular protest to parliament.’
She raised her fist and shouted “free, free Palestine” before leading a strike.
Her colleague, retiring Sen. Janet Rice, held up a printed photo of the Palestinian flag as she walked away.
After the strike, Senator Faruqi said Greens politicians, like “millions of Australians”, are “shocked, appalled and angry by the mass murder of innocent people in Gaza”.
The left-wing small party has 11 seats in the Senate and has been demanding a ceasefire since Israel retaliated against Hamas’ brutal attack on October 7.
Her colleague, retiring Sen. Janet Rice, held up a printed photo of the Palestinian flag as she walked away
In the Senate, the Labor government needs the support of the Greens to pass bills that lack bipartisan support.
The party has been steadfast in its support for Palestine, sparking outrage days after Hamas’s first attack by refusing to back a motion backing Israel’s right to defend itself in the House of Representatives.
Greens leader Adam Bandt was pictured alongside MPs Stephen Bates, Max Chandler-Mather and Elizabeth Watson-Brown, with all other MPs in the House of Representatives voting in favor of the motion.
Mr. Bandt tried to add an amendment to accuse Israel of war crimes and declare the barrage of airstrikes and the impending invasion of Gaza as “not just a humanitarian catastrophe, but a war crime.”
Tasmanian Independent MPs Andrew Wilkie and Sydney Teal, Kylea Tink and Sophie Scamps, supported the amendment.