Stance on Palestinian vote 'balanced': Labor MP

28 Nov 2012, 11:00 am   -   Source: AAP
Share This
0 
+ Comment
5
Australia was expected to join the United States and Israel in voting against the resolution, and Ms Gillard initially wanted to oppose the resolution, but bowed to pressure from all but two of her cabinet colleagues. (Getty)

Australia was expected to join the United States and Israel in voting against the resolution, and Ms Gillard initially wanted to oppose the resolution, but bowed to pressure from all but two of her cabinet colleagues. (Getty)

Australia's international reputation would have been damaged had it decided to vote against upgrading the Palestinian status at the United Nations, a federal Labor MP says.

RELATED

Australia's international reputation would have been damaged had it decided to vote against upgrading the Palestinian status at the United Nations, a federal Labor MP says.

Left faction leader Doug Cameron, who personally raised the issue with Prime Minister Julia Gillard, is pleased Australia will abstain from a vote in the general assembly on a resolution to give the Palestinians observer status in the UN.

Australia was expected to join the United States and Israel in voting against the resolution.

Ms Gillard initially wanted to oppose the resolution, but bowed to pressure from all but two of her cabinet colleagues.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr is said to have led the push against the prime minister's initial position.

Senator Cameron said Australia would have ended up "in a very bad position" globally had it decided to vote against the Palestinian bid.

"The problems that exist in Palestine are ones that need good friends of Israel but strong friends that are prepared to say to Israel enough is enough," he told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.

"If you want a two-state solution, then we are going to take a balanced position."

Australia should now be "extremely strong" in voicing its opposition to Israel's settlement program, Senator Cameron said.

Cabinet minister Anthony Albanese, who is also a member of Labor's left faction, refused to say whether Ms Gillard was strong-armed by her foreign minister into withdrawing support for Israel.

"I don't talk about cabinet and you wouldn't expect me to break the law," he told ABC television.

"What we have here is the prime minister's (changed) position was endorsed at the caucus."

Senior opposition frontbencher Christopher Pyne said the decision broke the usual bipartisanship that existed between the coalition and Labor on the Middle East peace process.

The coalition and Labor have for decades supported Israel stating its right to exist, he said.

"The fact that they are abstaining on this shatters that bipartisanship," Mr Pyne told reporters.

He said members of the Labor caucus were right to be angry that Ms Gillard had been "rolled" by cabinet and caucus.

"There are people in the Labor caucus who have the right (correct) view," Mr Pyne said.

Others had "a wrong, leftist view" that had infected the caucus and the government.

Australian Greens leader Christine Milne said it was a mistake for Ms Gillard to oppose the bid, especially following Australia's election to the UN Security Council.

But the final decision to abstain was better than "just following along with the US" in supporting Israel.

Palestinians UN Bid

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube

Your Comments

PM can't stand on her own.

Jason - from Melbourne, 6 months ago

This is crazy, when the pm made the descision to say NO to the vote, she should have keptit and not let the lousy backbench to overturn the PM's vote.

What happened to Greens leadership?

Stan - from Turramurra, 6 months ago

What happened to Greens leadership? When Greens retired leader Bob Brown spoke, it was compassionate, wise and found common ground with a wide range of people. Look at the Greens now. You've got a leader who substitutes emotive passion for compassion - Christine Milne tearfully beats her chest and says she would not want to live in a great country like ours, because our country tries to discourage illegal boat arrivals, where people are frequently dying while trying to reach our shores. Christine would rather treat arrivals more humanely and thereby create an incentive for them to take the dangerous boat trips in the first place. What about the Greens partisan support for the Palestinian cause? From Marrickville Council's boycott of Israel to Christine's expressed wish that Australia voted with Palestinian Authority in the UN, what makes Christine chose sides in this long-running conflict in which both sides have valid grievances against each other. That's not wise. That's pretty divisive actually. That's like showing the finger to the other side in total disrespect for their narrative and their position. Christine is certainly not wise and, instead of speaking to our common interests, like Bob Brown, she is speaking to a decreasing minority and alienating people that voted Greens in the past, like myself. Greens were the fresh, environmentally conscious and humane alternative to the convergent Labour/Liberal view. They spoke to people across all walks of life. Now, they are the radical party that unnecessarily polarises and offends with its stupidity. Bring back Bob Brown! I suppose she will label me sexist now.

yep

Cameron - from Darwin, 6 months ago

Its good to know not everyone in our government is happy to be the USA's yes man when it comes to international foreign policy.

Australian public support for the Palestinians severly underestimated.

Clive - from canberra, 6 months ago

Obviously PM Gillard does not comprehend or accept the enormous support amongst Australians for the Palestinian people. Labor's Mike Kelly who immediately jumped on the bandwagon of support for Israel during last weeks slaughter, has clearly never visited this part of the world without being funded, escorted and closely monitored by the Israeli government PR machine. There is no room in our democracy for people who takes sides because "its politically correct". He has lost my vote and respect.

Win Win for big brother

Rashid - from WA, 6 months ago

“But the final decision to abstain was better than "just following along with the US" in supporting Israel.” Of course it was better. You don’t want to get on the wrong side of your master-big-brother. It is a ‘win win’ strategy as he would say in his language.

Join the Discussion

Name
City / Suburb E.g. Artarmon, Sydney
Title
Comment
You have characters remaining.
Validation
What's this?
This is a captcha-picture. It is used to prevent mass-access by robots.
All submitted comments become the property of SBS. They are moderated, so we reserve the right to edit comments and remove HTML tags. Not all submitted comments will be published. Publication does not mean we endorse the opinions expressed. Please read our terms and conditions for more information.