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Dutton says PM ‘should stand condemned’ for October 7 motion

Opposition leader Peter Dutton says the Coalition cannot support an October 7 motion to parliament.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton says the Coalition cannot support an October 7 motion to parliament. Photo: AAP

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has attacked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the wording of an October 7 motion and refused to support it, saying it was another attempt to “walk both sides” of the conflict.

On Tuesday in Federal Parliament, Albanese marked the anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel and the “lives and futures stolen” on that day.

Albanese also acknowledged the 40,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza, the lives lost in Lebanon and called for an end to the cycle of violence in the Middle East.

However Dutton said that in referring to the greater conflict, Albanese’s motion went beyond giving comfort and words of recognition for the horrors of October 7 that claimed 1200 lives in Israel.

Dutton said the prime minister was trying to “please all people in this debate” and the Coalition could not support that, meaning there would be no bipartisan motion from federal parliament.

“Your predecessors would have had the decency to respect the Jewish community in a way that you have not done today, and for that, Prime Minister, you should stand condemned,” said Dutton.

In a fiery speech, Dutton accused Albanese of allowing antisemitism to breed in Australia.

“As has been remarked by many commentators over the course of recent weeks, this government has sought to walk both sides of the street in relation to what has been a very divisive debate for our country,” he said.

“It’s what, in part, has given rise to the antisemitism that we’ve seen in campuses and across society more generally.

“It’s what’s making the survivors of the Holocaust, for their first time in their lives in our country, feel unsafe in the current environment.

“So in the motion moved by the Prime Minister today, it’s not just words of comfort and words of recognition in relation to October 7 — and I acknowledge those words in his motion — but of course it goes beyond that and it’s an extension of the way in which the Prime Minister has conducted the debate and himself for the last 12 months.”

Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, the prime minister said Australia’s position on the war in the Middle East remained consistent with other nations, that only through diplomatic efforts would “the cycle of conflict and bloodshed be broken”.

Albanese said the government backed a ceasefire in Gaza as well as the release of the Israeli hostages.

“This past year must have felt like a cruel eternity,” he said.

“The number of civilians who have lost their lives out of the past year is a tragedy of horrific proportions.

“So much has been lost, loved ones buried. We join all of them in their grief.”

Albanese said the humanitarian situation in Gaza was “devastating” and condemned the “poison of anti-Semitism”.

Speaking a year on from the October 7 attack, the prime minister spoke of the “brutality and the cruelty that was inflicted on so many with such cold calculation”.

“We think of all whose life and futures were stolen from them that day,” he said.

Albanese issued a warning to anyone thinking about taking a Hamas or Hezbollah flag to a protest.

“These symbols are not acceptable,” he said.

“They are symbols of terror. They are illegal, and they will not be tolerated here.”

The prime minister said “acts of hatred” in Australia would not be tolerated.

Dutton accused Albanese of a “deliberate strategy” to force the Coalition’s position against the motion.

“Now, we know that under the Government’s rules here in the chamber, they won’t allow amendment to the motion moved by the Prime Minister.

“Which is what’s put us in a very difficult position. But a deliberate strategy by the Government not to allow any correspondence to be entered into.”

More than 1200 Australians, permanent residents and immediate family members have been evacuated from Lebanon as the federal government continues urging people to leave.

Six Australian government flights have ferried people to safety, while a further 3892 Australians and their families are registered to depart, with vulnerable and displaced passengers prioritised.

Two flights are scheduled to leave Beirut on Tuesday, with a Qantas flight from Cyprus expected to bring up to 220 people back to Australia.

Jubilant scenes erupted at Sydney Airport on Monday, when a repatriation flight carrying 349 Australians and their families landed.

In two weeks, Israel’s bombing campaign has killed more than 1400 Lebanese people and left another 1.2 million without homes.

This new front in Israel’s war opened after a year of violence in Gaza.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas led an attack on Israel, killing 1200 and taking about 250 hostage, according to the Israeli government.

In response, Israel bombed and invaded Gaza while laying siege to its population, killing more than 41,000 people and leaving most of the territory’s residents displaced and facing starvation.

The first anniversary of the attacks was marked across Australia with vigils held by the Jewish community to remember those killed, the families grieving and the hostages who remain captive.

Community leaders warned of an unprecedented rise of anti-Semitism in Australia since the October 7 attack and called for the federal government to do more to stem the tide of abuse.

The call comes as a second man was charged by NSW Police for allegedly displaying a Nazi poster during a rally at Sydney’s Hyde Park on Sunday.

The 56-year-old will appear before court in November.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke is also reviewing the visa of a US guest speaker who reportedly called October 7 a day of celebration at a rally at Lakemba Mosque in Sydney’s west.

Albanese attended a vigil to mark the one-year anniversary of the attack by Hamas, which Australia designates as a terrorist organisation.

Pro-Palestine protesters call for an end to Israel’s invasion in regular demonstrations across the nation.

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-with AAP

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