Australian opposition rejects government’s Oct. 7 resolution for including ceasefire call

By AP 8 October 2024, 6:37 am

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CANBERRA, Australia — Australia’s main opposition party refused to endorse a government motion in Parliament marking the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

Peter Dutton, leader of the conservative Liberal Party, objects to the motion’s call for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon and a reference a need for lasting peace and security for all people in the region.

The spat suggests political differences over the conflicts in the Middle East will figure prominently in Australian general elections due by May next year.

Dutton says the motion should have focused on the some 1,200 people that Hamas killed on October 7 last year.

Dutton says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should be condemned for failing to draft a motion worthy of bipartisan support.

“The prime minister is trying to speak out of both sides of his mouth and that is not something that we will support in relation to this debate,” Dutton says.

The motion was carried by the House of Representatives 85 votes to 54.