Dr WOODRUFF (Franklin – Leader of the Greens) – Honourable Speaker, I rise on behalf of the Greens to acknowledge that just a year ago, on 7 October 2023, over 1200 people were massacred in Southern Israel by Hamas. Thousands were injured and Hamas took 251 civilians into Gaza as hostages. We were all shocked at the images from these attacks. Young people enjoying a music festival, older people and children in their homes were brutally killed or ripped away.
It was the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust. We condemn that attack and the anti‑semitic attacks that have occurred in countries around the world since then. On the anniversary, we mourned with Jewish people for those who lost their lives that day and since. We support them in their demand for the return of hostages. No person should be treated as a means to a political end.
Hamas have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity and those responsible must be brought to justice. The Greens reject all forms of violence, especially violence against civilians.
Since 7 October 2023, the Israeli government has responded with escalating violence. They have invaded, bombed and undertaken a determined genocide of the Palestinian people in response. To date, over 40,000 Palestinian people have been killed. A further 99,000 have been injured. Incomprehensible numbers. Many hundreds of aid workers, unwell members, health workers and journalists have been killed and 1.9 million people, a full 10 per cent of people living on the Gaza Strip, have been displaced. That used to be a bustling seaside city, but the IDF have destroyed 60 per cent of homes and now it is all rubble.
Almost half of all the people killed are children. The images of dismembered children are very hard to watch. Israel has deliberately created famine across the Gaza Strip. They encircled the city and stopped the entry of aid trucks. 83 per cent of food aid does not get into Gaza. As a result, half a million people are at risk of starvation. There is miserable suffering, with medications and pain relief non‑existent in some places. Half the hospitals have been bombed. The terrible attack by Hamas a year ago in no way justifies this brutality against Palestinian people, which is ongoing.
Israel recently extended their air strikes to impact innocent civilians in Lebanon as they target Hezbollah. So far, more than 2300 people have been killed and over 10,700 wounded.
We fear the Israel States invasion of Gaza and the horrors they have brought there are at risk of being repeated again in Lebanon. The terrible events on the Gaza Strip have been painfully felt by Tasmanian Palestinian people and by all Tasmanians who care about injustice and war crimes. Every Saturday for the last year, the Tasmanian Palestinian Action Network (TPAN) has gathered in nipaluna/Hobart to stand for peace and our solidarity and demand an end to the genocide and invasion of Palestine.
In the context of a devastating conflict, the organisers and attendees have made these weekly rallies which are, we believe, the longest successive process action that we know of, they have made them an energetic and positive show of community support with thousands of Tasmanians joining in. TPAN has extended their protests to Launceston and raised tens of thousands of dollars for Palestinians affected by Israel’s war.
Just last night, they made their voices known again at Penny Wong’s speech at UTAS, when 50 or 60 people were really angry at the Federal Labor Party’s refusal to sanction Israel for its deadly strikes in Gaza and Palestine. Shame on them.
We also recognise the massive protest effort by students at UTAS, who have held a peaceful encampment to demand that their campus be clear about the research support that the university provides to Israel’s war effort. Those people work together on behalf of Tasmanians to speak for justice.
Last week at our Tasmanian Greens State Conference we heard from Caitlin and Nadia, who are two TPAN organisers. They are young women who keep their spirits raised through the power of collective action and hope. Their words were inspirational to us. They said, ‘Hope is a radical action. Hope is resistance’. On behalf of the Greens, thank you to all the organisers for your positive contributions. The Greens will continue to stand for peace. We stand with the Jewish community and demand the return of hostages and the prosecution of those who committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. We stand with TPAN and Palestinians and demand an immediate, permanent, and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza. The long‑term occupation by Israel in Palestine must end. Palestine must be free.
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