Motions to recognise a Palestinian state and call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza have been put forward for debate by ACT Labor members at the party's annual conference, highlighting differences between some rank-and-file members and the party's parliamentary leadership.
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One motion, submitted by members from the party's Black Mountain branch, calls on the membership to strongly support pro-Palestinian student protests at the Australian National University, former Labor senator Fatima Payman and ends with the statement "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free".
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously taken issue with that statement, saying it goes against a two-state solution in which Israel and Palestine are recognised side by side.
The motion calls on party members to back the federal government to use "all influence, pressure, and diplomatic measures to achieve a permanent ceasefire" and an end to military trade with Israel.
At least 10 motions on issues relating to Israel, Palestine, the war in Gaza, student protests and divestment have been submitted by party members for debate at the conference, the event at which the ACT branch amends and updates its policy platform.
Another motion submitted by the Black Mountain branch calls on the ACT government to sign a city friendship agreement with Rafah, a city in the Gaza strip that has come under heavy attack from Israel since the October 7 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel that killed about 1200 people.
Israeli ground offensives and bombardments have killed more than 38,300 people in Gaza since then, with more than 88,000 wounded, according to the Gaza health ministry.
In a separate motion, also submitted by members from the Black Mountain branch, a preamble describes an "unprecedented assault on the city of Rafah".
"Here the Zionist settler colonialist movement's objective under Israel's most right-wing government in history appears to have shifted from forced expulsions, pogroms and ethnic cleansing to clear the land of indigenous Palestinians, to the objective of genocide or what the ICJ ruled in January 2024 plausible genocide," the motion said.
The proposed motions show the split between some members of the Labor party and the public positions taken by its parliamentary leaders. ACT Labor members are also understood to be preparing for pro-Palestine protests at the party's conference.
Labor's annual conference will be held later this month, with a slate of other motions proposed by members on issues including housing, public service insourcing and procurement policies.
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
