Sada-e-Watan
Sydney ™
sadaewatan@gmail.com
Leader of the Opposition Hon
Bill Shorten MP
and Hon Shaoquett Moselmane MLC
Opposition Whip Parliament of New South Wales the Hon. Shaoquett Moselmane’s
open letter for thanks to Australian Labor Party for adopt the motion of
recognition of Palestine Unanimously
History has just been made and I am
overwhelmed that we have reached a historic point for Australian Labor Party to
adopt the motion for recognition of Palestine Unanimously.
The Australian
Labor Party National Conference has just unanimously agreed to Call on the next
Labor Government to Recognise Palestine. Moved by Current shadow Foreign
Minister Penny Wong and seconded by Tony Burke, Shadow Minister and Federal
member for Watson to the applause of conference e delegates. This is a historic
moment for the Australian Labor Party and the Australian people.
I am
Proud to be at the ALP National Conference in Adelaide, beautiful South
Australia with so many Labor delegates from across the nation working hard and
competing on policy ideas that would take our nation into a Just and better
future serving the nation and our people. Proud to be at the conference
supporting the next Bill Shorten Labor Government that will lead a Government
with a focus for a Fair Go For all Australians. Whether it is in the regions or
rural areas or in cities, about families and children and about work and
employment, about health and education and fair work with fair pay. Proud to be
a member of the Union and to see so many Unions supporting fairness for all.
Proud to be a member of a Party that has the vision for much better public
transport, recognition of local government and Multicultural Australia, an
Australian Republic and proud of our Labor Leader’s announcement yesterday for
an Independent foreign policy decisions. I hope that will bring us a fairer,
Just and peaceful world with greater focus on justice for all people
dispossessed. Of particular importance to me yesterday morning was the long
awaited drive for Constitutional Recognition of our Aboriginal & Torres
Straits Islander Australians and today the conference’ unanimous call for
recognition of Palestine.
I feel a great sense of pride that through a
democratic process beginning with discussions with Labor’s rank and file
leading to branch motions to the State Labor conferences and now to the
National conferences we are on the verge of a Labor Government in Power
formally Recognising Palestine. Turning decades of stubborn and unfair
opposition.
To know that daily Palestinians are losing their homes and
land and hope as well as their lives to an expanding Israeli settlements and
for us to sit idle and do nothing was painful . With emboldened military
occupation of the West Bank, the crippling blockade of Gaza, and the refugees
trapped in camps over the borders in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and elsewhere, left
the Palestinians people in desperate and utterly intolerable situations. Their
state is even more intolerable today under extreme right wing Netanyahu
Government unwilling to support a Palestinian state or even to relinquish
settlements but to expand settlements and introduce apartheid laws that made
life under occupation even more unlivable.
The only way out was for
international pressure by way of recognition of the State of Palestine, the
Keneset and hard line political parties in Israel had long sought to deny the
Palestinian people.
As an Australian I believed we have a responsibility
to help see a just solution for the Palestinian people despite the extreme
right-wing Governments who have and continue to crush any hope for a brokered
peace process. A peace that is well overdue for us in Labor to commit to and
embrace as a new policy that would be a beacon of hope.
The Recognition
of Palestine is and always was the right thing to do. In partnership with 138
other countries, Australia would not allow the disappearance of a Palestinian
State and for the Palestinian right to self-determination.
Labor’s decision
to Vote today for recognition is in keeping with the 2017 Morgan Poll revealing
that 73% of Australians support ed recognition of Palestine.
I am proud
to have been part of this Labor movement. The Labor party in unity with the
union movement to do justice to the indigenous Australians through
constitutional recognition and in the same conference and on the next day Call
for Recognition of the rights of the Palestinian people to self determination
and recognise Palestine.
On Palestine Tony Burke has been negotiating in
good spirits with Richard Miles. In a Spirit of real trust. Both Richard and
Tony given the task of negotiations have delivered with the support of the
General Secretary of NSW Iron Lady Ms Kaila Murnain. I am grateful to her and
to my friend the next PM of Australia Mr Bill Shorten without him Palestine
recognition would not happen. will be done by cabinet. I thank BobCarr, Gareth
Evans Kevin Rudd, Bob Hawk Chris Hays and many others for their support. This
would not have progressed to this point without them.
I wanted to and
was ready and itching to speak as was Chris Hayes another federal member and a
great supporter but the case was left to Tony Burke and Penny Wong to speak. No
one else.
I was interested in the results and the motion to recognise
carried seamlessly between the Left and Right wings of the party. Here I thank
Anthony Albanese and once again our giant proponent and key that opened many of
the locks and removed the road blocks along the way, Bob, Bob Carr, Professor
the Hon Bon Carr.
I thank the tank and file members of the ALP who moved
motion after motion after motion recognising Palestine. Gratitude to them for
standing up for justice and through them the rank and file sent a strong
message to the ALP and its industrial arm and here I am grateful for the
support from Secretary of the NSW Unions NSW Me Mark Morey and the many Union
secretaries from the Right and the Left. I thank people like former Federal MP
Wendy Turner and organisations such as The Arabic Friends of Labor and Labor
Friends of Palestine.
On behalf of the people of Palestine I salute my
comrades in The ALP for what it is, a party of social conscience, a party of
Social justice, a party in which I am proud to be a member for the past 36
years. Labor is the party for fairness and justice for all. Labor is the party
for all disposed people all over the world and a party for a Fair Go For All
Australians.
Hon. Shaoquett Moselmane and Hon. Anthony Albanese
Federal
MP Hon. Chris Hayes , Federal President of the Labor Party Hon. Wayne Swan MP,
Former
Foreign Minister Hon. Prof Gareth Evans and Hon. Shaoquett Moselmane
MLC of New South Wales
