‘Immense frustration': Labor base demands sanctions against Israel
Australia joined 27 nations to demand an immediate end to the war and condemn Israel's 'drip feeding' of aid to Gaza on Tuesday, but pro-Palestine campaigners within Labor are calling for the government to go further and take concrete actions against the Israeli government.
Seventy-eight Labor branches have passed motions calling for far-reaching sanctions against Israeli entities and individuals involved in the war and a two-way arms embargo on Israel, including the supply of military parts and components.
The branches include one in Foreign Minister Penny Wong's home city of Adelaide and three in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Sydney electorate of Grayndler.
'Strong words are not enough,' the conveners of the Labor Friends of Palestine group said in a letter sent to Wong on Wednesday and seen by this masthead.
'Expressions of concern and repeated calls for restraint have achieved little in the last 21 months; indeed Israel's violence and clear disdain for international humanitarian law have only intensified.'
Local branch meetings are the primary way for members to influence party policy, outside its national conference that is held every three years, but they have no formal power to change how MPs or ministers act.
Noting that the 28-nation statement said the countries were 'prepared to take 'further action' to support a ceasefire', the campaigners said: 'We urge Australia to take the lead by proposing comprehensive sanctions and an arms embargo as practical measures towards ending the violence in Gaza and the West Bank.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
Australia news LIVE: Morrison tells US Congress Australia ‘going to sleep' on China threat; top court makes key climate ruling
Latest posts Latest posts 6.47am Labor going backwards on transparency, new analysis finds Labor is hiding information from the public more often than the Morrison government despite campaigning on a platform of integrity, frustrating a critical accountability mechanism intended to maintain faith in bureaucrats and keep politicians honest. Analysis by the Centre for Public Integrity shows Canberra's culture of secrecy has sunk to its worst point in more than a decade, with the proportion of freedom of information requests released in full plunging from almost half in 2021-22 to just 25 per cent under Labor in 2023-24. The government is increasingly releasing documents to the public filled with black ink covering up key sections of text and Labor is more often ignoring Senate votes requesting details on policies and ministers' decision-making. Independent senator David Pocock said the data under Anthony Albanese's watch was shameful compared to the prime minister's predecessor, Scott Morrison. 6.37am Australians 'going to sleep' on China threat, Morrison tells US Congress By Michael Koziol Former prime minister Scott Morrison has told the United States Congress that Australians are at risk of 'going to sleep' on the security threat posed by China, and warned the US and its allies they must be prepared to wear economic pain to stand up to Beijing. Appearing before a congressional hearing on the Chinese Communist Party, Morrison cited polling by the Lowy Institute that showed, in 2025, 50 per cent of Australians said China was 'more of an economic partner to Australia', whereas 47 per cent said it was 'more of a security threat'. That had changed significantly from 2021-22, a time of strained relations between Canberra and Beijing, when 63 per cent said China was more of a security threat and 33 per cent said it was more of an economic partner. 'That is an objective of the CCP – that Western democracies will go to sleep on the threat,' Morrison told the hearing. 6.35am What's making news today By Daniel Lo Surdo Hello and welcome to the national news live blog. My name is Daniel Lo Surdo, and I'll be helming our live coverage this morning. Here's what is making news today: The Albanese government will march forward with its legislative agenda after introducing two key draft laws on Wednesday. Labor is hoping the passage of its legislative agenda will be expedited behind support from the Coalition, which also appears receptive to its student debt reduction bill. It comes after the first question time of the 48th parliament on Wednesday, with the government and opposition exchanging blows spanning topics including housing affordability, climate change policy and superannuation tax reform. Former prime minister Scott Morrison has warned the United States Congress that Australians are at risk of 'going to sleep' on the security threat posed by China, and warned the US and its allies they must be prepared to wear economic pain to stand up to Beijing. He later told reporters that Australians' level of awareness of the security threat posed by China had clearly diminished significantly over the past three years. Countries besieged by the effects of climate change can legally pursue their neighbours for reparations if they fail to uphold their obligations to curb emissions, a top court has found. The historic advisory ruling was handed down by the International Court of Justice, and paves the way for massive compensation claims in a case brought by a group of law students from Vanuatu.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Australia news LIVE: Morrison tells US Congress Australia ‘going to sleep' on China threat; top court makes key climate ruling
Latest posts Latest posts 6.47am Labor going backwards on transparency, new analysis finds Labor is hiding information from the public more often than the Morrison government despite campaigning on a platform of integrity, frustrating a critical accountability mechanism intended to maintain faith in bureaucrats and keep politicians honest. Analysis by the Centre for Public Integrity shows Canberra's culture of secrecy has sunk to its worst point in more than a decade, with the proportion of freedom of information requests released in full plunging from almost half in 2021-22 to just 25 per cent under Labor in 2023-24. The government is increasingly releasing documents to the public filled with black ink covering up key sections of text and Labor is more often ignoring Senate votes requesting details on policies and ministers' decision-making. Independent senator David Pocock said the data under Anthony Albanese's watch was shameful compared to the prime minister's predecessor, Scott Morrison. 6.37am Australians 'going to sleep' on China threat, Morrison tells US Congress By Michael Koziol Former prime minister Scott Morrison has told the United States Congress that Australians are at risk of 'going to sleep' on the security threat posed by China, and warned the US and its allies they must be prepared to wear economic pain to stand up to Beijing. Appearing before a congressional hearing on the Chinese Communist Party, Morrison cited polling by the Lowy Institute that showed, in 2025, 50 per cent of Australians said China was 'more of an economic partner to Australia', whereas 47 per cent said it was 'more of a security threat'. That had changed significantly from 2021-22, a time of strained relations between Canberra and Beijing, when 63 per cent said China was more of a security threat and 33 per cent said it was more of an economic partner. 'That is an objective of the CCP – that Western democracies will go to sleep on the threat,' Morrison told the hearing. 6.35am What's making news today By Daniel Lo Surdo Hello and welcome to the national news live blog. My name is Daniel Lo Surdo, and I'll be helming our live coverage this morning. Here's what is making news today: The Albanese government will march forward with its legislative agenda after introducing two key draft laws on Wednesday. Labor is hoping the passage of its legislative agenda will be expedited behind support from the Coalition, which also appears receptive to its student debt reduction bill. It comes after the first question time of the 48th parliament on Wednesday, with the government and opposition exchanging blows spanning topics including housing affordability, climate change policy and superannuation tax reform. Former prime minister Scott Morrison has warned the United States Congress that Australians are at risk of 'going to sleep' on the security threat posed by China, and warned the US and its allies they must be prepared to wear economic pain to stand up to Beijing. He later told reporters that Australians' level of awareness of the security threat posed by China had clearly diminished significantly over the past three years. Countries besieged by the effects of climate change can legally pursue their neighbours for reparations if they fail to uphold their obligations to curb emissions, a top court has found. The historic advisory ruling was handed down by the International Court of Justice, and paves the way for massive compensation claims in a case brought by a group of law students from Vanuatu.
9 News
2 hours ago
- 9 News
'A drop in the ocean': HECS debt relief welcomed but some say it won't go far enough
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Young Australians say they are still facing decades of repayments for their student loans, despite Labor introducing a bill to slash HECS debts by 20 percent. Education Minister Jason Clare tabled the bill on Wednesday as the re-elected Albanese government's first act in parliament. Clare said the legislation would cut the debt of three million Australians, with the average HECS debt of $27,600 being reduced by around $5500. Julia Wilding says she will still be saddled with an enormous debt, even after a 20 percent reduction. (Supplied: Julia Wilding) The reform will also raise the minimum amount before people have to start making HECS repayments from $54,435 to $67,000 and reduce minimum repayments. "This is a big deal for three million Australians, in particular, a lot of young Australians," Clare said. "Just out of uni, just getting started, this will take a weight off their back." Western Australian Julia Wilding graduated from six years of study to become an optometrist in 2023. The 25-year-old was left with a HECS debt of $130,000, and also paid $34,000 for her final six months of study upfront as she had reached the cap on the amount she could borrow from the government. Wilding said while she welcomed the $26,000 reduction in her HECS debt, it still felt like "a drop in the ocean". Wilding calculated it would take her about 30 years to pay off her HECS debt, and that was before the annual indexation applied to her loan was taken into account. "At this rate, I'll still probably be in my 50s when I finally pay it off - and I was 17 when I started uni. It's quite depressing." Wilding said she loved her job and did not regret going to university to study in her chosen field, however, the cost of her education was onerous. "The financial road is very difficult. When I think about it, it's just such an inordinate amount of money, that you just have to laugh about it sometimes," she said. Sydney woman Katie, who asked for her surname to be withheld, has a HECS debt of around $110,000 after graduating with three degrees - one in the arts, another in classical music and a third in publishing. She now works in the not-for-profit sector and estimates that she will be in her 80s by the time she pays off her HECS debt, assuming she continues to work full-time. "I appreciate any reductions," Katie said. "However, I do think that all HECS debts should be erased. It's a little bit difficult to take seriously the argument for not doing that when most of the people making those arguments got their education for free, but any relief is good relief." Students are seen walking through the Sydney University's campus. (Flavio Brancaleone) Katie said there were a number of ways the government could make things easier for students struggling with growing HECS debts, including bringing back government co-payments for voluntary contributions, or making extra contributions tax deductible. A common complaint of the current HECS system is its yearly indexation schedule. While HECS repayments are taken out of a person's salary throughout the year, these payments are kept aside by the ATO and not deducted from the total amount owing until after indexation is applied on June 1. Katie said this process seemed particularly unfair and should be changed. "They take your money out of our paycheck each pay cycle, but they don't actually pay it off until they've added the indexation, which kind of feels a bit like a slap in the face." It's a call echoed by Senator David Pocock, who told parliament he wanted to see the date of indexation altered. "It is outrageous that people with HECS debts are being charged indexation, effectively interest, on money they've already repaid to the ATO," he says. Pocock said the federal government needed to "stop going for the headline" and "embrace hard reform" when came to higher education. A wide-ranging review of the entire university system, called the Universities Accord, was commissioned by the federal government, and its findings were released in February, 2024. Clare said the government had already taken steps to address some of the recommendations included in the report, including introducing payments for students completing practical work placements as part of their studies. "There's a lot of work to do to make our higher education system better and fairer," Clare said, adding the next move would be to look at changing the funding system to be more "needs-based" and follow individual students, a reform which would benefit disadvantaged backgrounds and students from regional Australia. education university national Australia federal politics CONTACT US Auto news: Why Australians are still driving around without insurance.
