Labor and Liberals facing internal fault lines over Gaza, net zero, and Welcomes to Country

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3 days ago

It's one of the most enduring political rules — never fight the last election at the next one.
But the Liberals are already showing signs of missing this important memo in the new political term.
Over the weekend, the WA Liberal Party supported a motion to abandon a target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, heaping more pressure on federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley to dump the policy.
Delegates at the WA Liberal State Council also approved a motion to get rid of the Indigenous and Torres Strait Islands flags behind the prime minister at press conferences and cut back on Welcome to Country ceremonies.
It is understood that both motions were carried with an overwhelming show of support when they were read out and without needing to go to a ballot.
The behind-closed-doors meeting was held at a hotel in federal MP Andrew Hastie's electorate of Canning, and Hastie, a future leadership contender and rival to current leader Sussan Ley, said the motion was about sending a "clear signal" to Australians. But what is that clear signal?
The most obvious signal is that the "sensible centre" Liberal Party that Ley seeks to lead and portray exists as nothing more than an illusion.
While Ley sat on the fence on net zero when asked where she stood last week — a dangerous place for any leader to sit — she was positive about the importance of the Welcome to Country ceremony opening the parliament.
It puts her at odds with many in her party who want to continue the culture war that derailed the last week of Peter Dutton's campaign. I say derailed because voters were looking for a clear economic narrative and vision from the opposition leader. Instead, they got served more of the same.
The fact that these two issues — net zero and Welcome to Country — are becoming the defining fault lines inside the Liberal Party is all the evidence you need that the wars of the past are being fought again, instead of the party engaging with the issues that are defining the future.
Labor, for its part, will tackle its level of commitment to Indigenous issues of treaty and truth, and criminal justice when its First Nations caucus meets this week in Canberra.
There's a strong feeling in the party that they must not squander the thumping majority they have been delivered, with many believing that advancing Aboriginal rights issues needs to be revisited.
A sign of Labor confidence after week one of the 48th parliament is a debate going on about whether the five Labor MPs who have been seated on the opposition benches because the party's numbers are too big have got the rough end of the deal or a sweet blessing.
One told me it provides a "fresh perspective" on the house. They are now working on a name for their group of five Labor members. Latest contenders are "the Happy Bench" or "the CrossReds." Either way, it's a good problem to have.
The issue many Labor MPs are thinking of as we enter week two of the first sitting fortnight is what more Australia should be doing to denounce the humanitarian horror unfolding in Gaza.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese released a strong statement about the worsening humanitarian crisis, calling on Israel to end its blockade of aid and immediately comply with its obligations under international law.
The opposition said the statement was "one-sided" and ignored Hamas's role in blocking aid.
But France's plan to recognise Palestinian statehood is changing the direction many think the government needs to take. Former foreign minister Bob Carr and Labor backbencher Ed Husic think it's time to change course.
These prominent Labor figures are urging Albanese's government to join French President Emmanuel Macron in recognising a Palestinian state at a United Nations summit in September, in a bid to create momentum for a two-state solution.
Yesterday, on Insiders, the PM poured cold water on the prospect of following France. But Labor insiders still hold hope that this position could shift if there is movement from like-minded countries, like the UK, before that September meeting.
Albanese told Insiders a decision by the Israeli government to allow some aid into Gaza was "just a start" and more needs to be done.
Albanese pointed to images of a starving one-year-old boy, saying, "It breaks your heart".
"A one-year-old boy is not a Hamas fighter. The civilian casualties and deaths in Gaza is completely unacceptable. It's completely indefensible. My government has been very consistent in calling for a ceasefire," he said.
"We have been consistent in calling out the terrorists in Hamas and saying that the hostages should be released. But we have rules of engagement, and they are there for a reason. They are to stop innocent lives being lost, and that is what we have seen."
Albanese said he had been moved by the images of this "innocent young boy".
"For anyone with any sense of humanity, you have to be moved by that. And you have to acknowledge that every innocent life matters — whether they be Israeli or Palestinian."
The PM said, "we need to move to a longer-term" solution and he called for a two-state solution.
Albanese previously said he had spoken to Israeli President Isaac Herzog to tell him Israel was losing support.
"What I have said [to him] is that what sometimes friends have to say to their other friends when they are losing support," he said.
"Israel is, I think, when you look at internationally, the statements that have been made by, including this week, more than two dozen nations combining to call out the lack of aid being allowed into Gaza, is that they need to recognise — they need to operate within international law.
The message is clear: Israel is on notice from its traditional friends.
The images of starving children in Gaza have crossed the Rubicon. Australians will not accept this.
Patricia Karvelas is host of ABC News Afternoon Briefing at 4pm weekdays on ABC News Channel, co-host of the weekly Party Room podcast with Fran Kelly, and host of politics and news podcast Politics Now.