Good to see this from a nation that could otherwise feel hypocritical due to its own colonial past and present (present because colonialism is a structure, not an event). This is a positive thing...
Good to see this from a nation that could otherwise feel hypocritical due to its own colonial past and present (present because colonialism is a structure, not an event). This is a positive thing IMO.
I would love to see more countries step up in this way.
It's not as positive as it seems. This announcement by our current Foreign Minister is just restoring the former status quo, after our previous government changed Australia's official attitude to...
It's not as positive as it seems. This announcement by our current Foreign Minister is just restoring the former status quo, after our previous government changed Australia's official attitude to Israel, Palestine, and the occupied territories.
Sources with knowledge of the policy shift said ministers had broadly refrained from using the term “occupied” or “occupation” since 2014, even though Australia had continued to support UN general assembly and security council resolutions that use such language.
The reluctance to use the term began early in the life of the former Coalition government.
The current government is just rolling back changes the previous government made over the past decade, to again align ourselves with international law and the United Nations. It's not a step forward, as such. It's just undoing a step backward.
Good to see this from a nation that could otherwise feel hypocritical due to its own colonial past and present (present because colonialism is a structure, not an event). This is a positive thing IMO.
I would love to see more countries step up in this way.
It's not as positive as it seems. This announcement by our current Foreign Minister is just restoring the former status quo, after our previous government changed Australia's official attitude to Israel, Palestine, and the occupied territories.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/08/australia-to-officially-resume-use-of-term-occupied-palestinian-territories-reversing-coalition-stance
This follows on from last year's announcement that the new government was reversing the previous government's support for West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The current government is just rolling back changes the previous government made over the past decade, to again align ourselves with international law and the United Nations. It's not a step forward, as such. It's just undoing a step backward.
Good. Everyone needs to recognize that Israel is a terrorist state.