Key Points
- Penny Wong says it's "extreme" of Peter Dutton to not endorse calls for a ceasefire in the Middle East.
- Wong argues that the Opposition's stance is at odds with the international community, including the United States.
- Earlier this week, Dutton accused the government of trying to "walk both sides" in relation to Middle East conflict.
The government says the Opposition is at odds with the international community, including Australia's ally the United States, on calls for a ceasefire in the Middle East.
More than 42,000 Palestinians and over 2,100 people in Lebanon have on Israel, in which Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people and took about 250 hostage.
With the conflict widening in the region, US vice president Kamala Harris said the Biden administration was working to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.
Asked about being in disagreement with the nation's closest ally, Liberal senator and Opposition home affairs spokesperson James Paterson said Australia was a sovereign country.
"It wouldn't be remarkable for an Australian politician to disagree with an American politician, particularly the United States administration under President Biden and Vice President Harris, a centre-left administration," he told ABC's Insiders program on Sunday.
"I'm from a centre-right political party, there'll be times that we disagree, and mature adults can be open and honest."
Asked if he wanted a ceasefire enforced, Paterson said the Opposition wanted an end to the conflict.
"In my view, that will only happen once Hamas releases the hostages and once Hamas is degraded, so they no longer pose an ongoing threat to Israel from Gaza," he said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said the Liberal Party, under Opposition leader Peter Dutton, was at odds with the international community.
"A few days ago, Mr Dutton said the prime minister should be condemned for calling for a ceasefire," she said in a statement.
"Now the Liberals finally realise they're at odds with the international community including the United States, who are all pressing for peace — but he still can't bring himself to do so."
Liberal senator James Paterson says the Coalition wants to see an end to the Gaza conflict, but has not backed calls for a ceasefire. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
"We know Mr Dutton is negative about everything but it's pretty extreme to be negative about a ceasefire that saves civilian lives and prevents further disastrous escalation of conflict," she added.
On Tuesday, Dutton accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government of trying to "walk both sides of the street in relation to what has been a very divisive debate for our country".
It came as Dutton refused to support a motion by Albanese condemning the October 7 attack. The motion included "unequivocal condemnation" of Hamas' attack and called for the "immediate and unconditional" release of remaining hostages.
It also stressed the need to "break the cycle of violence" in the Middle East, for a ceasefire in Gaza and in Lebanon, and affirmed support for a two-state solution.
Dutton said the Opposition had "not been able to arrive at a position of bipartisanship" in relation to the motion, and accused Albanese of "trying to speak out of both sides of his mouth".
Dutton said the Coalition had put forward a separate position to Albanese, which the prime minister rejected. "For that, the prime minister should be condemned," he said.
Most of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been displaced and much of the enclave has been laid to waste in the year since Israel started its current assault on it.
Australian ministers have been largely reluctant to condemn the attacks and have instead called on Israel to comply with international law and decried the number of civilian deaths.
Israel maintains it is complying with international law and seeking to avoid civilian casualties, blaming Hamas for hiding among civilians and using its infrastructure to mask operations and weapon stocks.
The same argument is made against the Lebanese group Hezbollah as Israel and attacks the southern parts of the country where Hezbollah has a stronghold.
With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press
