Motion calls on state government to review weapons exports to Israel
Independent legislative councillor Tammy Franks will today introduce a motion to the upper house calling for the SA Government to divest public entities from companies “which may be complicit in genocide and/or human rights abuses against the Palestinian people”.
Independent legislative councillor Tammy Franks will today introduce a motion to the Upper House, which she says is informed by the controversial Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
The motion calls on the South Australian government to “review any exports of weapons and weapons components from South Australia which may be used by the Israeli Government to commit genocide and/or human rights abuses against the Palestinian people”.
The motion also calls on the state government to “divest all public entities (including Funds SA) from any corporation which may be complicit in genocide and/or human rights abuses against the Palestinian people, as was done for Russian entities following the illegal invasion of Ukraine”.
It also urges the state government “to end all current and future public investment and subsidies for weapons or weapons components which may be used by the Israeli Government to commit genocide and/or human rights abuses against the Palestinian people”.
The motion is being introduced today to align with the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on November 29. If passed, it will have no legal binding, but would put pressure on the government to consider its content.
Franks said that “[i]t is well past time that South Australia shows some leadership and begins to actively pursue divestment of funds away from any corporation that may be complicit in genocide or human rights abuses against Palestinians”.
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“South Australians continue to watch in horror as we learn the full extent of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians,” she said.
“We continue to watch in horror as innocent civilians, many of them children, try to rebuild their lives, after two years of relentless bombings.
“We continue to watch in horror, as Israel’s illegal occupation continues, not only in Gaza, but in the West Bank and across the Palestinian territories. Yet as we watch this horror, we are yet to see the same response from the Premier.”
InDaily understands that SA-Best MLC Connie Bonaros and Better Community MLC Jing Lee will be speaking to the motion.
According to the BDS website, it “is a Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice and equality” that calls for the economic and cultural boycott of Israel and “urges action to pressure Israel to comply with international law”.
BDS has been criticised by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry as posing a threat to “Israel’s legitimacy as a state and a member of the family of nations, and to diaspora Jews”.
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Israel has strongly rejected accusations of genocide, labelling them “false and outrageous”.
“Israel remains committed, as it has repeatedly affirmed and demonstrated, to acting in accordance with its rights and obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law,” a spokesperson from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously said.
It is understood that the Australian Friends of Palestine Association (AFOPA) was involved in drafting the motion.
Christa Christaki, who is chairperson of AFOPA, said that “Premier Malinauskas and SA Labor have an obligation tomorrow to end our state’s export of weapons and public investments in the Palestinian genocide”.
“The Premier passed strong laws quickly to divest Funds SA from Russian companies in May 2022 and given the UN finding of genocide, the same measures must be taken to protect Palestinian lives. Failure to act risks creating the misperception of a racial double standard when it comes to universal human rights,” she said.
“South Australians have watched this genocide live-streamed for two years and we have marched in our thousands against the mass slaughter of innocent civilians and children. Tomorrow, SA Labor has the chance to do the right thing.”
Jewish Community Council of South Australia spokesman Norman Schueler said that State Parliament was not a venue for “foreign policy shenanigans”.
“For the past two years, certain politicians have relentlessly attacked Israel with every slur and accusation they could muster, doing nothing for the cause of peace and severely damaging social cohesion,” he said.
“Thankfully, the international community has brokered an end to the war, the hostages have been released, and the regional players can turn their attention to the peaceful rebuilding of Gaza, free from Hamas.”
The war in Gaza began after Hamas-led militants killed 1200 people and took about 250 hostages in an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed nearly 70,000 Palestinians, according to Gazan health officials, while also leaving much of Gaza in ruins.
Hamas and Israel signed a truce on October 9, halting two years of warfare.
Under the US-brokered ceasefire, Hamas released all 20 surviving hostages still held in Gaza in exchange for nearly 2000 Palestinian prisoners and wartime detainees held by Israel.
