BREAKING: Mass resignation following decision to oppose a ceasefire in Gaza
by GRACE JOHNSON
A member of the Inner West Council’s Multicultural Advisory Committee (MAC) has confirmed with City Hub that members have resigned en masse following Council’s decision to oppose a motion to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
At a committee meeting last night, all members present resigned.
Members of the MAC reportedly said they cannot continue to support a council that does not condemn the ongoing civilian attacks in Gaza and call for a ceasefire, especially in light of the anti-racism strategy they have been working on.
Labor councillors unanimously voted down the motion, originally put forward by Greens councillor Dylan Griffiths.
Cr Griffiths’ motion called on Council to urge the Australian Government to support a ceasefire in Gaza.
At the beginning of the meeting, three speakers from the public spoke in support of the motion, including one Palestinian-Australian and one Jewish-Australian. A fourth speaker spoke against the motion, saying she supported the call for a ceasefire but wanted the motion to be stronger.
Labor reportedly voted not to bring Cr Griffiths’ motion forward, despite audience numbers being the greatest in decades, meaning the gallery had to wait over two hours until they began the motion debate
Despite hearing heartfelt speeches calling for a ceasefire, Labor did not explain why they wouldn’t support the motion.
Labor councillor Mark Drury instead put forward a foreshadowed motion which stated that Council ought to note that foreign affairs is a federal matter.
Cr Griffiths’ ensuing attempts to amend the foreshadowed motion, including flying the Palestinian flag throughout the Inner West until a ceasefire is announced, were also unanimously voted down by Labor.
The decision and the Inner West Labor majority has many questioning whether Labor is prioritising the calls of the community or their own party politics.
I have been an Multicultural Advisor and Community Representative on the Inner West Council’s ”Multicultural Advisory Committee” since 2016. I chaired its predecessor the ”Local Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Committee” (Ashfield Council) from 2004 to 2012.
After 20 years of involvement advising Council on multicultural and anti-racism matters, my colleagues and I found ourselves in an untenable situation after a (Labor) majority of Inner West Councillors voted against a motion seeking a ceasefire in Gaza (21.11.23).
Taking into account the ongoing colonialisation of Palestine and the continued isolation and marginalisation of the Palestinian population since 1948, we find such a move racist and contemptious of basic human rights.
Crimes against humanity, war crimes, international law crimes and the ALP blocks this as a “federal issue”?
Shame on them.
We are all human beings and amongst Israel’s crimes against the humanity of the Palestinian people, Israel’s dereliction of its’ international legal responsibilities as an occupier towards the occupied, Israel’s blatant intention to annihilate the people of Palestine in the first instance by murder and the second by forced relocation it is chilling in both the short- and long-term implications that the ruling party of this nation remains inert.
I condemn the Australian Labor Party for this intentional choice to politicise a humanitarian disaster and abandon our fellow human beings in Palestine.
Heaven help Australians if we ever need international support.