The Australian government aims to become one of the world’s top arms exporters within a decade. “The goal is to get into the top 10. That is the ambition” – Malcolm Turnbull in 2018, Defence exports: Turnbull unveils $3.8b fund to boost foreign sales of Australian arms.
Zim is an Israeli shipping company that operates on the eastern seaboard of Australia. Its ships dock at terminals like Patrick stevedores in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Patrick’s is owned by the Canadian transnational corporation, Brookfield. This morning I wrote to Brookfield CEO Sam Pollock requesting that his company divest from Israel saying:
“Brookfield must divest from and sanction all Israeli transport and infrastructure. Brookfield subsidiaries must terminate their dealings with companies that are actively supporting Israeli genocide in Gaza (eg Zim). Failure to do so immediately will make your company complicit in Israeli war crimes against Palestinians and liable to both moral and material consequences.” [Sent 4:24 28 March 2024).
NSW MUA official calls for sanctions against Israel
On March 7, Israeli occupation forces bombed the headquarters of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) in Gaza City. Meanwhile New South Wales state secretary of the MUA, Paul Keating, has called on the Australian government to support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and to impose sanctions and arms embargoes on Israel because of the ongoing genocide in Gaza. This is what Paul Keating had to say.
“Australia stands with the Palestinian people. We call on the Albanese government and, for that matter, all state governments to call for a permanent ceasefire. The crimes that are unfolding and the ethnic cleansing in Gaza must end. We call on the Albanese government to put sanctions on Israel. Now. We call on the Albanese government to put arms embargoes on Israel. Now, Israel is an apartheid state. It is also a rogue state.”
Meanwhile people are taking direct action in Brisbane against arms manufacturers who are complicit in the genocide. One of those is HTA a company operating at Coopers Plains in Brisbane heating the metal parts for the American F-35s that are used by Israel to destroy Gaza and to kill its Palestinian inhabitants. Radio four triple Z conducted this interview with the two people Ollie and Cat who conducted the operation of bringing HTA weapons production to a standstill last week for eight hours. This story was covered by Andy who said :”Today the Paradigm Shift was about local responses to the ongoing genocidal slaughter in Gaza. I speak to Cat and Ollie who this week climbed on the roof of HTA’s Brisbane office to disrupt its work on weapons that are sent to Israel.”
Ian Curr
28 March 2024
Reference
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