Greens call for ban on weapons trade with Israel

Federal Member for Griffith, Max Chandler-Mather, speaking outside weapons manufacturer, Ferra Engineering at Tingalpa in Brisbane on 15 April 2024.

Apologies for inaccuracies in the transcript of Max Chndler-Mather’s speech.

Greens call for Ban on Weapons Trade with Israel

Mon, Apr 15, 2024 4:18PM • 7:52

We’re here at Ferra Engineering in Brisbane. Because on a very simple level, we do not think that in Israel, we should be manufacturing weapons that are killing 10s of 1000s of innocent people. That’s why we’re here. And yet, what we will find time and again is that the major parties will attempt to paint us as the US as the unreasonable.

But I will claim, and I’ll put it to everyone here and everyone across the country. But the real radicals are the ones that can watch the genocide unfolding in Gaza right now. The ones watching Israel carry out a manufactured and engineered family, seeing babies die in their parents lungs, unable to sell the energy to breathe anymore. Where we watch Israel carry out a carpet bombing of hospitals, schools, bakers, refugee camps, killing people and murdering them in their 10s of 1000s.

Conceal that happen, and decide what they’re going to do is allow the export of more weapons to carry out that genocide, they are the radicals. And yet, there was a movement for peace building across the world. And the events over the last few days demonstrate just how important that movement for PCs, because again, it is everyone here, and millions of people across the world who have come out time and again and said and demanded an immediate and permanent ceasefire, demanded by the Greens have done in Parliament time.

And again, a ban of weapons trade with Israel with where we’ve come out and said, stop the genocide, because reality is there’s one movement right now, across the world, we’re demanding peace. We’re demanding an end to the killing and ending to them engineered famine, a free Palestine. And we know that if you were successful, and we are successful in winning those demands, then we make peace in this world far more likely. The real ones, the ones who are pushing the word, pushing for more death and destruction of life safe world are those who continue to back in Israel and arm them and support them and fumble. And we didn’t we saw this is not proceed.

And it’s hot, recently with the murdering of the Australian aid workers and aid workers Global central kitchen. Because we know, we know that the drones, the drones that murdered those those aid workers, like I have 1000s of Palestinians were manufactured by older pieces.

And we know that in February, that in February, the Federal Labor government signed a $917 million contract. And so really, it shouldn’t be a national scandal, that the drones that murdered those eight workers by ultimately controlled by Israel, that murdered them, were produced by a company that Labor wants to give nearly a billion dollars to. And so this is just one part of a giant movement for peacebuilding across the world and you should all be so exceptionally proud of yourselves. Because let me tell you, the tide is turning. Not so much amongst our world leaders just yet. But certainly amongst the broader population. I have lost count of the number of times that I’ve been walking through the community and people have come up to me, who said I’m previous we got an email last week, I’m a previous liberal voter. I’ve never voted for anyone else out there in my life.

And I’ll never be voting for labor on liberal again, because of their support of the genocide in Gaza. This this, I’ve spoken to lifelong labor and liberal voters, people who have never thought they would do would shift their vote before at all who have watched in horror on television, as this genocide involves and and said, I’m coming, some of them have even come to the rallies. They’re never supporting the major parties. Again, there is a groundswell of support building at the moment. And every time you’re made to feel like you’re in the minority, every time you made to feel like you’re the radicals every time you’re made to feel hopeless, like there’s nothing you can do. That’s exactly what they want you to feel.

They want you to feel like you’re on your own. They want you to feel like you’re hopeless. There’s nothing you can do. And no matter how many times you come to protest like this, no matter how many times you come and blockade Farah, no matter how many times you go to a rallying demand and immediate ceasefire and into with weapons trade with Israel or free Palestine, that is nothing really that has an effect at all.

But you are helping to build a groundswell of support across this country for peace and a free Palestine. It is every time you’ve come to a rally, every time you’ve come to an event like this. Every time you’ve shared stuff online. Every time you’ve done anything, any conversation you’ve had in the communities helping to build a groundswell of support do not stop now. Don’t stop now, because it is starting to shift. Public opinion is starting to shift. And I’ll tell you why it is starting to shift. Because ordinary everyday people regardless of their political background, they know right from wrong when they see show 13,000 children murdered, they know that’s wrong.

When they see 33,000 people killed by bombs indiscriminately dropped on dense populated neighborhoods, they know that’s wrong. When they see hospitals bombed, they know that’s wrong. When they see an engineered famine, where they know that food but medical supplies, anesthetics for women giving birth, are being blocked from getting into a population of 1.9 million people. They know that’s wrong. And the only people who don’t seem to know that that’s wrong, other people in power right now. But they are increasingly isolated, increasingly out of step with broad public opinion. And it is our job to represent that board public confidence to give them hope, that on behalf of the millions of Palestinians being persecuted and murdered, and starved, that there are people across the world that are giving them a voice.

And that’s what you’re doing here today. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you. And the only guarantee I can give you is every week in Parliament, no matter what else is happening. We will move like we did at the last week of parliament in weapons trade with Israel to call for a permanent ceasefire. We will do everything we can in Parliament to help be your voice. But we cannot do it alone. Because what we’re really doing is standing up and giving voice in Parliament to the 1000s, hundreds of 1000s and millions of people across the world who are demanding peace. The only way we can do that is if you keep showing up to events like this. So thank you from the bottom my heart and the only guarantee I’ll give you going forward is we’ll keep working up to things like this will keep calling for an end of all weapons trade with Israel, including Elbit Systems contract operations like fair arcade machines that are killing 10s of 1000s of people what a national shame it is that this is operating in Australia calling for a permanent and immediate ceasefire.

And by the way, rather than giving $917 million to Elbit Systems, why aren’t we giving $970 million to the Palestinians who are currently starving to death like that? That if that doesn’t sum up? How broken our political system is that Labor is more likely to give a billion dollars to Elbit Systems the company that that butchered that butchered those eight workers including an Australian and they are to a that I don’t know what it is. So thank you everyone today. We’ll keep fighting and we’ll keep fighting until we get a free Palestine and free and peace and immediate ceasefire. So thank you, everyone.