“One day, when it’s safe, when there’s no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it’s too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this.” – Omar El Akkad on 25 October 2023, alongside footage of Israel’s destruction of Gaza. It later became the title of his book, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This.
At a rally organised by Justice for Palestine Magan-djin outside Queensland Parliament on 16 September 2026, Queensland Council of Unions General Secretary Jacqueline King defended the Palestine solidarity movement’s right to political expression.
Jacqueline King expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people, particularly those suffering in Gaza, and condemned the Queensland LNP government’s laws restricting political expression.
Speaking on behalf of the Queensland Council of Unions, Jacqueline King endorsed the petition presented by Rosa Monsour for Justice for Palestine Magan-djin. The petition calls for the repeal of laws that criminalise particular words used during peaceful protests. King said the laws represented an attack on the implied freedom of political communication under the Australian Constitution. She looked forward to the outcome of the High Court challenge being organised by Justice for Palestine Magan-djin.
King emphasised that the case had implications extending well beyond the Palestine solidarity movement. The rights to speak out, organise and protest have enabled workers and unions to win safer workplaces, better wages and democratic freedoms. Environmental, political, workplace and community organisations all depend upon these rights.
She described it as “ridiculous” and “shameful” that Queenslanders had to cross the border into New South Wales to be able to use expressions prohibited in Queensland. No one, she argued, should face criminal charges for peacefully opposing war and genocide, defending human rights or demanding accountability for what is happening in Gaza.
King said a healthy democracy must allow people to criticise governments and public policy, even when their views are unpopular or contested, provided they do not vilify others.
She warned that accepting laws that silence people speaking out about Gaza would create a dangerous precedent: if these protesters can be silenced, who will be next?
Drawing upon the lessons of history, King said unions, community organisations and left-wing political movements had played a vital role in resisting fascism before the Second World War. She called upon Queenslanders to oppose authoritarian elements entering the state’s laws and to defend the fundamental democratic rights to speak, organise and protest.
Queensland Council of Unions Secretary Jacqueline King made no call for industrial or political action by the unions, preferring instead to pursue the legal path.
Ian Curr, 17 September 2026