Independent Member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, confronted the Federal Government and Federal Opposition for their cynical disregard of international law, during a speech in Federal Parliament this morning.
“We should be alarmed with the Federal Government having mostly shrugged off breaches of international law in its reaction to Israel’s genocide in Palestine, and with it ignoring international law completely in its approval of the US bombing of Iran. The Federal Opposition’s mocking of the defenders of international law as misty-eyed nostalgics is no better,” Mr Wilkie said.
“It seems Australian governments believe that when it comes to our friends, might makes right; but that a rules-based order should apply to everyone else.
“For instance the Government will rightly call for international law to apply to China in Tibet, the South China Sea and Taiwan, to Russia in Ukraine, and to Iran in their nuclear program; but it hasn’t had the guts most of the time to also apply it to Israel and the US. And of course Australia has been willing to break international law itself, for instance when we helped invade Iraq in 2003, and every time we turn around, lock up and send offshore the many asylum seekers desperate for our protection. Mind you it’s always open to us to start doing better, and I suggest immediately recognising the State of Palestine would be a solid start.
“Now I’m clear-eyed about the issues with the international rules-based order, and the criticism it faces for things like an ineffective UN Security Council and problems with enforcement. However those are not reasons to abandon our support for international law, but rather to demonstrate consistency in the ethical standards we hold and to work harder together to improve its principles and its application.”