Peter Dutton has refused to support a parliamentary motion proposed by Anthony Albanese marking the first anniversary of the 7 October attacks because it also mentioned the need for regional deescalation and a ceasefire.
The opposition leader’s stance prompted the Labor MP Sally Sitou to tell parliament “there is no issue too big for him to politicise and show how small he is”. Independent MPs said they regretted the lack of bipartisanship.
Political divisions over the Israel-Gaza war also erupted in the Senate on Tuesday, with the Greens pulling out placards reading “sanctions now” as they demanded that Labor ratchet up pressure on the Israeli government.
The independent senator Lidia Thorpe also walked into the chamber midway through question time chanting “shame on you”.
Albanese moved a 15-part motion in the lower house that included “unequivocal condemnation of Hamas’s terror attacks on Israel which took place on 7 October 2023, in which more than 1,200 innocent Israelis were killed, the largest loss of Jewish life on any single day since the Holocaust”.
The prime minister’s motion also said the parliament “mourns the death of all innocent civilians, recognising the number of Palestinian civilians killed in Gaza, and the catastrophic humanitarian situation”.
In a speech to parliament, Albanese said 7 October would “always be a day of pain” and said the number of civilians who had lost their lives over the past year was “a tragedy of horrific proportions”.
At least 41,909 Palestinians have been killed and 97,303 wounded in Gaza since Israel launched its military response to the 7 October attacks, the territory’s health authorities said on Monday, with thousands more likely lost in the rubble.
The toll includes combatants but also thousands of civilians, with more than half of the dead being children and women, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
“As we mourn and reflect, we also reaffirm a fundamental principle of our shared humanity: every innocent life matters. Every Israeli. Every Palestinian. Every Lebanese,” the prime minister said.
“Terrorists don’t care if children in Israel or children in Gaza live or die. We do.”
Albanese implored the parliament to unite “to preserve the harmony that makes this the greatest country in the world and in our shared commitment to a just and lasting peace, knowing that the truest act of strength is to protect the innocent”.
Dutton said the first sitting day after the first anniversary of the 7 October attacks was “not the time” to propose a wide-ranging motion.
Dutton specifically raised concern about the paragraph that “stresses the need to break the cycle of violence and supports international efforts to deescalate, for a ceasefire in Gaza and in Lebanon, and for lasting peace and security for Israeli, Palestinian, Lebanese and all people in the region”.
“There are other sections here which go well beyond the intent of what should be a motion to mark the loss of life of 1,200 people on the first anniversary … but of course the prime minister is trying to speak out of both sides of his mouth,” Dutton said.
He added that “none of us support the loss of civilian life”.
Dutton said he had requested changes and blamed Albanese for the Coalition’s decision to vote against the motion. He said the prime minister “wasn’t able to lead a moment of bipartisanship in this parliament” and should “stand condemned”.
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Sitou said there were “moments in this place where we need our political leaders to rise to meet the moment” but that Dutton always failed such tests.
“He did that earlier today when he refused to back a motion commemorating the attacks on 7 October because the motion also acknowledged the loss of life of those in Gaza and Lebanon,” the Labor MP for Reid told parliament.
The independent MP for Goldstein, Zoe Daniel, voted in favour of the motion and said “the pain of more than one group of people can coexist”.
“Shouting at each other in this place does not cancel out anyone’s pain.”
The independent MP for Wentworth, Allegra Spender, said it was unacceptable that Jewish children and young people were facing abuse in public and were afraid to go to university.
“I was not part of the bickering of the major parties that has led to this divided house today and I am so disappointed,” Spender said.
“I condemn October 7, I condemn the actions of Hamas, I mourn the Israelis that have died but I also mourn the innocent Palestinians and Lebanese civilians that have died. These people are somebody’s children. I wish that we as a parliament could come together and lead unitedly.”
The leader of the Greens, Adam Bandt, explained why his party had abstained.
“The Greens can’t support a motion about a year of ongoing slaughter that fails to condemn the war crimes of the extremist Netanyahu government, acknowledge the unfolding genocide in Gaza, or put any pressure on Netanyahu’s government to stop the invasions of Palestine and Lebanon.”
The motion passed with 85 votes in support to 54 against.