Lead
Labor MP Ed Husic has criticised his party's internal culture after his proposed resolution on Israel and Palestine failed to gain enough support for debate at the national conference. Husic, a former industry minister, said the party had become "allergic" to dissent and dispute, warning that the unity on show at the tightly controlled conference could backfire.
The conference, which concluded in Adelaide on Saturday, adopted positions on Israel, Palestine and Hamas that broadly align with the Albanese government's view. Delegates also voted to wind back fuel subsidies for big miners and agreed to extract a "fairer return" from Australia's natural resources, although Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ruled out a new gas export tax in the foreseeable future.
Coverage Comparison
Two news organisations covered the story from different angles. ABC Australia focused on Husic's criticism of the party's culture and the failure of his resolution, while The Guardian — World emphasised the national conference's focus on unity and the party's policy decisions, including the fuel subsidy changes and a proposal from the Labor Environment Action Network (Lean).
Both outlets reported that factional powerbrokers worked behind the scenes to avoid contested debates, and that Husic spoke out on several contentious issues, including a gas export tax and Indigenous truth-telling.
Key Claims
Husic had sought to amend the party platform to acknowledge a United Nations inquiry that determined Israeli authorities had "deliberately targeted Palestinian children, resulting in genocide and atrocity crimes in the Gaza Strip and war crimes in the West Bank." His resolution was initially seconded by the Maritime Union of Australia, but the union withdrew support on Saturday morning. Husic said he was "surprised" at the energy applied to preventing open debate, and declared he did not "give a shit" if senior colleagues put him "in the freezer" for speaking out.
MPs Josh Burns, who is Jewish, and Basem Abdo, the son of Palestinian refugees, both spoke in favour of the party's platform in what was intended as a show of unity. The Israeli embassy criticised the adopted positions.
The party's platform opposes the annexation of Palestinian territory and calls for Israel to end illegal settlement activity.
Separately, the conference agreed to wind back fuel subsidies for big miners, setting up a potential fight with resources giants. The Labor Environment Action Network (Lean) secured support to amend the policy platform to remove tax "disincentives" to an "orderly" energy transition. The proposal is part of a campaign to cap the diesel fuel tax credit for mining companies. More than 350 Labor branches, unions, climate campaigners and mining billionaire Andrew Forrest have backed reforms to the scheme.