The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has accused the Coalition of shifting positions on the US alliance and Middle East ceasefires for political reasons, after it appeared to abandon its insistence that US and Australian policy must always align.
Wong called for Peter Dutton to clarify the Coalition’s position on the United States’ support for ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon after the shadow home affairs minister, James Paterson, distanced the Coalition from the US stance.
“A few days ago, Mr Dutton said the prime minister should be condemned for calling for a ceasefire,” Wong said on Sunday, referring to Dutton’s refusal to back a government motion in parliament on Monday marking the first anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attacks.
“Now the Liberals finally realise they’re at odds with the international community, including the United States, who are all pressing for peace – but he [Dutton] still can’t bring himself to do so.”
The opposition had rejected Monday’s parliamentary motion because it included the ceasefire call. Dutton argued the US no longer supported ceasefire calls. He claimed Australians would “condemn the prime minister” for taking a stance that was “at odds with some of our key partners”.
But the US president, Joe Biden, and the vice-president and Democratic presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, have since confirmed the US still supports a ceasefire.
On the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday, Paterson appeared to reverse the previous stance, saying there would be times when the allies would disagree.
“It’s not a remarkable thing that Australia could come to a different judgment from the United States,” Paterson said. “We are our own sovereign country.”
Wong said Dutton should clarify how he would have responded to the situation if he was prime minister.
“Mr Dutton needs to explain: would he have stood against the US-led UN security council resolution which called for a ceasefire in Gaza? Would he have said no to Australia joining the United States and other partners in a statement calling for a ceasefire across the Lebanon-Israel border?”
She accused Dutton of being “negative about everything”.
“But it’s pretty extreme to be negative about a ceasefire that saves civilian lives and prevents further disastrous escalation of conflict,” she said.
About 2,700 people fleeing conflict in Lebanon have now landed in Australia, as the federal government prepares to start ending flights.
A year on from Hamas’ 7 October attack on Israel, fighting has widened in the region from Gaza to Lebanon, Yemen and Iran.
Vice president Harris said her administration was working to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.
Asked on Sunday about the Coalition’s position on a ceasefire in southern Lebanon, Paterson said it could only happen when Hezbollah had been “degraded and defeated”.
This is at odds with Biden and Harris, who have called for a de-escalation and ceasefire.
When questioned about being in disagreement with the nation’s closest ally, Paterson told Insiders: “It wouldn’t be remarkable for an Australian politician to disagree with an American politician, particularly the United States administration under President Biden and Vice President Harris, a centre-left administration.”
“I’m from a centre-right political party, there’ll be times that we disagree, and mature adults can be open and honest,” Paterson said.
He said that “on questions of principle, [the Coalition] are very strong supporters of Israel”.
“We understand the circumstances they face. God forbid Australia ever faces challenges that Israel faces. God forbid that Australian politicians are ever faced with these choices, but if we would expect their government to respond as decisively as Israel has.”
Asked if he wanted to see a ceasefire enforced, Paterson said the opposition wanted to see an end to the conflict.
“In my view, that will only happen once Hamas releases the hostages and once Hamas is degraded, so they no longer pose an ongoing threat to Israel from Gaza,” he said.
Labor failed to secure bipartisanship on a motion commemorating the first anniversary of 7 October, which the assistant trade minister, Tim Ayres, labelled “deeply disappointing”.
“The opposition chose to hang out with [Greens leader] Adam Bandt, their supposed opponents, the two extremes of Australian politics coming together,” he told Sky News.
More than 1,200 Israelis were killed when Hamas launched its attack last year, taking hundreds more hostage.
Almost 42,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began its retaliatory strikes, with the majority of Gaza’s population facing displacement and starvation.
Interest in free seats out of Beirut has declined sharply in recent days, with fewer than 180 aboard two flights to Cyprus that departed on Friday.
The last two government-chartered flights will leave Beirut on Sunday before the Australian government pulls the pin on the evacuation operation.
194 Australians and family members have arrived in Australia overnight.
— Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 🇦🇺 (@dfat) October 11, 2024
2,135 Australians and their family members have now returned to Australia from Lebanon on assisted-departure flights. pic.twitter.com/AvY8929i5P
Australians and their family members still in Lebanon will need to resort to local carrier Middle East Airlines or other commercial airlines.
One final Qantas flight is due to leave Cyprus on Wednesday evening.
The flights followed an escalation in Israel’s year-long scuffle with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in recent weeks, with a campaign of intense bombings across Lebanon including its capital Beirut.
More than 2,200 people have been killed and another 1.2 million have been displaced across a nation about the size of Sydney.
