NSW Police brace for Labor Conference protests in Sydney CBD
NSW Labor has hardened its stance on the Gaza conflict, putting up a motion at its Sydney conference for Palestine to be recognised as a sovereign and independent state ‘as a priority’.
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NSW Labor has hardened its stance on the Gaza conflict, putting up a motion at its Sydney conference for Palestine to be recognised as a sovereign and independent state “as a priority”.
The motion is a step-up from the federal party position, which calls on the government to recognise Palestine as a state and expects that the issue will be an “important priority”.
With an election looming, Labor officials will be hoping it will be enough to woo back Muslim voters in critical Labor seats in Western Sydney.
The move came a day after PM Anthony Albanese was accused of bowing to protestors by calling for an “urgent” and “immediate” ceasefire, drawing swift rebuke from Jewish leaders.
At NSW State Labor conference on Saturday, the motion was moved by Bankstown MP and longstanding pro-Palestine advocate Jihad Dib, who received a standing ovation and deafening applause from party delegates inside Sydney Town Hall.
“By recognising Palestine, we recognise a sovereign people who cannot have their land stolen by illegal settlements or be subjected to the inhumane bombardment that we are seeing right now,” he told the conference.
“We need two states living side by side ... we recognise the spirit of Palestinians and their dream of self-determination, and it will never be broken.”
The wording of the motion was thrashed out by members of the various Labor factions and sub-factions over several days, designed to avoid a show of disunity.
Those wanting a more aggressive stance described the final wording as the “bare minimum”.
The motion was in addition to the conference condemning the October 7 attacks, calling for the release of hostages and condemning anti semitism - something left-controlled state conferences around the country have not done.
The move came as hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters gathered outside Sydney Town Hall, where the conference was being held.
A man covered in fake blood lead the protest, drumming and screaming “ceasefire now” in front of a row of police lining the Town Hall entrance.
Protesters were ordered to “yell with every fibre of their beings” after learning Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had started his speech inside the building.
“Channel all the rage you’ve felt over the last nine months … I want you to scream at the top of your lungs so he knows how we feel about him,” one woman told the crowd.
For several minutes protesters screamed: “Albanese, blood on your hands”.
An unprecedented level of police security safeguarded the conference venue.
In delivering his keynote address to the party faithful, the Prime Minister did not explicitly acknowledge the protests outside, although he gave a not-so-veiled reference to the ongoing protests outside his Marrickville electorate office that have forced him to close it. Ostensibly these are pro-Palestinian but there has been much speculation the Greens are behind at least some of these Labor electorate office protests.
That may have been in mind when he said of the Labor movement: “We choose progress over protest.
“We choose delivery and action over empty words, and our members choose to help vulnerable people inside elected offices — not intimidate them outside.”
Mr Albanese had long gone by the time the Palestine debate occurred late on Saturday.
Earlier, the PM received a rock star welcome as he walked into auditorium with his partner Jodie Haydon to Mr Brightside by The Killers – a song the sometime DJ once declared he played to “rescue a dance floor”.
As he began his speech, a lone Labor Party delegate standing in the upstairs gallery directly opposite him staged a silent protest by hanging a Palestinian flag over the balcony.
A reference to the “the mighty trade union movement” triggered calls of “shame” from members of the Electrical Trades Union, who had earlier refused to give Mr Albanese a standing ovation, with some delegates walking out in protest at the expulsion of their CFMEU union colleagues from the party.
An acknowledgment of the service of outgoing Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney received cheers.
During his speech, Mr Albanese referenced his government’s achievements – although there was no reference to universal childcare, despite Labor sources declaring an announcement is imminent. There was also acknowledgment of the cost-of-living crisis and how “Australians are doing it tough”.
Mr Albanese had a dig at his opponents. “Who can forget Scott Morrison standing in parliament and passing a lump of coal down the front bench,” he said. “I’ll give them the big tip, don’t try that stunt with uranium. It’s been over a month since the Liberals finally announced their plan for nuclear reactors in every state on the mainland. They can’t find a single investor.”
In rallying the room to get behind the party as it moves onto campaign footing, Mr Albanese declared there was “no time to waste”.
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