Andrew Bolt: Contrast between Albanese and Dutton’s press conferences on Israel is damning

The comments made by Anthony Albanese in the wake of Iran’s attack on Israel stand in stark contrast to those made by Peter Dutton — and they cover the Prime Minister in shame. He has exposed himself as unfit for office.

Wednesday is the day Anthony Albanese was exposed as unfit for office, given the war we’re now in.

The Prime Minister was embarrassed not only by what he said in his calamitous press conference, hours after Iran fired 181 missiles at Israel, and three days after anti-Israel protesters waved the flag of the Hezbollah terrorist group in our streets.

Even worse was the stunning contrast between what Albanese said and what Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said in his own press conference, minutes earlier.

Compare and contrast, and ask yourself: which leader understands what’s at stake as an alliance of tyrannies – Iran, Russia and China – wages a new world war on democracies, first Ukraine, then Israel and soon Taiwan?

Which can see that the battle for western civilisation has also come to Australia?

Take Albanese’s refusal to back Israel’s brilliant counter-attack these past two weeks against Hezbollah, which has spent the past year firing 9000 rockets and missiles into Israel, forcing 60,000 Israelis to live as refugees.

Does Anthony Albanese care that Israel is fighting for its life? Picture: David Geraghty

This was his entire answer: “We regard Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation, as we regard Hamas as a terrorist organisation. We have been working with like-minded countries and issuing appropriate statements such as the one I have referred to.”

Astonishing. How can Albanese not support – even praise – Israel for so quickly decapitating the leadership of the world’s biggest terrorist army, which has attacked Israel, murdered US soldiers, assassinated Lebanese Christian leaders and killed 90 people when it bombed a Jewish cultural centre in Argentina?

Does Albanese actually care that Israel is fighting for its life not just against Iran, which says it wants Israel wiped off the map, but against Hezbollah and the other terrorist armies which Iran funds in Iraq, Syria, Gaza and Yemen?

But don’t worry – Albanese said he’s issued “appropriate statements”, and quoted one calling for “de-escalation” – code for once more telling Israel to suck up the latest terrorist attack. Albanese said Israel should instead give “diplomacy” a chance to “succeed”.

The contrast between Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Albanese is damning. Picture: Adam Taylor

Is he kidding? Israel last week killed Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who’d called Israel “an aggressive, illegal and illegitimate entity, which has no future in our land”?

Iran’s ambassador to Australia just two months ago praised the founder of Hamas, also funded by Iran, for dedicating his life to “wiping out the Zionist plague”.

Does Albanese seriously think such guys could have been “negotiated” into letting Israel live?

Israel has worked out that with such enemies it’s kill or be killed, while Albanese seems blind to Iran’s bigger agenda – which includes an alliance with China and Russia. What we see in Israel is just one front in their joint war on freedom.

Albanese admitted on Wednesday morning he hadn’t even protested to Iran’s ambassador over Iran’s missile attack on Israel overnight, stuttering: “No, ha, I have been here in Melbourne, so, our, no, I have not, is the answer.”

Hadn’t occurred to him.

The attack on Israel is a war on western democracies. Picture: AFP

But, like I said, it’s the contrast with the Dutton comments that really covers Albanese in shame.

Here’s how Dutton answered the same question – did he support Israel’s attack on Hezbollah: “Israel has been very clear they that they are not going to be subject to attack and nor should they be.”

Dutton then put Israel’s war of self-defence in a context Albanese doesn’t mention: “They are a democracy and they are a society like ours.

“They believe in freedom of speech and adherence to the rule of law … To see them under attack would be no different to seeing the United States, the United Kingdom or Canada under attack.”

Yes, it’s a war on western democracies.

Again and again, the contrast in the two leaders’ press conferences was damning.

Here is Albanese on the pro-Palestinian radicals planning to protest next Monday, the anniversary of the Hamas murder last year of 1200 Jews: “October 7 I think is not a time for demonstrations to occur because it will be perceived as, whether that’s the intention or not, as being something that is a less than an appropriate commemoration of the atrocity that occurred on October 7 and it will do nothing to advance the cause.”

Dutton, in contrast, demanded a stop to “what would be a grotesque gathering to celebrate the death, the slaughter, of 1200 people of Israel”, adding: “There needs to be an understanding of the Australian values.”

In this war to save western values, only one man is a leader. The other is just our prime minister.