Pro-Palestinian protesters target premier’s office with fake corpses

Activists have targeted the offices of Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan and Deputy Premier Ben Carroll, leaving fake corpses that they say represent children killed in Gaza.

Dolls with missing limbs were left outside Allan’s Bendigo office and Carroll’s office in Niddrie early on Wednesday. The pro-Palestinian group No More Bodies in Gaza has claimed responsibility.

Pro-Palestinian group No More Bodies in Gaza claimed responsibility for a demonstration outside MPs’ offices.

The activists say the “child corpses” are to protest against the Labor government’s partnership with Israel-based military technology company and defence contractor Elbit Systems.

The group has called for Labor to break all ties with Elbit and “other Israeli warfare and surveillance system manufacturers”, but Carroll said any claim the Victorian government was linked to Israeli weapons manufacturing was “unfounded and malicious criticism”.

Dolls left outside Ben Carroll’s office.

A spokesperson for No More Bodies in Gaza said the displays left outside Allan and Carroll’s offices were modelled on footage of the destruction coming out of Gaza.

“Elbit’s weapons have been developed and field tested against Palestinians for years. Elbit currently provides up to 85 per cent of the land-based equipment procured by the Israeli military and about 85 per cent of its drones, according to Database of Israeli Military and Security Export,” they said.

The spokesperson said the weapons had been used to kill almost 38,000 Palestinians and injure 68,000 in 138 days.

According to UNICEF, children make up 47 per cent of the Gazan population and at least 17,000 children have been orphaned or separated from their parents. A child is killed in Gaza every 15 minutes, the No More Bodies in Gaza spokesperson said.

“Victoria signed a partnership deal with Elbit in February 2021. In March 2023, Minister Ben Carroll travelled to Israel to develop and secure investment opportunities in priority sectors of medtech, aviation and defence. He committed the government to further collaboration and partnerships,” the spokesperson said.

“In November 2023, RMIT ended its partnership with Elbit Systems under pressure from the Australian people and BDS movement.

“The Victorian government’s partnership with Elbit continues to implicate Australian taxpayers in Israel’s horrific war crimes against Palestinians. Profit should never come before peace.”

Carroll slammed claims about the state government’s links to Israeli weapons manufacturers.

“We signed an MOU [memorandum of understanding] to get more flights directly from Melbourne to Tel Aviv. We signed an MOU with Monash University to get the best healthcare here in Melbourne, Victoria. We signed an MOU with their start-up innovation sector,” the deputy premier said.

“The most I have seen that Israel and Victoria have in common from a defence point of view is their exhibitions at the Avalon Airshow.”

Wednesday’s incident was the third demonstration targeting the premier’s office this month, including one on Monday that caused an estimated $4000 in damage.

Victoria Police said inquiries were being made following reports of the latest incident at Allan’s Bendigo office overnight on Tuesday.

Allan said acts of vandalism were not the way to have a political debate in Victoria.

“People who come to my office under the cover of darkness, with hammers … the graffiti we’ve seen sprawled on my office, this is cowardly behaviour,” she said.

“I say to people: step out of the cover of darkness, have your discussions and debates in the daylight with words, not with hammers.”

Allan said the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Middle East was a grave concern. She said it was the role of the federal government to speak on behalf of the nation.

“My focus, and the government’s focus, and it really should be the focus of all Victorians, is not to drive further division here in Victoria,” she said.

Labor’s rhetoric on the Gaza conflict has become a sore point for elements of the Victorian party, forcing politicians to balance demands within their electorates against federal policies, without inflaming anxieties.

Dozens of pro-Palestine activists protesting at Defence Minister Richard Marles’ Geelong office last November.

This has been felt most keenly by government MPs who represent electorates with a high proportion of Muslims due to Australia’s cautious support of Israel’s right to defend itself after the October 7 Hamas terror attack.

Victoria’s cross-party Parliamentary Friends of Palestine group, co-chaired by Labor’s Bronwyn Halfpenny, told state parliament last year that Gaza was being “strangled”, while Broadmeadows MP Kathleen Matthews-Ward and Tarneit MP Dylan Wight both called for a ceasefire.

Carroll said empathy and civil discussion from people on each side of the debate was more productive than “extremism”, including the targeting of MPs’ offices.

“Targeting members of parliament offices will not serve any purpose. It will not do anything except fuel hatred. And we are a tolerant society, and we must remain tolerant,” he said.

Debate over local action on the Middle East conflict led to heightened tension at the City of Melbourne office on Tuesday night, after council voted against a motion calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

Hundreds of people, both pro-Palestinian and Israel supporters, rallied outside the office following the debate. Members of the Jewish community told 3AW radio on Wednesday morning they were allegedly verbally attacked by pro-Palestinian activists.

Carroll said he did not think the City of Melbourne’s decision to hold a vote for a ceasefire had been helpful.

“Melbourne City Council have a very clear mantra on supporting rates, roads and rubbish,” he said.

“I know as a Victorian government minister, my job is to focus on building the education state, doing better transport, supporting our communities on the energy transition.

“Some people perhaps should be working in Canberra in the foreign affairs office.”

Last November, No More Bodies in Gaza claimed responsibility for similar fake bodies demonstrations at the offices of Victorian Labor MPs and federal ministers, including those of Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, Immigration Minister Andrew Giles and Government Services Minister Bill Shorten.

The group also staged a “die-in” at the Nine offices in the Docklands last December to “represent the growing number of journalists being killed in Gaza for carrying out their essential work”.

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With Kieran Rooney and Rachel Eddie