Anthony Albanese vs Peter Dutton on October 7: No winners in unprecedented political divide

Proposals for a bipartisan parliamentary motion to mark the anniversary of the Hamas terror attacks and deaths of 1,200 Israelis on October 7 has turned into an unprecedented and ugly political division.

There can be no winners here.

Politics has trumped good intentions and only served to deepen the divisions that have grown so terribly in Australia in the last year.

Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have had a bitter split over a proposed bipartisan motion with the Prime Minister rejecting the Opposition Leader’s Saturday proposal which condemned the terror attacks, expressed support for Israel and mourned the victims.

Albanese’s alternative, to which the government would not accept any amendments, condemned the terror attacks but extended the motion beyond a memorial to a call for de-escalation of hostilities in Gaza and Lebanon, a ceasefire and a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.

After three days of exchanges between the leaders, Albanese pressed ahead with Labor’s broader agenda and Dutton decided it could not be accepted.

This is an unprecedented parliamentary development where a memorial motion could not be agreed.

What’s more Dutton has accused Albanese of breaching a long tradition of Labor leaders on such a motion of doing so for domestic political advantage.

Julian Leeser, a Jewish Liberal MP, said the government’s insistence on a broader motion which included calls for ceasefire and supported Labor’s call for a timetable for a Palestinian state without necessary involvement of Israel.

This is an horrendous political rift with people on both sides shocked and numbed with what they now face on the floor of the parliament.

It is clear Dutton wanted to take the initiative on Saturday and pin Albanese to the decline in government support as violent protests turned the public against the pro-Palestinian movement.

It was equally clear that Albanese would not allow a motion to be passed which isolated the Israeli pain and did not mention the suffering in Gaza and Lebanon.

There is now a clear and ongoing division politically motivated that is going to keep the social unrest alive for months to come.