Election 2025: Bandt tells Muslim group what he will demand from Labor on Gaza

Adam Bandt has vowed to Muslim Votes Matter that he would demand an end to the ‘invasion’ of Gaza, sanction Israel and ‘audit’ national security legislation, hinting at what he could seek from a minority Labor government.

Greens leader Adam Bandt in Brisbane. Picture: Glenn Campbell

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Greens leader Adam Bandt has vowed to the Muslim Votes Matter campaign that he would demand an end to the “invasion” of Gaza, sanction Israel and “audit” domestic national security legislation, hinting at what he could seek from a re-elected but minority Labor government if it turned to his party after the election.

In an impassioned letter to his “friends” MVM the Greens leader outlined his vows on Gaza, Islamophobia, national security and religious freedoms, which takes on more significance if a possible Labor minority government was forced to negotiate with the crossbench, a result national polls suggest remains Saturday’s likely outcome.

Sent to the group in March and since obtained by The Australian, Mr Bandt blasted Israel’s actions in the enclave and accused the ALP of complicity through inaction.

“We recognise that the extremist Netanyahu government is committing a genocide against the Palestinian communities of Gaza, that the Australian government must act decisively to stop it and ensure those responsible are held accountable for their horrific crimes,” he wrote.

The Greens leader pledged in the first six months of the next government to push for sanctions on Israeli officials, an end to arms exports, and the immediate recognition of Palestinian state. He also committed to backing the “redlines” legislative package, a suite of proposals that centre on blocking exports to Israel.

“There is a genocide taking place and there are practical things our government can do, like imposing sanctions on Netanyahu, recognising Palestine and divesting from illegal settlements,” Mr Bandt wrote.

Anthony Albanese has repeatedly ruled out negotiating with the Greens in the event of a hung parliament, but the ALP has done preference deals with the party in seats across the country.

Muslim Votes Matter national spokesman Ghaith Krayem. Picture: David Crosling

Despite the Prime Minister’s claims, the Greens – and the Coalition – believe Labor would have little choice but to engage with Mr Bandt’s party, depending on the eventual parliamentary arrhythmic.

Mr Bandt said ending the “invasion and occupation” was the only way Palestinians and Israelis could have peace “where their rights to self-determination under international law are respected.”

His proposals include amending the Defence Trade Controls and Customs Act to automatically trigger sanctions when “genocide risks are identified” by the International Court of Justice and stripping support from charities linked to Israeli settlements.

Mr Bandt also reiterated his support for a national Islamophobia strategy and a $60m anti-racism framework, and that Islamic schools should have the right to require staff to teach their values. The Greens would still look to ban any discrimination based on sexuality or gender identity.

Mr Albanese has taken aim during the campaign at the Greens’ “promises” that are often made without any reasonable likelihood to be enacted, and Mr Bandt’s letter includes no tangible plans for how the party would legislate its proposals.

On national security, Mr Bandt claimed that current laws had resulted in “dangerous and inconsistent policing of the Muslim community” and pledged support for a full audit of existing legislation.

MVM is one of two prominent political advocacy groups to emerge from Australia’s Muslim community in the last 18 months and its national spokesman, Ghaith Krayem, told The Australian earlier this month that it would “strategically” target Labor incumbents where it felt it could have an “impact”, predominantly directing voters to Greens candidates or independents.

Election corflutes are seen outside a voting station in Macnamara. Picture: Diego Fedele

However, Australia’s diverse Muslim community is split on aspects of MVM’s approach and particularly its apparent alignment with the Greens.

While Muslim voters agree with elements of the Greens’ stance on the Israel-Hamas war, some of the party’s social policies do not align with elements of the community’s values.

Sydney-based Lebanese Muslim community leader Jamal Rifi has called MVM “stooges” for the Greens and who has organised his own political network to barrack for Labor.

It come as the Greens look to build electorate-specific coalitions, including voters of the Muslim faith but also young people who could abandon the ALP over its stance on Gaza.

However, the pledges do little to aid the party’s bid to snare Melbourne’s Macnamara electorate, which has a large Jewish community – about 10 per cent of the division’s voters – and is held by Labor’s Josh Burns, a Jewish Australian.

Mr Burns holds the division on 12 per cent margin but is in a three-way battle with the Liberals’ Benson Saulo and Greens’ Sonya Semmens.

Labor’s open ticket in the seat incurred the Greens’ wrath and retribution, which preferenced the ALP below independents in a slew of Melbourne and Sydney seats.

Jewish community members are privately infuriated at the Greens’ Macnamara campaign for trying to “whitewash” the party’s stance on Israel and Palestine.

Ms Semmens, unlike party colleagues in other inner-city seats, does not mention Gaza in the majority of campaign material and whose invite to a Jewish-held election forum was withdrawn after criticism from the community.

Campaigners have accused the Greens’ Macnamara campaign of attempting to mislead Jewish voters, pointing to the fact that one of Ms Semmens’s team has shared material on social media that called terrorist organisation Hamas a “resistance group” and pictures of pro-Palestine rallies including posters claiming “Zionism is terrorism”.