Labor MP Josh Burns offers peace talks on debate over Gaza

Labor MP Josh Burns says rival ALP factions need to defuse a potentially bitter internal split over the Israel-Palestine question.

Labor MP Josh Burns.

Jewish Labor MP Josh Burns has offered to help negotiate a compromise resolution with pro-­Palestine ALP members to defuse a potentially bitter debate at next month’s Victorian state ­conference.

The federal MP for Macnam­ara – an electorate covering Jewish heartland suburbs such as Caulfield, St Kilda East and Balaclava – has confirmed he is aware Palestinian supporters in the party’s majority Left faction are considering drafting a strongly worded resolution for debate at the policy-setting talks.

“These are sensitive issues, ones where we have people from across the party coming at it from different perspectives,” he said.

“I make a public offer to work with my colleagues in the party to find a resolution where we express the values of the Labor Party. One that demonstrates our longstanding commitment to human rights and the legitimate aspirations of Palestinians and Israelis.”

The Australian revealed on Wednesday there are concerns among Israel supporters in the ALP that the resolution planned for the state conference on May 17-18 will be loaded with anti-­Israeli sentiments.

The conference, which is expected to be attended by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Jacinta Allan, could erupt in bitter debate and split the party.

Anthony Albanese, left, and Mr Burns are greeted by Rabbi Yaakov Glasman during a visit to the St Kilda Shule in Melbourne in October 2023. Picture: AAP

Several Labor figures assoc­iated with left-wing unions have been identified as being linked to the proposed pro-Palestine resolution, but none returned calls on Tuesday and Wednesday from The Australian.

The Left controls the Victorian ALP, meaning that it has the numbers to push through any resolution. While non-binding on the parliamentary party, the prospect of state conference endorsing such a resolution has left some in the party nervous that the debate could turn “hostile”.

“The Left will have the majority so they can ram through whatever they want, but that doesn’t mean it is in the interests of the Labor Party,” one party figure said.

It will be the first state conference since the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel and shapes as a flashpoint.

The Australian reported on Wednesday that one Labor figure believed that any major split at the state conference over the Gaza war could “put another rock in the Prime Minister’s knapsack”.

“It does show this debate is ricocheting around the Labor Party and that’s not good. And an absurd resolution will embolden the Greens and the enemies of Labor. We have a real issue here,” the figure said.