Piers Akerman: Labor’s actions over Israel show it is no longer committed liberal democracy
The Albanese government has proven itself to the worst in Australia’s history, lacking both courage and a moral compass, writes Piers Akerman.
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Just 525 days ago the worst government in Australia’s history took office. Since then the Green-Left Albanese administration has shown that it stands for nothing.
Its promises are meaningless and it lacks both courage and a moral compass.
Unable to fulfil its election promise to reduce power prices, it has failed to cut the cost of living and it has been weak on foreign affairs.
Its ideological addiction to expensive subsidised wind, solar and water battery power has left an energy deficit, the promise of summer blackouts and a budget blowout.
When tossed a bone by China on the phase-out of tariffs on barley and wine, it responds as rapturously as a pup having its tummy tickled.
But Labor’s most egregious failure is division on Israel because its lacklustre parliamentarians rely on the votes of nihilist Greens and fantasy-driven Teals to retain the government benches.
It has rejected recorded history in favour of myth and ideological fantasy for cheap political advantage.
Supporters of Hamas, which tortured, raped and murdered civilians before taking hostages, waved the Palestinian flag and chanted “gas the Jews” in the presence of NSW police in front of the Opera House.
Labor’s employment and arts minister Tony Burke, whose electorate of Watson includes the Muslim-dominated Canterbury Bankstown council, praised its unanimous decision to fly that flag.
An individual carrying an Israeli flag was arrested by NSW police “for his own protection”.
Burke, in an interview with one of the ABC’s numerous activist commentators, Patricia Karvelas, accepted fatality statistics released by the Hamas terrorists who have controlled Gaza for the past 17 years and hold more than 200 men, women and children hostage rather than wait for verifiable data from independent sources.
Karvelas sought to have the Israelis’ measured response to the unprovoked attack on its civilians labelled “genocide” and made no mention of the ABC’s editing of remarks made by a released 85-year-old hostage about the beatings she had endured.
The ABC’S highly paid management has again demonstrated that it is wholly incapable of presenting unbiased news or current affairs commentary.
The billion-dollar farce is in constant breach of its charter and no longer fit for purpose.
In another example of Labor’s weakness on Middle East policy, senior NSW bureaucrat Michael Coutts-Trotter, the husband of Left-wing federal environment minister Tanya Plibersek, issued an apology after initially condemning the Hamas atrocities.
The brilliant philosopher and polymath Henry Ergas reminded readers of The Australian this week that Labor giant, Bob Hawke had in 1974 vehemently rejected the Whitlam government’s “morally repugnant policy of ‘even-handedness’” toward Palestinian terrorists and Israel.
Hawke, Ergas said, stared down the strong pro-Arab forces in the ALP and unreservedly picked sides.
“If we allow the bell to be tolled for Israel,” Hawke had declared, “it will have tolled for us all.”
Burke, foreign minister Penny Wong and industry and science minister Ed Husic parrot the propaganda delivered by Hamas that Israel is delivering collective punishment on civilians and that there is some sort of equivalence between the democratic government of Israel and the terrorist-run Gaza, which flies the same flag as Canterbury Bankstown council.
Israel asks civilians to leave areas where Hamas terrorists hide, but Hamas shoots them when they flee.
Labor’s actions show it is no longer committed to championing freedom and liberal democracy.
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