Topics: UNRWA; Jim Chalmers rank hypocrisy on COVID spending; Questions of Albanese’s influence on Qatar flights;
0820 AEDT
30 October 2024
Kenny Heatley: Joining me live is Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham. Simon, do you share the Foreign Minister, Penny Wong’s concerns about Gaza? If UNRWA is ultimately not able to operate following this law change?
Simon Birmingham: Kenney, thanks for the opportunity. Look, I certainly share the concerns held right around the world about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the immense suffering that individuals there face. My desire is absolutely to see humanitarian assistance reach those individuals. Now, Israel’s laws and their legitimate concerns about Hamas terrorists being employed by UNRWA and working with UNRWA are a matter for Israel. But what is important is that Israel works to ensure that humanitarian assistance does get into Gaza, does reach innocent civilians who need that assistance. And Australia should be ensuring that our taxpayer dollars in no way are going near anybody who could be applying them to terrorist influences or activities, but instead ensuring that our taxpayer dollars are supporting trusted humanitarian organisations to provide the type of humanitarian assistance that clearly is necessary. And ultimately, what we wish to see is a ceasefire achieved and the best ceasefire that can be achieved is where Hamas themselves release the hostages they continue to hold and lay down their arms so that a sustainable ceasefire can benefit the people of Gaza and provide security right across Gaza and Israel.
Kenny Heatley: Just to be clear, you think that now that UNRWA has been banned in Israel, Australia should be looking at the $20 million or so that we donate to the organisation each year and basically stop that funding?
Simon Birmingham: Kenney, that’s been the Coalition position for some time, that we should be providing that funding instead to trusted organisations that have not been mired in the type of controversy that in fact, UNRWA long has faced. The allegations in relation to the individuals who UNWRA ultimately sacked for their involvement in the October 7th terrorist attacks are not the only allegations that have been made against UNWRA over the years. On various other occasions, issues in relation to UNRWA, staff and their activities have been points of concern. Ultimately, we want to see aid, and particularly Australian taxpayer aid dollars, get to where they’re needed most, which is in providing that assistance to those innocent civilians in Gaza.
Kenny Heatley: You were minister for finance in the Morrison government. What do you make of the treasurer, Jim Chalmers response to the Covid inquiry, saying mistakes were made and it’s the reason he’s now having to battle inflation?
Simon Birmingham: Kenny, let’s be clear. If we had taken every one of Jim Chalmers comments and the Labor Party comments, when we were in government, on board, Australia would have paid more to more people for much longer. Because that’s what Labor was always calling for back in the Covid days. So, I think this report, which acknowledges the extraordinary response of Scott Morrison and the Morrison government, demonstrates that we responded in circumstances that had never been faced before. We did so, incredibly effectively to save jobs, to save businesses, and to save the Australian economy. Was every decision in hindsight absolutely perfectly right? No, of course not. But Jim Chalmers’s criticism now is rank hypocrisy. When you look at everything he said during that time and that Anthony Albanese said during that time, if we had taken their advice on board, then spending would have been much higher, gone to many more people, provided a lot more, lasted a lot longer. Because that’s everything Labor was calling for at the time and shows just how out of step they were compared with the careful, proportionate, limited approach that we tried to put in place, particularly around JobKeeper that was so critical to saving the jobs of so many Australians.
Kenny Heatley: Simon, we’ve got 30 seconds. But Government frontbencher Mark Butler says cabinet support for Anthony Albanese is completely solid amid swirling controversy over the Prime Minister’s relationship with then Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce, the health minister, also saying the Prime Minister is being completely transparent. What’s your reaction to that?
Simon Birmingham: Here’s a question Anthony Albanese should answer today. Did he or his office ever engage with the transport minister or her office on the Qatar flights decision? Did in fact, he exercise his prime ministerial authority or his office to do so on his behalf, to interfere, to protect Qantas and to ensure that Australian aviation customers were given less choice and greater costs? Because that’s what this all comes down to. If you’re having a debate about indeed the influence, it is also whether that influence was used and exerted by the Prime Minister in terms of protecting potentially Qantas interests. And he’s never given a straight answer on that. That’s really where he should be pressed to give a direct answer. Did he ever actually act as Prime Minister recently on behalf of Qantas?
Kenny Heatley: Simon Birmingham, really appreciate your time. Thank you.
[ENDS]