ALP urges Iran debate
DEPUTY Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek has officially added her voice to that of her colleague Michael Danby, moving a motion in Parliament this week calling for a parliamentary debate on Australia’s strategy on Syria and Iran.
DEPUTY Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek has officially added her voice to that of her colleague Michael Danby, moving a motion in Parliament this week calling for a parliamentary debate on Australia’s strategy on Syria and Iran.
Labor has revealed that it will move the motion each week until Foreign Minister Julie Bishop agrees to the debate.
Plibersek told Parliament: “Without a clear and realistic strategy, we are talking about the potential for the consolidation of redrawn national borders, the intensification of sectarian violence, the escalation of geopolitical tension and increasing numbers of displaced people in the region and beyond.”
It comes after Danby began a public campaign accusing Bishop of “cosying up” to the Islamic Republic, and more recently, criticising her for remaining open to the possibility of Bashar al-Assad being part of the solution in Syria.
In Parliament on Monday, Danby accused the government of remaining silent in the face of Iran joining with Russia, Syria and Hezbollah in an attempt to destroy Assad’s enemies, as well as in the face of Iran testing ballistic missiles and reaffirming its goal to destroy Israel.
He told the House: “Since the one-sided deal with Iran, the Foreign Minister has re-imagined Iran as the region’s saviour.
“Instead of shunning Iran, our Foreign Minister, in April, when she became the first Western foreign minister to visit Iran in years, says ‘Trade with us. Take our unwanted refugees. Open consulates. Let’s share intelligence.’”
He concluded: “We have no reasonable assurance that Iran is moving to stop its support of international terrorism. The government has become an unwitting, incompetent facilitator aiding and abetting the Iranian agenda.
Bishop told The AJN in response: “Danby is well aware that the only negotiations underway between the government and Iran are to facilitate the return of thousands of Iranians who came to Australia via the people smuggling trade, after Labor (with the support of Mr Danby) weakened our border protection laws in 2008.”
She added: “The Australian government has long advocated a political solution to the conflict in Syria and that we should not be prescriptive about what that solution is. There will likely need to be a political transition and no option should be excluded at this stage.”
GARETH NARUNSKY
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