Here in Australia, tensions and emotions are running high over the conflict. Hundreds of Pro-Palestinian protestors marched to the opera house when it was lit in the colours of the Israeli flag and they're planning an unauthorised protest in Sydney this weekend.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00 It's tough, but it's something that we can manage.
00:04 And I think by talking with all parties involved and working out what common interests are
00:09 and a principle of respect and kindness to each other, it's manageable.
00:14 It's much harder in Israel and Gaza at the moment.
00:17 There aren't any good, easy options.
00:20 And we've just seen terrible, horrible terrorist barbarous attack from Hamas, terrible suffering.
00:28 And we're seeing, of course, terrible suffering in Gaza as the Gazans become victims too of
00:32 a provocative act of terror by Hamas, which was intended to provoke Israel into making
00:37 a response which costs the people of Gaza.
00:40 So very understandable people are feeling shattered and upset and frustrated and angry.
00:46 That's normal.
00:47 In Australia, we can manage this because at the end of the day, we all want peace for
00:51 these people.
00:52 We want a lasting and a just peace.
00:55 We can't defeat terror without eventually coming to a political solution.
00:58 Hamas has to be dealt with militarily, be brought to justice, but there won't be lasting
01:02 peace unless we get a durable and just political solution.
01:06 So we should be focusing on that.
01:08 If we want to help the people of Gaza, which we should, you want to help the Palestinians,
01:12 you want to help the people of Israel, then we need to think about what it is we reasonably
01:17 expect.
01:18 Just angry and occasionally hateful words against each other is not going to help.
01:24 And people organising public protest, which is a normal part of democracy, need to recognise
01:29 the danger of their protest being hijacked by fringe groups that will try and spotlight
01:34 and leverage for their own purposes.
01:36 And we should be careful to deny them that opportunity.
01:39 And Greg, a key part of democracy is the right to protest.
01:43 Is a key part to managing this over the coming months in Australia, keeping the groups apart
01:49 as much as possible?
01:52 Well, there is a certain logic in that, Joe, but actually before that, the key part is
01:57 to have open communication.
01:59 So for government, police, community groups to be speaking to each other.
02:04 And there's a lot of common purpose, a lot of common concern.
02:08 Doubling down on that and saying, OK, we don't agree with your political views, but we certainly
02:13 support your right to put them.
02:15 But if you're concerned, for example, about the people of Gaza, which is legitimate and
02:19 right, or if you're concerned about the people of Israel, allowing fringe elements to come
02:24 into your protests and use hateful language and engage in acts of hateful incitement,
02:29 hate speech, that's going to undermine what you're trying to achieve.
02:32 So we need to have those conversations.
02:34 Yes, on the ground, there needs to be some management of different groups that protest,
02:38 of course.
02:39 But actually, it's more important that we come together and talk with each other and
02:42 try and de-conflict, because I think groups would find there's actually more common concern
02:47 and more common purpose for the people of West Bank, of Gaza, of Palestine, of Israel.
02:55 They have to live together in that one small place for centuries to come.
03:02 And it needs to be done in a way that's just and fair and peaceful.
03:05 So communication is key.
03:07 We're not going to solve this by just dividing people.
03:10 And Greg, you're overseas at the moment, but no doubt keeping across what's been happening
03:13 in Australia.
03:14 What did you think of the way the Opera House incident was managed the other night from
03:17 a security perspective?
03:20 I didn't see the fine details, Joe, of what happened on the ground.
03:24 I think that there's been a lot of care, a lot of concern shown to try and allow people
03:30 their right to protest and yet to try and avoid fringe groups coming in and hijacking
03:35 those protests in hateful ways.
03:38 I'm sure that mistakes were made because it's hard to get these things right, particularly
03:41 when there are so many moving parts.
03:44 But I think we should persist with our plan in Australia of allowing people to protest,
03:47 but also to talk to each other and for protest organisers to talk with authorities ahead
03:53 of time so we can try and avoid an outcome which doesn't help anyone.
03:56 [BLANK_AUDIO]