Labor conference sidesteps Gaza stoush after Ed Husic fails to force debate

A push to recognise claims of genocide in Gaza failed to gain enough support for a debate on the floor of Labor’s national conference, sparking criticism of the party’s internal culture.

Labor MP Ed Husic was unable to secure a seconder for his proposed resolution on Israel and Palestine in the final hours of the 50th ALP National Conference today.

The outspoken backbencher said he was “surprised” at the energy factional powerbrokers had applied to preventing open debate and declared he did not “give a shit” if senior colleagues put him in the freezer for speaking out on contentious issues.

Delegates at the conference instead voted to adopt positions on Israel, Palestine and Hamas that broadly aligned with the Albanese government’s view, though have been criticised by the Israeli embassy.

MPs Josh Burns, who is Jewish, and Basem Abdo, the son of Palestinian refugees, both spoke in favour of the platform in what was intended as a show of unity.

The conference concluded in Adelaide this afternoon without any major stoushes on the floor as the 400 elected delegates voted to adopt the party’s 2026 National Platform.

Mr Husic had sought to amend the platform to acknowledge a United Nations inquiry that determined Israeli authorities had “deliberately targeted Palestinian children, resulting in genocide and atrocity crimes in the Gaza Strip and war crimes in the West Bank”.

His resolution was initially seconded by the Maritime Union of Australia, but Mr Husic revealed the left-faction union had withdrawn support earlier in the morning.

“I have been surprised at the extraordinary amount of energy that has been applied to stop this, as opposed to talking about this, being able to have discussions and better set it out,” Mr Husic said.

‘Don’t give a shit’ if I’m put in the freezer: Husic

In the lead-up to the triennial conference, Mr Husic had spoken out on a range of issues, including Labor’s support for the AUKUS submarine deal, a tax on gas and the Middle East.

Asked if it had been a “strategic” error to spread his focus, potentially at the expense of securing support for a debate on Israel and Palestine, Mr Husic said it was a “fair question”.

“I’ve been consistent on the things I really care about and I’ve spoken up in that way,” he said.

When pressed on whether senior ministers, such as Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong, had frozen him out from platform discussions about Israel and Palestine, Mr Husic replied: “If they put me in the freezer, I don’t give a shit.”

Senior Labor sources pushed back on the idea Mr Husic had been iced out, suggesting he had not sought to discuss the matter with the prime minister during the three-day conference.

Allowing disagreement a ‘big test’ for Labor

Mr Husic believed the “divisive” Rudd-Gillard era had led to a cooling effect on debate within the party.

“People are almost traumatised into a position that … anything that looks like a debate is a schism, a difference, a divide that means that the government might topple over,” he said.

“I don’t think that’s the case at all.

Mr Husic said there was a lesson for Labor to learn as One Nation gathered support from voters who believed the party would stand up for what they thought was “right” for the country.

“I think the big test for us, as one of the big parties, is to be able to show that we’re willing to take [voters] with us and not jam the lines of the day in people’s ears,” he said.

Brandishing his ALP membership card, Mr Husic said when people signed up to the party they “didn’t sign up for the status quo”.

“The party of change — change sometimes involves conversations and you need to bring people together,” he said.

Asked if Labor was still the “right fit” for him, Mr Husic said “yes”.

Burns calls for ’empathy over outrage’

As Mr Husic was addressing the media, Mr Burns and Mr Abdo walked onto the conference stage together in a show of support between the Jewish and Palestinian communities.

“We stand here to demonstrate what is possible when people choose to work together, and that the Australian Labor Party has room for both of us and for the communities we love,” Mr Burns said.

In a passionate speech, Mr Burns urged members to choose “empathy over outrage” as he rallied support of the party’s platform on Israel and Palestine.

He acknowledged the document did “not represent everything either of us might wish to say, nor every aspect of government policy”.

“But through hours of conversation and compromise and respect, we are both standing here together,” he said.

Abdo says humanity ‘universal’

Mr Abdo said the party’s platform committed Labor to “stand by the foundations Australia has helped shape and long defended — a rules-based order”.

“For generations of Palestinians living under occupation, so many of those things we take for granted remain out of reach,” he said.

“Occupation reaches into homes, into schools, into workplaces, into communities, every single day.”

Mr Abdo said human dignity was “universal” and should “never be determined by where you are born or who you are”.

He also thanked his colleague Mr Burns for “good faith in what is an uneasy process” leading up to the conference.

The procedural motion that allowed Mr Burns and Mr Abdo to speak had been proposed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Mr Marles.

Speaking at the conference, Mr Marles thanked delegates who had “compromised” to reach consensus.

Labor stakes out positions on Israel and Palestine

Labor’s platform, which is designed to guide the party for the next three years, opposes the “annexation of Palestinian territory” and calls for Israel to end “illegal settlement activity”.

In July 2024, the International Criminal Court declared Israel’s settlements in the Palestinian territories violated international law and ordered their dismantling.

Israel has rejected the illegality of the settlements, with senior far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, who are both sanctioned by Australia, advocating for their expansion.

Labor’s platform also urges the government to implement “further action and sanctions as necessary” to address the issue.

Acknowledging Australia has “always stood against the death penalty as an inhumane and degrading form of punishment”, the platform condemns “recent Knesset legislation and all other discriminatory laws which target Palestinians”.

This year the Israeli government passed laws that implement death by hanging for Palestinians convicted of terror-related killings in the West Bank.

That platform also states a belief that “Israelis and Palestinians deserve to live their lives free from terror and violence,” backs the two-state solution and “unreservedly condemns” the terrorism and violent extremism, “including as perpetrated by Hamas”.

The Israeli embassy last week released a lengthy statement criticising the then-draft platform, arguing it weakened Labor’s position on Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.

“The embassy respectfully submits that several elements of the draft national platform risk placing responsibility for the conflict on one party,” it said.