The newly elected MP Basem Abdo has told parliament in his first speech the government should make a “historic commitment” to international law, human rights and peace, saying Palestinians are always “made to be strangers in their own homes”.
Abdo, who is of Palestinian background, has spoken of his family’s journey from Kuwait to Jordan during the first Gulf war before settling in Australia, telling parliament of the “intergenerational dispossession” of Palestinians.
Coming soon after the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, had told parliament of his distress at seeing images from Gaza, Abdo’s speech did not explicitly mention Israel’s military campaign in the occupied territory, but it carried unmistakeable references to the growing humanitarian crisis.
“International law matters. The international rules-based order matters,” Abdo said on Monday night.
“Human rights matter. The right to peace, justice and recognition matters. Deserving of an historic commitment.”
Abdo was born in Kuwait, before his parents fled as refugees to Jordan. He was a staffer to the former Calwell MP Maria Vamvakinou, one of Labor’s most outspoken voices on Palestine, before being preselected and ultimately prevailing in the most complex preference count the Australian Electoral Commission has ever conducted.
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Abdo told parliament of what he called the “quiet chaos” as his parents escaped Kuwait.
“We were held up at the border because the number plates on the vehicles had to be changed. Through the night, we waited in the barren desert along the Jordanian border for the new plates to be sent from the capital,” he said.
“Because that’s what war looks like too – not just tanks and fear, but paperwork, approvals, and delays. The administrative burdens and the never-ending weight of bureaucracy – even in war.”
Speaking about taking refuge in Jordan, Abdo recounted taping up their apartment windows with gaffer tape.
“We walked with our parents down a path that belonged to a people always forced to leave for the next place,” he said.
“Our story of intergenerational dispossession – again, and always once more – never with any certainty that this would, finally, be the last time. No matter how much we contributed to the countries we lived in and where we almost always excelled. No matter how long our families had called a place home. We belonged to a people who were always the first to be made strangers in their own homes – simply because we were Palestinian.”
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Asked in question time about whether the government would recognise a Palestinian state, Albanese raised alarm again about the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza as civilians are killed and starve. He said recognition of statehood must be “more than a gesture”, repeating conditions about advancing a lasting peace with Israel, but said Australia was “in discussions with other countries as well going forward”.
Abdo’s speech praised Calwell as “one of the most diverse communities in the country – and one of the proudest”, promising to “stand in solidarity with those communities that often feel excluded from the Australian story”.
“Our multicultural Australia is a remarkable achievement – and it’s our responsibility in this place to protect it so the promise of a fair go is real for all.”
Abdo’s speech went on to outline his commitment to local manufacturing and jobs, speaking of disruption and dispossession coming from political decisions such as social neglect and economic exclusion.
He spoke sadly about his parents struggling to find work in Australia, despite qualifications from overseas, and the collapse of manufacturing in his outer Melbourne electorate.
“Too often it is working people who feel the first shock, who shoulder the greatest burden, who get the least support to recover and rebuild,” he said.
