As the genocide in Palestine continues, pressure on governments grows across the globe. In Australia, ALP members are demanding more from Anthony Albanese.

Bexley branch ALP NSW along with a majority of members of the Australian Labor Party, with a deep sense of urgency and moral obligation, call on you to take immediate and decisive action to stop the catastrophe in Gaza.

We cannot sit silent or merely express words of “never again” as we bear witness to a humanitarian crisis of unimaginable scale and the destruction of an entire population. What is unfolding in Gaza is a genocide. Actions that are antithetical to our Labor Party principles, our values, our traditions.

Prime Minister, this is not a matter of politics – it is a matter of human decency, and of who we are as Australians and as members of the Australian Labor Party. The scale of death and suffering in Gaza demands far more from us than mere statements of concern. Our membership demands decisive action; action rooted in our Labor principles and in our common humanity.

We cannot remain silent while children are buried under rubble, while families are starved and forced to drink contaminated water, and while entire families are being erased off the civil register. As Minister Tony Burke said: “The slaughter must end” and it must end now.

Today, Gaza not only resembles the “Warsaw Ghetto” as our former NSW Premier and former foreign minister Bob Carr said, but Gaza now goes beyond what resembles the horrors perpetrated on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Bexley branch and the vast majority of members of the Australian Labor Party expect our Labor Government to stand on the side of justice and at minimum uphold the rules based international order we often speak of.

We therefore urge you to:

1. Publicly condemn the slaughter and describe it for what it is – a genocide.
2. Continue the call for an immediate ceasefire and the unobstructed delivery of humanitarian aid to all civilians in Gaza.
3. Support international institutions investigating potential war crimes and human rights abuses.
4. Suspend all military co-operation and sale of arms to Israel as it continues the atrocities.
5. Lead us all in the fight for a lasting peace and security for the Palestinian people and immediately recognise the state of Palestine.
6. For peace in the Middle East, call on Israel to withdraw from all territories it has occupied since 1967 including the Golan Heights and all Lebanese territories including Shebaa Farms.

Prime minister, your leadership will help save lives. Let history be kind to you and to all of us in the Australian Labor Party. Let’s ensure that we in the ALP do not carry the stain of complicity and inaction when we are in power and have the platform to make a difference.

We implore you as our Labor leader and as our prime minister to act now. We believe in you, and we believe that you have the courage to take the right and morally courageous decisions this tragedy demands of you.

Bexley branch ALP motion appealing to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to take urgent action to end the genocide in Gaza.

The views expressed in this article may or may not reflect those of Pearls and Irritations.