I spent some time in Parliament House last week and it was a delight to see the increased diversity of elected members.

Not only does the 48th Parliament have the first majority of women in government in the history of the Commonwealth (56% of MPs and Senators are women) but it comes much closer to reflecting the diversity of the Australian community.

The first Palestinian MP, Basem Abdo, in Calwell (Lab, Vic), is one of the new breed. His family moved out of the West Bank in 1967, the year of the Six-Day War. In his inaugural speech last Monday, Abdo said: “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 the 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 – a suffering people, a steadfast people.” He says statehood is not just symbolism, it is the right to self-determination and that he will argue strongly for it in the caucus room.

John, too,  was in Parliament House, talking to our elected representatives about the catastrophic situation in Palestine, and the importance of taking assertive action now. His delegation put forward a practical package of measures, including reconstruction and humanitarian assistance as well as statehood. You can see a full account of the visit from colleagues Stuart Rees and Margaret Reynolds. Pressure is building from inside government, and from rank-and-file ALP members, who are demanding that more be done to end the genocide.

I am saddened when I hear parliamentarians, including our prime minister, say we are not significant players in Middle East affairs. Bob Carr put it best when he set our ambitions a little higher. The former foreign minister and NSW Premier described Australia as “a strong, creative, middle power”. He said moving on Palestinian statehood “would strengthen the impression of Australia as a country that can do things, big and important, a model to the world as we did with Gareth Evans … in the Cambodian peace process …”

So, there is the challenge.

This week, Greg Barns will deliver his verdict on the government’s Gaza stance. We will also mark the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with a terrific piece from Robert Cockburn on a little-known story.

Until next week.