Meeting Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers on 28 August at Parliament House in Canberra, the Aussie Muslim Test opener, Usman Khawaja, pressed Australia to act decisively against Israel for the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

At a press conference before his meeting, Khawaja delivered an emotional statement that blurred the line between sport and politics, insisting that his duty as a human being outweighed the comfort of silence.

“Just because I’m a cricketer doesn’t mean I can’t speak up for what I believe in,” he said. “This is what I wanted to say to the prime minister: Netanyahu’s coming at him and saying that his legacy is ruined by this, and he’s weak. It is the opposite. He’s showing courage. If you look at the great leaders of history, their road was never easy – they had to make hard choices. For the prime minister, he has an opportunity right now to cement his legacy and to say: I fight for the people, I’m fighting for humanity.”

Khawaja was clear that his position was not about politics or religion, but about basic human dignity.

“It’s the human right number one to have food. Two years ago, if I even mentioned Palestine or Israel, people would just point their finger and call me antisemitic, which is not true. Now, the fact that we are recognising a people, it takes courage. But what we need now is the next step: actions. We must sanction Israel. And I genuinely believe Prime Minister Albanese is the man to have that courage and do that.”

In his meeting with Albanese and Chalmers, Khawaja urged the government to cut off all Israeli exports to Australia until aid is allowed to flow freely into Gaza and the killing stops.

“What I am pushing for … is we need to sanction Israel until they stop doing what they’re doing and they let full humanitarian aid flow into Gaza,” he told reporters. “We can’t be trading with any country that has such blatant disregard for humanitarian and international law. The morals and the standards that you set for your allies should be higher than anyone else. How are we going to accept that the killing and starvation is fine?”

Chalmers later described the conversation as constructive, saying, “We have a lot of respect for Usman and we listen to him on these issues.”

Khawaja’s appeal follows Albanese’s announcement of Australia’s recognition of Palestinian statehood, a move the batsman welcomed but described as only a first step.

Khawaja’s Canberra visit was also tied to another battle he has been waging: the fight to sever gambling’s grip on Australian sport.

Invited by independent senator David Pocock, Khawaja joined crossbenchers, academics and public health experts to demand that the government adopt all recommendations of the You Win Some, You Lose More report.

“The government has been 100% too slow to ban gambling ads,” he said. “You have to go cold turkey – the same as what happened with tobacco. We have a responsibility. If gambling keeps being tied to sport, showing that you can’t watch a match without betting, it sets a very dangerous precedent for our kids.”

For Khawaja, this is not the first time he has used his platform to take a stand.

In 2023, he was banned from wearing boots inscribed with the words “All lives are equal” during a Test match, later auctioning them to raise funds for UNICEF. His voice has since grown louder, not quieter, as the crises he speaks about deepen.

Khawaja has built a reputation as a cricketer of elegance and resilience, but in Canberra he batted for something far bigger than the game.

He put the Albanese Government on notice: recognition alone is not enough. The time has come for sanctions, for action, and for Australia to show that courage is more than words.

Republished from AMUST, 29 August 2025

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