The official campaign for the Australian federal election, which concluded on Saturday, was notable for its almost total silence on the genocidal onslaught against Palestinians being carried out by Israel’s Zionist regime. The major parties, aided by the corporate media, sought to bury any mention of these horrific crimes because the entire Australian political establishment, in line with the US and imperialist governments worldwide, is totally complicit.
This includes the Greens, whose leading members have frequently postured as opponents of the genocide—and of the Labor government’s support for it—at protest rallies over the past 18 months. But as election day drew nearer and the Greens begged for a coalition with Labor, this was swept under the rug, culminating in Greens leader Adam Bandt’s refusal to answer in a TV interview whether the party’s position was still that Labor was “complicit in genocide.”
In stark contrast to the official silence, Socialist Equality Party (SEP) candidates, members and supporters spoke on polling day with many workers and young people who passionately opposed Israel’s onslaught and its backing by the major parties. They responded enthusiastically to the SEP, the only party campaigning for an alternative perspective for the working class to stop genocide and war.
Muhomad, a retired worker originally from Lebanon, told SEP campaigners at the Punchbowl polling booth: “I’ve been in this country for about 35 years, and I’ve seen the performance of both Liberal and Labor. They are similar, and in regards to what’s happening now in the Middle East, namely in Gaza, both parties are part of the atrocities that are taking place. They’re complicit in the genocide, this is all I can say.
“Before I met you guys I didn’t know who to vote for. Liberals are bad, Labor are worse. Well, you’ve given me some hope now.”
Zahi, who is studying robotic engineering at the University of Sydney, said: “The Labor Party and the Liberals have been abusive towards the working classes in Australia. They refuse to deal with the problems that confront ordinary people in Australia—the housing crisis and the cost of living, and [our opposition to] Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. I refuse to support them in this election.
“Labor claims to be a government that represents workers and our rights but it’s suppressing the voices of those who oppose the genocide. It talks about democracy and advertises freedom of speech but it’s all hypocritical. They tell us that we have these rights but as soon as anyone says they oppose what’s happening to the Palestinians they demand you shut up and threaten you.
“Look at what’s happening in America. Actors like Mark Ruffalo and many others, including well-known celebrities, have been sent hate mail by the Zionists because they oppose the genocide. Trump is now kicking out foreign students and others who oppose Israel and Australia will probably follow suit.
“A genuine democratic government would focus on and reflect the voice of the people, but we don’t have anything like that. Instead, Labor and the Liberals only listen to a niche group of Zionists, and the wealthy, and they only do what benefits these people. It says a lot about our society—about so-called democracy and capitalism.
“We are told all the time about the Australian dream, but it’s based on falsehoods. It doesn’t match reality. In ancient times the Romans used to divert the population and keep control using bread and circuses. Our governments are trying to do the same sorts of things, but with circuses and no bread.
“Words about freedom of speech and the positives of capitalism are like makeup on a face. It’s used to hide reality but once you scrape off the makeup you see real ugliness. They talk about our future but what is it? I’m still living with my parents, and I can’t ever see myself getting a home and wonder if I’m ever going to be valued as a young Australian by these governments.”
Amira, who is studying to become a schoolteacher, said she was concerned that many of her fellow students were unaware of the history and reasons for the Gaza genocide.
“I don’t blame them for this,” she said, “it’s because the government and the media support Israel and cover up the truth. And when good journalists have spoken out about this they’re persecuted, which puts all of us and our rights at risk.”
Amira denounced the entrapment of two Bankstown nurses in February by an Israeli provocateur in an online video chat. The young nurses were goaded into making politically reactionary comments about killing or refusing to treat Israeli patients. Sacked from their jobs, denounced by their unions, their careers effectively destroyed, they now face serious criminal charges that could carry 20-year jail terms.
“What happened to the Bankstown nurses was a setup,” Amira said. “It is clear and yet the media fails to mention all the facts or anything about the guy that organised this. This is very unfair.
“We’ve been protesting for years about what’s happening to the Palestinians and it hasn’t changed the attitude of the Australian [Labor] government one bit. That’s why I can’t vote for them in this election.
“My parents are from Algeria and my grandparents fought to get the French out of Algeria and so I know a lot about what was involved in that struggle and the fight against imperialism and what is involved.
“The Labor government refuses to tell the Australian people about what’s really going on and at the same time keeps finding new loopholes to help Israel. They say they’re not sending weapons to Israel to use against Gaza but in reality, they’re sending different bits of military equipment that are assembled and used by Israel. And this is kept secret from the population.”
In southwest Sydney, a public sector employee of Lebanese descent asked to remain anonymous, noting that numbers of her colleagues had been targeted and victimised for speaking out against the Gaza genocide.
“We know that Israel is not going to accept a two-state solution. We can see the genocide that is continuing. They have broken 20 ceasefires in Lebanon, they have killed a lot of people and they want Gaza. The idea of a two-state solution to them is nil. For Israel it doesn’t matter who rules on the Palestinian land, it will always be a fight, they will seek to control the whole thing.
“The Arab regimes are normalising with the Zionist state. People often ask, why do the Palestinians have this militancy in them? But how can you not be when you are born into this situation? We know that they killed Arafat, and they will try to kill anyone who comes after who does not agree to just be an administrator on behalf of Israel in the West Bank.
“In an earlier period, you had Arabs who were very active and who were elected to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, and they were deported or imprisoned, for speaking about equality and human rights. So I think what is needed is a very big change in the Jewish Israeli society. We know there are class divisions in that society, there is discrimination against Arab Jews, and certain European Jews. It’s not a healthy society at all. But will it survive? In this environment it probably will, because it has the Americans behind it, the imperialists. It will take time, but I think eventually there will be a change. The masses need to be more proactive and they need a leadership.”
The worker pointed to the broader context of the genocide. “Capitalism hasn’t disappeared and it’s unfortunately growing. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, we ended up with one party globally, and they run the world. They orchestrate wars, they destroy peoples, they destroy whole economies even. We are dealing not just with a capitalist system, it is a criminal system at the same time. Back in the 1950s and 60s, yes we witnessed political assassinations in countries in the Middle East, but it was not at this scale, so aggressive. Now Trump is doing things that we used to see in dictatorships.”
Tania, a Melbourne tram driver, said: “What’s going on in Gaza is absolutely horrific, there’s really no two ways about it. This current ‘episode’ of genocide, land theft, and ethnic cleansing in the region has been going on for 76 years now, this is nothing new to all of us who know what’s been going on in the region for a prolonged period of time.
“If you go back to 2014 and you look at Operation Protective Edge, carried out by the Israelis, 551 children died in that attack, and there was no ‘October 7th’ to initiate that kind of violence. It’s just carried out on a regular basis. It’s essentially like culling the local population. It’s basically what the Israelis say is an ethnic clean-out of the area. The Zionist regime is very open about its thoughts, views and opinions: it wants Gaza to be completely sterile, to be entirely Jewish.
“I just think it’s a huge crime against humanity, and the fact that Australia’s government is so complicit is deeply shameful. That’s not what I want my tax dollars to go towards. I would never allow that no matter who is the victim.”
Hassan, a teacher originally from Iran, said: “I think that there are numerous issues here—the cost of living is very high in Calwell, housing is another problem. Considering the record of Liberal and Labor, they haven’t done enough for the community here.
“None of the big parties of Australia are doing anything to stop the genocide. I strongly believe that there must be some bigger, more practical steps to end this conflict and to stop war. People keep being killed over there, over 60,000 deaths so far, and journalists are being killed deliberately by the Israeli regime.
“The Greens claim to be progressing understanding and helping the government to do some actions to stop the war, but I think none of them have done enough so far. I think there must be another power to make this change, and I believe that your party can do that.
“A revolutionary fight is preferable to stop the war. Capitalism is a kind of driving force to war—to sell weapons either to the Persian Gulf countries, or to Israel, and fuel all this war in the Middle East and the chaos is getting worse and worse.
“I think if the policy and ethos of your party is to end war, it can be great.”
Minhou, an accounting student, said: “I think the genocide in Gaza is atrocious. With what is happening over there, we are hearing a lack of humanity from the major parties. There hasn’t been a proper solution to it nearly two years into the conflict.
“Labor cracking down on opposition to the genocide as ‘antisemitic’ adds no value to the conversation. I know there are so many Jewish organisations, I think the Jewish Council of Australia for one, that are speaking out against the genocide of the Palestinians committed by Israel. To equate anti-Zionism with antisemitism is a very dangerous game Labor is playing.
“US participation in the genocide and broader wars makes me think it goes down to US imperialism. Look at it with Vietnam in the 20th century and then the Middle East conflicts like Iraq. No one has been held responsible for what happened to Iraq. The US entered, invaded the country under the pretext of ‘weapons of mass destruction’ and there were none, of course. No one has been held accountable for that.
“I do think that the capitalist structure inherently is flawed. It is a system that requires constant consumerism and growth when there’s only a finite amount of resources. I think it’s just inherently contradictory.”